Skip to main content

Britain’s Christmas drinking habits revealed

Seasonal research into Britain’s drinking habits highlights that over a quarter of British adults (26 per cent) will consume more than 15 units of alcohol over Christmas, 24 to 26 December – the equivalent of 12.9 million people. This is well over the National Health Service’s recommended consumption of 9-12 units for men and 6-9 units for women over a three day period.
December 24, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Seasonal research into Britain’s drinking habits highlights that over a quarter of British adults (26 per cent) will consume more than 15 units of alcohol over Christmas, 24 to 26 December – the equivalent of 12.9 million people. This is well over the National Health Service’s recommended consumption of 9-12 units for men and 6-9 units for women over a three day period.

The study was carried out by Steak Group on behalf of gadget insurer gadgetbuddy.com which has been reviewing the latest smartphone breathalysers. In a look at those exceeding 15 units between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day (inclusive), the North West tops the table with 31 per cent in an average year.

The lowest drinkers seem to be those in the West Midlands, where 20 per cent said they usually consume more than 15 units over the Christmas period.

Prior to and for the duration of the festive period, safety campaigns have been stepped up in a bid to reduce the number of accidents on Britain’s roads.

The results of the research suggest, of those polled, a significant number of 18-24 year olds  underestimate how long it takes for an individual’s blood alcohol level to return to zero after drinking. 17 per cent, or around just under a 1 million, believed it takes five hours or less for an individual’s blood alcohol level to reach zero if they had consumed six units. In fact, it takes on average one hour for the body to break down one unit of alcohol; this can take much longer given a range of factors including gender, weight and metabolism.

Around 85 per cent of all respondents were unaware that Smartphone breathalysers, which could help a person to see if they are over the legal limit, are available to purchase online.

Related Content

  • Measuring vehicle lengths with a single loop - promising results
    July 27, 2012
    District 7 of Caltrans has been conducting trials to see whether the use of a single inductive loop to measure vehicle lengths and so identify heavy trucks is feasible. So far, the results have been very promising, according to Lead Transportation Engineer Steve Malkson. Between them, the adjoining ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the US's two biggest, cover some 10,700 acres (43km2) and 68 miles (109km) of waterfront.
  • Government green lights road and rail improvements
    July 19, 2013
    UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2 billion order for more state of-the art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes. The 270 carriages will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe as part of the government’s overall £5.8 billion Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The trains will operate on the East Coast Main Line from 2019 and will deliver significant benefits to passengers, including boosting capacity by 18 per cent, improving trai
  • Air quality tops transportation agendas
    November 17, 2014
    Colin Sowman catches up on some of the latest research around outdoor pollution and looks at options available to authorities in areas of poor air quality. Iair quality hasn’t already reached the top of the agenda in transportation department meetings in your area, it probably soon will with national, trans-national and even global bodies calling for authorities to reduce pollution levels.
  • How ITS weathers the storm on I-80
    September 7, 2021
    Weather-related closures on Wyoming’s I-80 can cost as much as $11.7m each. But a new initiative is harnessing V2X technology to prevent snow shutting things down