From the BBC
The government believes it has identified nine types of heavy drinker as it launches a new alcohol campaign.
Research by the Department of Health in England with focus groups found heavy drinkers often fell into one of a number of categories.
These ranged from de-stress and depressed drinkers to people who boozed because of boredom or to bond.
Experts said helping people to understand the reasons for their drinking habits was "very useful".
THE NINE TYPES OF DRINKER
Depressed drinker
De-stress drinker
Re-bonding drinker
Conformist drinker
Community drinker
Boredom drinker
Macho drinker
Hedonistic drinker
Border dependents
The nine types of heavy drinker
The research showed that those drinking heavily - defined as consuming 35 units a week for women, 50 for men, which is twice the recommended limit - did so for a variety of reasons.
For example, de-stress drinkers were defined as people in pressured jobs who used alcohol to relax.
Whereas it said bonding drinkers could be anyone in society who had hectic social lives and lost track of their drinking.
The research was done to inform a new drive by ministers to crack down on heavy drinkers.
A pilot is being run in the north west of England over the coming months to specifically target heavy drinkers.
Over 900,000 households will receive leaflets through the post highlighting the link between drinking and conditions such as cancer and liver disease.
The campaign is focusing on adults aged over 35 who fall into the nine drinking categories.
Along with the information about disease risk, people will be given details about where they can go to get help.
This will include a website where they can calculate their own individual risk from drinking and get access to a self-help manual. A telephone helpline will also be set up.
The government hopes the tailored approach will help 4,000 people in the region to reduce their drinking within a year.
If it is successful, officials hope to roll it out to other parts of England.
Public health minister Dawn Primarolo admitted these heavy drinkers were a "tough one to crack".
But she added: "This is a totally fresh approach to helping people understand the effects of their drinking habits and help them make changes for the better."
Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: "This type of marketing is very useful.
"In order to get people to examine their drinking they need to become aware of why they are doing it and what motivates them."
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The Nine Types of Drinker
Name Characteristics Key motivations
Depressed drinker Life in a state of crisis eg recently bereaved, divorced or in financial crisis Alcohol is a comforter and a form of self-medication used to help them cope
De-stress drinker Pressurised job or stressful home life leads to feelings of being out of control and burdened with responsibility Alcohol is used to relax, unwind and calm down and to gain a sense of control when switching between work and personal life. Partners often support or reinforce behaviour by preparing drinks for them
Re-bonding drinker Relevant to those with a very busy social calendar Alcohol is the ‘shared connector' that unifies and gets them on the same level. They often forget the time and the amount they are consuming
Conformist drinker Traditional guys who believe that going to the pub every night is ‘what men do' Justify it as ‘me time'. The pub is their second home and they feel a strong sense of belonging and acceptance within this environment
Community drinker Drink in fairly large social friendship groups The sense of community forged through the pub-group. Drinking provides a sense of safety and security and gives their lives meaning. It also acts a social network
Boredom drinker Typically single mums or recent divorcees with restricted social life Drinking is company, making up for an absence of people. Drinking marks the end of the day, perhaps following the completion of chores
Macho drinker Often feeling under-valued, disempowered and frustrated in important areas of their life Have actively cultivated a strong ‘alpha male' that revolves around their drinking ‘prowess'. Drinking is driven by a constant need to assert their masculinity and status to themselves and others
Hedonistic drinker Single, divorced and/or with grown up children Drinking excessively is a way of visibly expressing their independence, freedom and ‘youthfulness' to themselves. Alcohol used to release inhibitions
Border dependents Men who effectively live in the pub which, for them, is very much a home from home
A combination of motives, including boredom, the need to conform, and a general sense of malaise in their live
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Comments
Football day drinker
(what a pile of old tosh!)
30th Sept wil see that change LOL
final exam date?
Its my birthday the day before, a bloody Monday/school night, other half in Tokyo on business, not going to palarse, what a sad existence I live currently.
Agreed.
How about the government doing something about the causes, the de-stress drinker for example, make bosses stop piling pressure on their workers, forcing them to work long hours, miss lunch etc? But that wont happen, because the bosses bankroll the government...
Get a few bottles in and become a Boredom drinker ; - )
If I do get an opportunity these days I usually drink while relaxing indoors.
I have to get my own (and hers if she wants one) drinks though!
That makes me depressed or de-stress presumably by the criteria above. Hardly ever go to the Pub anymore.
That reminds me, I've got some Tanglefoots (or is that Tanglefeet) in the fridge.
What Bollux, though - Community drink? We'd just sweated our arses off - and were desperate for a drink.
Anything would do, even a cup of tea.
But the pub's nearest, so a couple of pints of Otter.
(from Ottery St Mary Brewery, in Devon)
I always find it screws ypou up a bit to do the exercise than get pissed after.........
Id say Ive been all of those at one time or another except the macho, hedonistic and border.........
Although the border one was probably to do with financial constaints rather than the want to sit in the pub all day....
Well said. I just enjoy a pint. Or ten it the mood takes me, but what shocks (or don't really) is the fact that someone has been paid to produce that.
What happened to good old fashioned, going to the pub to get leathered. Or going out for a quiet one, or going out for a cheeky one, or good new fashioned binge drinking.
Or how about group social drinking to pay a we bit more deposit into the public sector wrokers fund? Always makes me feel good. No. Really
;-)
Palace away silly nuts