Britain turns teetotal as 15pc say they don't drink - Telegraph.co.uk

In 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, average weekly alcohol consumption was 11.9 units. Because of the increasing strength of drinks and the trend for larger measures, a large glass of wine now counts as three units, as does a pint of continental lager.

The Smoking and Drinking Among Adults report goes on: "The falls in average consumption in recent years are partly due to rises in the proportion of people who abstain from alcohol altogether."

For the first time, the annual study includes a section on abstinence, showing that 10 per cent of people did not drink at all in 1998, but that figure had risen to 15 per cent by 2009.

Abstinence was more common among women (18 per cent) than men (12 per cent) and highest among pensioners and the under-25s.

Almost half of teetotals said they used to drink but are now on the wagon – suggesting that they could be reformed binge-drinkers.

"Of those who reported never drinking alcohol, 57 per cent said they had always been a non-drinker and 43 per cent said they had given up drinking.

"Of those who had always been non-drinkers, 48 per cent said the main reason was that they didn't like it and 28 per cent said it was for religious reasons.

"Of those who had given up drinking, 51 per cent had done so for health reasons and 22 per cent gave up because they didn't like it."

The ONS figures also show there were 8,664 alcohol-related deaths in 2009, 367 fewer than in 2008.

The middle classes continue to drink more than the working classes, with a third (35 per cent) of women in professional and managerial households exceeding the recommended alcohol intake – three units for women and four for men - on at least one day in the week before they were interviewed, compared with 23 per cent of those on lower incomes.

Older people also tend to drink more regularly than younger generations, with a fifth (20 per cent) of those aged 65 and over drinking on five or more days a week compared with 10 per cent of those aged 25 to 44 and 4 per cent of those aged 16 to 24.