Big earners more likely to be binge drinkers

High-income earners are more likely to be binge drinkers than those from lower-paid households, an NHS report has found.

By The Newsroom

Published 17th Dec 2010, 09:16 BST

Updated 17th Dec 2010, 09:16 BST

Significantly more people in the richest fifth of the country are drinking at least double the recommended daily limit (2-4 units) each week compared with workers from the poorest backgrounds. Men and women in the top wage bracket are also much more likely to have drunk any amount of alcohol in the last seven days – 86 per cent and 72 per cent respectively – than those at the bottom end of the pay scale – 54 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women.

Meanwhile Yorkshire and Humber residents are among the country's heaviest drinkers, the Health Survey for England, said. The region was in the top three for both men and women binge drinkers.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: "The figures show the extent to which people from all backgrounds drink alcohol both frequently and in quantities that could be harmful to their health. "