DRINKING AGE
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Dry January . But are those who are least likely to take part – older people – the ones who would most benefit ? DDN reports
According to research published by Alcohol Change UK at the end of December , around 8.8m people – roughly one in seven UK adults – were planning to take part in Dry January this year ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / one-inseven-planning-to-do-dry-january ). How many actually made it to the end of the month without a drink is of course a different matter , but the figure shows how firmly established the campaign – now in its tenth year – has become .
It comes as alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions continue their upward trajectory . There were 280,000 alcoholspecific hospital admissions in England in 2019-20 , while the broader measure that includes a secondary diagnosis linked to alcohol saw almost 980,000 – one in 20 of all admissions ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / alcoholspecific-admissions-hit-280000 ).
According to the latest ONS figures , meanwhile , 2021 saw alcohol-specific deaths across the UK reach their highest-ever level at more than 9,600 ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / alcoholspecific-deaths-in-the-uk-reachhighest-ever-level ) – a 7 per cent increase on 2020 and almost 30 per cent higher than 2019 . Again it ’ s worth remembering that these figures only include deaths that are the result of conditions ‘ wholly attributable ’ to alcohol – primarily alcoholic liver disease – and according to ONS are therefore likely to account for only a third of all deaths that could be considered alcohol-related .
As usual , the alcohol-related death rate for men was far higher than for women , but what has changed in recent years is the age of those likely to be drinking the most . While the popular perception of ‘ binge drinkers ’ still tends to be of groups of people in their teens and twenties stumbling around town and city centres , according to the latest Health survey for England the people most likely to drink more than the weekly guidelines are now men aged between 55 and 74 and women aged 45 to 64 ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / ecstasyuse-halved-during-pandemic ).
GENERATIONAL SHIFT One key reason for this generational shift in drinking patterns is that these are people who grew up at a time when excessive drinking was seen as the norm , with habits long-since becoming ingrained – especially as most of their friends are likely to drink at similar levels . ‘ It ’ s those influences that the baby boomer generation had – that whole alcogenic environment ,’ consultant old-age psychiatrist and visiting research fellow at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust , Dr Tony Rao , tells DDN . ‘ It ’ s a combination of peer pressure , habit and lifestyle , and if you put all those into the mix you ’ ve got a generation that ’ s not ready to look at anything beyond that .’
COVID IMPACT COVID has also had a significant impact on drinking patterns , with research from a range of organisations coming to essentially the same conclusion – that while many moderate drinkers reduced their consumption during lockdowns and the pandemic as a whole , many of those who were already drinking too much began drinking even more . Researchers have warned that this is likely to cast a ‘ long shadow ’ on health , with a report from the University of Sheffield stating that it could lead to 25,000 additional deaths and almost 1m hospital admissions over the next 20 years ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / pandemic-drinking-patternswill-cast-long-shadow-on-healthsay-two-studies ). And again , it ’ s often older people who are most
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