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Aims: To understand the extent of the alcohol industry's financial dependence on drinking above government low‐risk guidelines in England. Design Scenario modelling using descriptive analyses of pooled data from the 2013 and 2014 waves of two nationally representative surveys: the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF). We estimated the proportion of alcohol sales revenue accounted for by drinkers above guideline levels, and how this varies between different beverage and retailer types. We then estimated the impact on sales revenue if the entire population reduced their drinking to within guideline levels, as well as the average price increases necessary to compensate for such a loss of revenue. Setting England. Participants: A total of 16 872 individual (HSE) and 9975 household (LCF) survey respondents. Measurements Transaction‐level estimates of volume of alcohol purchased and price paid by beverage type and trade sector. Findings Those drinking above guideline levels are estimated to account for 68% of total alcohol sales revenue in 2013/14: 81% of off‐trade revenue and 60% of on‐trade revenue. This represents 77% of beer, 70% of cider, 66% of wine and 50% of spirits sales value. The heaviest drinking 4% of the population account for 30% of all consumption and 23% of all industry revenue. If all consumers reduced their drinking to within guideline levels, alcohol sales revenue could decline by 38% (£13 billion). To mitigate this loss, average prices paid would have to rise substantially—for example, by £2.64 for a pint of on‐trade beer or £12.25 for a 70 cl bottle of off‐trade spirits. Conclusions: In England, the alcohol industry appears to be highly financially dependent upon heavy drinking, and might face significant financial losses were consumers to drink within guideline levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Crude single-item consumption metrics, such as “binge drinking” measures, mask the complexity and heterogeneity in young people's drinking; thus limiting our understanding of young people's drinking patterns as well as how alcohol drinking is associated with violent outcomes.Objectives: The current study employed a range of consumption and contextual indicators to explore heterogeneity in young people's (16–29 years) drinking practices, giving due consideration to their social nature. It also assessed to what extent heterogeneity in drinking practices was associated with violent outcomes.Methods: Employing data from the 2006 Offending Crime and Justice Survey, three measures of alcohol consumption and nine drinking context indicators were utilized within latent class analysis to create typologies of drinking practices among current drinkers in England and Wales (n= 2711) and examine their association with violent outcomes. The validity of the typologies was also assessed on age, sex, and socio-economic status.Results: Three discernible drinking profiles were identified: “regular social drinkers” (48%), “regular pub binge drinkers” (32%), and “moderate drinkers” (20%). The “regular pub binge drinkers” were found to be more than twice as likely to commit an assault offence (odds ratio = 2.8 95% CI [1.3, 6.2]) when compared to “moderate drinkers” and “regular social drinkers” (odds ratio = 2.2 95% CI [1.4, 3.4]).Conclusions: Interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence ought to give due consideration to the social context of drinking as well as levels of consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a qualitative exploration of the relationship between life events and reduction in drinking. The 17 participants were all heavy drinkers who had experienced a life event in the previous two years and who had decreased their alcohol consumption. They were selected from a cohort of 500 untreated heavy drinkers in the English West Midlands. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. Participants discussed the decision to decrease in terms of: "needing to" decrease in order to prevent harm, "having to" decrease because of responsibilities, and "being able to" cut down as a by-product of other changes. It is argued that drinking change may occur for diverse reasons, and needs to be seen, not only as an individual decision-making process, but in relation to the discursive, social and environmental context in which drinking is embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]