Press Release - ONS updates alcohol survey methodology13 Dec 2007
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is to update the methods it uses to estimate alcohol consumption in drinking surveys, reflecting increases in the alcoholic strength of some drinks and the measures in which they are served.
The changes, which are set out in a report published by ONS today, relate mainly to wine consumption but also update estimates of the alcoholic strengths of beers, lagers and ciders. Recent years have seen an increase in the availability of stronger wines, especially those from the New World, while wine glasses larger than the ‘traditional’ 125ml are increasingly popular in
licensed premises.
Reflecting this, ONS surveys will in future include a question relating to wine glass size, while at the same time the presumed alcoholic content of an ‘average’ glass of wine will be increased.
Improved estimates for beers, lagers and ciders will also be introduced.
While not reflecting a real change in individuals’ drinking habits, the updates produce higher alcohol consumption. Applied to General Household Survey data for 2005, the updated methodology shows average weekly alcohol consumption as approximately one-third higher, up from 10.8 units to 14.3 units.
The first full results using the updated methodology will be available with the publication of the annual reports from the 2006 General Household Survey and the 2007 ONS Omnibus survey on 22 January 2008. The methodology will also be applied to the 2006 Health Survey for Information Centre for health and social care in late January 2008.
Read Full Press Release
Download Report: GSS Methodology Series No 37 Estimating alcohol consumption from survey data: updated method of converting volumes to units
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