Brits will consume at least 602m units of alcohol this Christmas

11th December 2009, 3:09pm

At least 602 million units of alcohol will be consumed at festive celebrations in December, according to new research launched by alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware.

The equivalent of 265 million pints, 602 million shots of vodka or 286 million glasses of mulled wine will be guzzled on Christmas Day and work Christmas parties, with nearly half (47%) predicting they will drink more than the recommended daily unit guidelines.

According to Drinkaware, one in seven adults (14%) drink more than they mean to over Christmas while one in six (16%) say December is the one month of the year they can drink and not feel guilty. 

More than one in three Brits (36%) will go to three or more festive-related events and more than half (53%) say they will drink alcohol at most or all festive parties they attend.  More men are expected to drink over their unit guidelines during the festive season (54%) than women (41%).

To determine the extent of British festive drinking, Drinkaware is unveiling a live examination of the nation's drinking habits.  A seven square metre touch screen in Covent Garden in central London will link to a festive version of the charity's unit calculator on the Drinkaware website, allowing people to enter what they've had to drink in the last 24 hours. 

Similar events in Glasgow, Leeds and Birmingham will make it easy for people across the country to take part in what is believed to be the largest-scale interactive assessment of the nation's drinking ever undertaken. 

Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware, said: "For many people, December and the festive season is a time for getting together with loved ones and celebrating over a drink or two, or even more!  It might feel like party time, but it's still really important to keep track of how much you're drinking - the long term effects of drinking to excess can last for much longer than Christmas."

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