Ten per cent drink 50 p.c. of alcohol

Press, 6 October 1980, Page 4

Ten per cent drink 50 p.c. of alcohol

PA Wellington More than half the alcohol consumed in New Zealand is drunk by less than 10 per cent of the population, according to a national survey on drinking habits conducted by the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council and the Alcohol Research Unit.

Findings of the survey, of 10,000 people aged between 14 and 05, are published in a report, “Drinking by New Zealanders.” The report says that 57 per cent of the alcohol produced is consumed by only 9 per cent of the drinking population. According to the report, just under 10 per cent of the sample said they did not drink. Of the remainder, 14 per cent of the men and 8 per cent of the women were classed as “heavy drinkers” — male heavy drainkers consuming 60ml or more absolute alcohol per day (about 71 hotel nips of spirits or 71 7oz glasses of beer) and females 40ml or more (about five hotel nips or five 7oz beers). The 9 per cent which consumes most of New Zealand’s liquor are at the top of this “heavy drinkers” category.

For both sexes the amounts of liquor consumed peaked in the 18 to 23 years age-group and then dropped gradually until the age of 55 to 65. The variation with age was more marked for men than for women.

Women reported that they drank less than men at all ages except 14 and 15.

. Marital status, too, can have a bearing on how much people drink, the report says. Single women under 45 are more likely than married women of that agegroup to consume 40ml or more of absolute alcohol per day, but aged more than 45, single women are less likely- than their married sisters to drink at that level, according to the report. The proportion of heavy drinkers is also higher among widowed. separated, or divorced women under 23, and senarated men in all age groups, The survey also looked at drinking in relation to occupation. It found that generally unskilled and semi-skilled people consume the largest amounts of alcohol on one occasion. while those in managerial and professional oc-

cupations drink less at one sitting but drink more frequently. Looking at drinking habits in terms of race, the survey indicated that Maoris and Pacific Islanders drink more alcohol on one occasion than pakehas but drink less frequently. There are also many more abstainers among Maori women (28 per cent) and Pacific Island women (57 per cent) compared with w o m e n i n the

"pakeha/other” group (12 per cent). The survey also indicated that beer was the favourite drink among male “heavy drinkers,” 50 per cent having only beer on their last drinking occasion.

Heavy drinkers were more likely to have alco-hol-related traffic accidents than their less indulgent colleagues, the survey found. More liver problems and regular use of stomach medications were reported. About one in five heavy drinking men. feel they drink too much and about half of them have “wanted” to cut down at some stage, according to the report.