How a large glass of wine turned us into a nation of big drinkers

People from professional and high-income households are the heaviest drinkers in Britain, and Scots drink less than people in England, figures revealed yesterday.
A report by the Office for National Statistics found that, on average, men drank 18.7 units a week during 2006, compared with nine units for women. But this rose to 22.9 units a week for men and 12.5 for women in the top socio- economic households.

By contrast, households described as routine and manual got through an average 11.6 units per person per week – 16.7 for men and 7.1 for women.

Yesterday's report, based on the 2006 General Household Survey, also suggested Scots drank less than people in England and Wales, even though rates of alcohol-related death in Scotland are more than double those in England.

Lies, damned lies etc... Those bloody middle-class wine drinkers, pissing and puking everywhere and making it impossible to walk through the city centre at night. Obviously the price of Shiraz is much too low and bars should be forced to serve wine in thimbles. Thank goodness I live in Scotland, where you never see anyone suffering from the effects of alcohol consumption.