United Kingdom: Scots drink more than their English counterparts

Scots each consume the equivalent of 120 more pints of beer every year than their English counterparts, The Telegraph cited a new research on July, 21.

The Scottish Executive research suggests adults north of the Border buy on average 24 per cent more alcohol than shoppers in England and Wales

This equates to about an extra two-and-a-half pints a week, or two glasses of medium-strength wine.

Shops and off licenses account for 68 per cent of all drink sales in Scotland, double the figure from pubs, bars and nightclubs, the study states.

Scots’ preference for drinking at home is explained by the fact that alcohol from shops costs around 43p per unit on average, compared to £1.31 in licensed premises.

The report uses data obtained from The Nielsen Company, which collects weekly sales records from all major supermarkets and a sample of smaller shops.

It shows every Scot aged 18 and over bought an average of 1,227 units of alcohol in 2009, the equivalent of 23.6 units or about 12 pints of beer per week.

The comparable total in England and Wales was 988 units, or 19 units per week. This means the average Scottish adult consumed 239 units, or 120 pints, more last year than their peers south of the Border.

21 July, 2010