Nine 'types' of heavy drinkers identified

The Department of Health (DoH) have announced research findings identifying 9 types of heavy drinker; those regularly drinking at least twice the recommended guidelines of 35 units a week for women and 50 a week for men. The DoH commissioned the research in order to develop targeted social marketing campaigns to help reduce the harm caused by heavy drinking. Alcohol is reported to currently cost the NHS £2.7 billion a year but the DoH have been taking increasing measures to address alcohol related hospital admissions.

The 9 personality types of heavy drinker were summarised in a Guardian article this week as:

· "De-stress drinkers" use alcohol to regain control of life and calm down. They include middle-class women and men.

· "Conformist drinkers" are driven by the need to belong and seek a structure to their lives. They are typically men aged 45 to 59 in clerical or manual jobs.

· "Boredom drinkers" consume alcohol to pass the time, seeking stimulation to relieve the monotony of life. Alcohol helps them to feel comforted and secure.

· "Depressed drinkers" may be of any age, gender or socioeconomic group. They crave comfort, safety and security.

· "Re-bonding drinkers" are driven by a need to keep in touch with people who are close to them.

· "Community drinkers" are motivated by the need to belong. They are usually lower middle class men and women who drink in large friendship groups.

· "Hedonistic drinkers" crave stimulation and want to abandon control. They are often divorced people with grown-up children, who want to stand out from the crowd.

· "Macho drinkers" spend most of their spare time in pubs. They are mostly men of all ages who want to stand out from the crowd.

· "Border dependents" regard the pub as a home from home. They visit it during the day and the evening, on weekdays and at weekends, drinking fast and often.

Following the research, a new pilot campaign has been launched in the North-West which will include new self-help packs allowing drinkers to calculate the medical risks associated with various levels of intake, according to a report from the Press Association.

The DoH, alongside government departments including the Home Office, have delivered a number of high profile campaigns and materials over the last year, including targeted work on raising unit awareness through the Know Your Limits site.

Comments

[Don Shenker]

I think DH were poorly advised on this one. The research on heavy drinkers that was done is actually quite good, but to package and release it in this way was a poor decision. It just seems like marketing speak and that puts a lot of people off. If the maketing bods at DH were clever they wouldn't have released this and just got on with thier campaigns. However, AC did release a supportive quote as at least they're spending money on trying to target particular groups. It remains to be seen if the 'Mad Men' will succeed...

[Rachel Seabrook]

I heard the original presentation of this study, and describing the nine types as 'research findings' is overstating it a bit, to say the least. I think the Department of Health have been rather misleading in the way they have presented this. It is actually the first stage in a much larger project aimed at developing health messages that will be best heard by those that need them.

[andy paterson]

what about the i can,t deal with that drinker. the one like myself who could not deal with his or other peoples emotions. i didn,t know now and didn,t want too. lets call him the blocker .everything emotion will disappear with a drink or ten .drink was my shied against the world and at that point in time it was the only way i knew how to cope with life , block it and every-body out. so we have the blocker, ps im better now

[Sheila Joyce Gibbs]

Well, you folks have certainly been busy! & must be extremely well educated in this field. As a recovering alcoholic now for 17 mos 6 days, I can't see which of those are applicable to me. Where are those who drink to calm their nerves, when they realize their work day is done & they have to return to their 'mate' which they shouldn't have married in the first place!
Sorry guys, but there are a lot of us out here. And don't forget that Alcohol caused illness's are sprouting faster than much of society is aware. Reason being, I've found, that about 85% of them, are too ashamed to speak of it. In the meantime, I have yet to find any healthy drinkers who are at all aware of any health risks, if consumed within proper standards. Therefore, what knowledge are we giving our youth???
We warn them plenty about DRUGS, then drunkeness & binging, but I have yet to see or hear of any guidance regarding health effects of moderate liquor consumption !?!