More middle-class professionals turning to drink

High stress levels could be responsible for managers and businessmen turning to drink.

New figures reveal that the middle classes are bigger boozers than their working-class counterparts.

It is also thought that alcohol consumption is higher among managerial professions because they have more money to spend on drink.

Doctors’ leaders in Wales have warned that alcohol is not a good way to relax and said that the country’s drink culture remains a major problem.

The latest examination of Britain’s drinking culture has found that men drink an average of 18.7 units of alcohol a week, while the average for females was nine.

And the figures from the Office for National Statistics’ report, Drinking: Adults’ behaviour and knowledge in 2007, revealed that the Welsh are drinking more alcohol, on average, than their Scottish counterparts.

The alcohol consumption figures show an overall fall, with a drop of 2.5 units per week in men’s average weekly consumption compared with 2002, while women’s drinking fell by an average 1.5 units weekly over the same period.

But doctors last night said that the figures did not mean that Wales’ drinking culture is declining.

A government poll of teenagers, which is published today, found 42% started drinking before they were 13, with 29% saying they drink to get drunk.

Dr Tony Calland, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Welsh Council, said there is still a problem with excess drinking in Wales.

“A lot of men and women drink more than that,” he said. “But the figures are brought down by people who don’t drink at all.

“It’s a misleading figure to use an average.

“I’m not surprised about those statistics because some people don’t drink very much. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people who drink more than the recommended amounts.”

The statistics, which were published yesterday, also reveal that one-in-five men and one-in- 10 women drink on at least five out of seven nights a week.

Dr Calland added that it was not simply a matter of how often people drink alcohol, but how much which is more important.

“There’s some evidence that binge drinking is more dangerous than constant low-level drinking. People still need to be aware of what they are drinking, whether it’s 10 pints on a Saturday night or a bottle of wine with dinner on a weeknight,” he said.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to minimise the risks of drinking too much. And these results don’t mean we can all drink freely without thinking about the consequences.”

The statistics also reveal that more people are opting to drink in their own homes, rather than spend their hard-earned money in the pub.

More than half the people asked, consumed their alcohol at home, with only a third of men and less than a quarter of women doing their drinking in a pub.

John Price, secretary of the Welsh Licensed Victuallers Association, said this was further evidence that the smoking ban, which was introduced last year, is “crippling” Welsh pubs.

He said, “It’s not a surprise and I warned people this would happen. The ban has completely killed off the community feeling in pubs.

“This was always going to happen. Trade in the Valleys has dropped by over 30% recently.

“People have their drinks at home and then go out because it’s cheaper. We can’t compete with the supermarket prices and a lot of pubs have to close down.”

Western Mail