UK alcohol consumption down 2.1%
Consumption per head is now 18.4% lower than 2004’s 9.5 litre figure, when the current trend began, says the British Beer & Pub Association which compiles the new data every year based on HMRC alcohol tax returns.
In total, over seven billion fewer units of alcohol were drunk in the UK in 2013 compared with 2004. Alcohol consumption per head last year was the lowest this century, according to the BBPA’s Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds.
“We have now experienced a decade of falling alcohol consumption,” she commented, “While total consumption per head is not synonymous with alcohol-related harm, these are interesting figures as the percentage of those drinking at harmful levels has also been falling, as have the number of under-18s drinking.
“The industry will continue to work to tackle alcohol misuse but there are several encouraging trends and accurate and up-to-date figures are important for the debate around alcohol.”
The lowest per capita consumption figure over the past few years was in 1980 where a figure of 7.4 litres was recorded.