Attitudes to alcohol: findings from the 2015 British Social Attitudes survey

Document type: Report
Author(s): Fuller, Elizabeth; Simpson, Ian
Publisher: NatCen
Date of publication: 1 June 2016
Series: British Social Attitudes 33; Alcohol
Subject(s): Social Policy, Substance Misuse

Collection: Social welfare
Material type: Reports

This paper presents new findings on attitudes to alcohol.

The use of alcohol is part of life for a large proportion of the British public. However, there is relatively strong public support for tighter government regulation of alcohol in some areas, including the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing and strengthening drink-driving laws.

Key findings:

Those who drink the most alcohol, classified as ‘increasing-risk drinkers’, are significantly less likely to support the principle of MUP than others. Less than one-third support the idea, compared with over half of ‘lower-risk drinkers’ and non-drinkers.
Nearly half of people (46%) think that MUP would be effective in reducing young people’s drinking.
Just over one-third of people (36%) think MUP would be effective in reducing heavy drinking.