Skip to main content

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Volume 476: debated on Tuesday 3 June 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records she holds on levels of binge drinking by (a) men and (b) women over the last 10 years, broken down by age groups. (206765)

The Home Office does not routinely collect records on levels of binge drinking by age and gender although a number of ad hoc studies have been published over the past decade. These are as listed.

It is also worth noting that there is no universally agreed definition of binge drinking, but the term has generally been used to describe a pattern of drinking that involves drinking alcohol to excess over a short period of time.

Underage drinking: findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey Matthews et al (2006) Home Office Findings 277). The report can be found here:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/r277.pdf

Findings from the 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey: alcohol related crime and disorder. Matthews, S. and Richardson, A. (2005) Home Office Findings 261). The report can be found here:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/r261.pdf

Alcohol, Crime and disorder: a study of young adults. Richardson, A. and Budd, T. (2003) Home Office Research Study 263). The report can be found here:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors263.pdf

Drunk and disorderly: a qualitative study of binge drinking among 18 to 24-year-olds, Engineer et al, (2003) Home Office research Study 262. The report can be found here:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors262.pdf

The impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on levels of crime and disorder: an evaluation. The report can be found here:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/horr04c.pdf