Health Survey England Additional Analyses, Ethnicity and Health, 2011-2019 Experimental statistics

The health risks associated with drinking alcohol include accidents, injuries, cancer, heart disease and reduced life expectancy¹. These risks tend to increase with higher consumption.

Since 2016, UK guidelines have focused on regular weekly consumption, with the recommendation that men and women should not normally consume more than 14 units of alcohol a week, and that this should include some days where no alcohol is drunk.² Guidance on single drinking episodes focuses on reducing risks rather than specific quantities.

The HSE measures average weekly consumption and does not take into account varying patterns of consumption, for example, at different times of year. By definition it does not reflect occasions when consumption might be higher or lower than usual, for instance, holidays, celebrations or periods of fasting.

Measures of usual weekly consumption are presented in line with the current guidelines for sensible drinking³:

• Lower risk (up to 14 units for men and women)
• Increasing risk (above 14 and up to 50 units for men, above 14 and up to 35 units for women)
• Higher risk (above 50 units a week for men, above 35 units for women)

One unit of alcohol is 10ml by volume of pure alcohol.

The Health Survey for England (HSE) has asked about drinking alcohol since it began in 1993. Since 2011, the questionnaire has included the following areas covered by this report:

• Frequency of drinking in the last 12 months (including those who never drink)
• The frequency of drinking different types of drink and the amounts of each drunk on a typical day in the last 12 months (providing average weekly consumption)
• Number of drinking days in the last week

Alcohol consumption is reported in terms of units of alcohol; one unit of alcohol is 10ml by volume of pure alcohol. Table A shows the conversion factors used currently. Those who drank bottled or canned beer, lager, stout or cider were asked in detail about what they drank, and this information was used to estimate the amount in pints.

Between 2011 and 2019, men were more likely than women to report that they had drunk alcohol in the past 12 months.⁴

Over the period, the proportions of non-drinkers stayed at similar levels, between 14% and 17% of men and 20% and 23% of women. The proportions who drank alcohol at lower risk levels varied between 28% and 34% of men and between 14% and 18% of women.

The patterns of drinking alcohol differed markedly between ethnic groups. Bangladeshi and Pakistani men and women were less likely to drink than those from other backgrounds. 3% of Pakistani women, 8% of Bangladeshi women and 10% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani men had drunk alcohol in the last 12 months. In other groups, the proportions of adults who had drunk alcohol in the past 12 months was between 53% and 91% for men and between 38% and 85% for women.

When age was taken into account, men from all white backgrounds were most likely to have drunk alcohol in the past 12 months. Men from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds were least likely to have done so.

A similar pattern was found for women. The proportions of women who had drunk alcohol were generally lower than their male counterparts⁵.

Once age was taken into account, drinking at least once a week was most common among white British and white Irish men and women and least common among Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women⁶.

The proportions of adults who usually drank 14 or more units of alcohol a week varied considerably across groups. Between 1% and 25% of men and between 1% and 13% of women in most groups drank at this level. The proportions of white Irish and white British adults who drank more than 14 units were higher.  45% of white Irish men and 36% of white British men drank at this level. The same was true of 23% of white Irish women and 18% of white British women.

Taking age into account, drinking above 14 units a week was most common among white Irish men and was also high among white British men. Drinking at this level was least common among Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black African men.

There was a similar pattern among women; white Irish women were most likely to drink above recommended levels and the proportion of white British women who drank at this level was also higher than in other groups. Pakistani, Indian, black African and Bangladeshi women were least likely to drink above recommended levels once age was taken into account⁷.