'Binge drinking has become the normalised drinking experience for Irish adults' — survey
In 2019 they found 75% of people agreed with the statement “drinking to excess is just part of Irish culture”. This has now dropped to 50% of those who responded.
More people are binge drinking now than at the start of the pandemic, and fewer people are teetotal, a survey from Drinkaware has found.
Binge drinking is becoming more regular and more normalised. The annual Drinkaware Barometer indicates that 55% of people who drink have engaged in binge drinking over the last month.
This is an increase of 20% compared to 2020 (46%). They also found just 17% of adults ‘don’t drink’ compared to 28% for 2020.
Overall they found 27% of adults, when they do drink, typically binge drink.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming 60 grams of pure alcohol, or six standard drinks, in one sitting. This works out at around three pints.
Weekly guidelines indicate men should drink less than 17 standard drinks with at least two alcohol-free days.
This could equal seven pints of beer and three pub measures of spirits during a week.
Women are advised to stick to eleven standard drinks with at least two alcohol-free days. This could equal one bottle of wine and three pub measures of spirits during a week.
The survey, published on Monday, found for the third year in a row, over half of adults drink alcohol at least on a weekly basis.
However, the survey also identified a change in attitude to excessive drinking, with less than one in three now thinking it is no big deal compared to 50% during 2019.
During 2019 they found 75% of people agreed with the statement “drinking to excess is just part of Irish culture”. This has now dropped to 50% of responses.
Drinkaware CEO Sheena Horgan said the steady increase in consumption cannot be ignored.
“For the third year in a row over half of the Irish adult population are drinking alcohol on at least a weekly basis, and the levels of binge drinking are increasing, with a 35% increase since the start of the pandemic,” she said.
“The amount we drink, when we drink is just as, if not more important, than the frequency of when we drink.”
She urged: “It is clear through our research that binge drinking has become the normalised drinking experience for Irish adults, and as a collective society we need to act.”
Research has shown binge drinking increases the likelihood of a person experiencing both short- and long-term harm.
Drinkaware cautioned that the increasing levels of binge drinking being reported year-on-year through the annual survey need to be urgently addressed.
In terms of people wanting to change their relationship with alcohol the survey found 30% would like to drink less often and 35% agree they have already made small positive changes to their drinking habits over the last month.
People gave a number of reasons for trying to drink less. This included 63% of respondents who said it is to improve their physical health, 37% to booster their personal finances and 32% because they are worried about their mental health.
Ms Horgan said these figures are positive and should also be focused on by policy-makers as part of tackling excessive drinking.
“The positive shift in cultural expectancies is one that merits recognition of the awareness raising, educational, environment and policy measures that have taken place in recent years, with the caveat that of course much more needs to be done,” she said.
The charity also said only 3% of the population know the low-risk drinking guidelines.
The Drinkaware Barometer 2022 is a national population-based survey of 1,000 adults aged 18+ conducted by Behaviour and Attitudes in May/June 2022.
Drinkaware is a national independent charity, funded by donations including from alcohol retailers, producers and distributors.
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