Almost 1 in 2 people are turning to stronger alcohol brands due to cost-of-living crisis
28% of people in Dorset drink more when they're anxious, study finds
More than a quarter of people surveyed in Dorset say they “drink more when they're anxious” according to With You, a drug, alcohol and mental health charity.
In fact, 70% of students in their mental health survey said that they’d turned to either drink or drugs to deal with anxiety.
The study was released amid concerns that more people are turning to cheaper and stronger forms of alcohol due to the cost-of-living crisis.
56% of people say they are buying more alcohol from supermarkets, with 45% choosing supermarket brands.
With You issued a statement saying: “The worry here is that 39% are aware that when they buy cheaper alcohol it contains higher alcohol content, which could lead to issues related to alcohol dependence.”
Helena Conibear from the Alcohol Education Trust in Dorset confirmed these findings: “We've definitely got more home drinking now because it's expensive to go out to pubs and clubs.”
However, conversations are being had between the government and alcohol producers to reduce alcohol levels and although there are still a few “problem brands” there's been “a lot of work to and improve that.”
Helena noted that there’s been a concerning change in drinking tendencies more recently.
She said: “We've seen a change in how people are drinking from social drinking to drinking to cope with anxiety and loneliness which is extremely worrying because that leads to addiction.”
According to With You, 21% of people in Dorset admit to drinking more "when they're sad or feel isolated".
But there are positive signs with young people as Helena noted “we’ve got a really well-behaved young generation”.
According to the Alcohol Education Trust, less than 2 in 10 people go out to get drunk between the ages of 16 and 24.
Helena said: “Problematic drinking has really, really fallen amongst young adults and that's partly to do with change of socialisation, things like gaming, less going to the pub and the overall cost of going out.”