Continuous Household Survey, 2006/07

One of the main regular sources of information on drinking prevalence in Northern Ireland is provided by the Continuous Household Survey. The survey is based on a set sample of 4,500 addresses selected each year from a random sample of private households in Northern Ireland. The questionnaire consists of both a household interview and an individual interview, with each person aged 16 and over. Questions on drinking habits are asked every other year.

The most recent results available are for 2006/07.

Prevalence of drinking by gender and age, 1986 to 2006/07

Gender and age	1986	1990/91	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07	Base (2006/07) = 100%*
Male	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
18-24	75	78	82	83	83	88	90	87	91	100
25-44	81	86	85	86	85	88	87	91	88	519
45-64	66	74	80	76	77	75	81	80	79	535
65+	59	64	62	66	63	63	66	64	63	318
All	72	77	78	78	78	79	81	81	80	1,472

Gender and age	1986	1990/91	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07	Base (2006/07) = 100%*
Female	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
18-24	67	76	78	80	83	79	86	85	86	178
25-44	73	78	81	82	82	81	84	86	81	835
45-64	50	61	64	66	66	66	72	71	75	696
65+	34	41	40	45	43	37	45	42	46	427
All	58	65	67	69	69	67	73	72	72	2,136

Gender and age	1986	1990/91	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07	Base (2006/07) = 100%*
All	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
18-24	71	77	80	82	83	82	88	86	88	278
25-44	77	81	83	83	83	84	85	88	84	1,354
45-64	57	67	71	71	71	70	76	75	77	1,231
65+	45	51	49	54	51	47	54	52	53	745
All	64	71	72	73	73	72	76	76	75	3,608

Level of alcohol consumption among persons aged 18 and over by gender, 1986 to 2006/07

	1986	1990/91	1992/93	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07
Males	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Non-drinker	28	23	23	22	22	22	21	19	19	20
Below sensible levels¹	61	60	59	58	56	56	50	48	52	52
Above sensible levels but below dangerous levels²	9	14	14	16	17	18	19	22	20	20
Dangerous levels²	2	3	4	5	5	4	9	11	9	8
Sample base (all males)	2,193	2,511	2,382	2,237	1,993	1,839	1,752	1,735	1,590	1,472

	1986	1991/91	1992/93	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07
Females	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Non-drinker	42	35	33	33	30	31	33	27	28	28
Below sensible levels¹	55	60	60	60	61	59	57	61	61	61
Above sensible levels but below dangerous levels²	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	9	10	10
Dangerous levels²	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1
Sample base (all females)	2,743	3,088	3,000	2,953	2,643	2,580	2,520	2,352	2,198	2,136

	1986	1991/91	1992/93	1994/95	1996/97	1998/99	2000/01	2002/03	2004/05	2006/07
All	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Non-drinker	36	29	29	28	27	27	28	24	24	25
Below sensible levels¹	58	60	60	59	59	58	54	56	57	57
Above sensible levels but below dangerous levels²	5	8	9	10	12	12	13	15	14	14
Dangerous levels²	1	2	2	3	3	2	5	6	5	4
Sample base (all persons)	4,872	5,585	5,382	5,190	4,636	4,419	4,272	4,087	3,955	3,608

¹Recommended sensible levels used are from the previous sensible drinking message - 21 units of alcohol per week for men and 14 units per week for women.

²For the purposes of the CHS, dangerous levels were defined as 50 units per week for men and 35 units per week for women.

To obtain further results on alcohol consumption from the Continuous Household Survey click here.

Reference

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Continuous Household Survey. Belfast: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Available at www.csu.nisra.gov.uk/surveys/survey.asp?id=1&details=3&topicId=39 accessed 31 October 2007.

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