“It is welcome that underage drinking continues to decline and is now at its lowest recorded level. This indicates that the combination of robust ID schemes, life skills education and programmes to tackle underage drinking are having a real impact.
These figures show that the majority of people consume alcohol safely and sensibly, and that more of us are drinking within low risk guidelines. Most encouragingly, the number of adults drinking at high risk levels has fallen 17% since last year. These positive trends are part of a decade-long reduction in harmful drinking and indicate that policy is on the right track.
Whilst the national picture is improving, there are still communities that suffer disproportionately from alcohol misuse. These challenges need targeted, local interventions built on strong, effective partnerships between local authorities, health services, police, businesses and the voluntary sector.”
Henry Ashworth
Chief Executive, Portman Group
NOTES TO EDITORS:
NHS Digital Health Survey for England 2015