Binge drinking 'subsiding'

The proportion of Britons that drink above the recommended weekly levels of alcohol is falling, official statistics reveal.

Today's data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that both men and women are less likely to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, although male drinkers are more prone to consuming high levels of beer, wine and spirits.

According to the survey, 35 per cent of men now exceed the government's sensible drinking benchmarks, as opposed to 39 per cent two years ago.

This compares to the one fifth of women who go over the recommended limits, which stood at 22 per cent in 2004.

Overall, 72 per cent of men and 57 per cent of women revealed they had at least one alcoholic drink per week.

The ONS also explained that today's figures "support previous indications that the recent upward trend in heavy drinking among young women may have peaked".

The proportion of 16- to 24-year-old females who drink more than six alcoholic units at least one day per week went up by a sixth to 28 per cent between 1998 and 2002, but then fell to 22 per cent last year.

Today's research also highlighted a general increase of public awareness concerning daily limits and government alcohol benchmarks, with more than two-thirds of respondents now conscious of them.

However, youngsters are invariably still more prone to drinking to excess than their older counterparts, with 42 per cent of males aged between 16 and 24 admitting they drink more than four units of alcohol per week, compared with just one in ten of over-65s.

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