The Metropolis

Chart: The number of people getting so drunk in London they need an ambulance is increasing

Mike Pollitt | Friday 14 December, 2012 10:40

The Standard’s best writer (Brian Sewell, naturally, excepted) is Richard Godwin. He has a note in his column this week suggesting that younger people are binge drinking (you may prefer the term “getting absolutely wankered”) less.

“The disturbing scenes in London’s theme bars this Christmas party season might suggest otherwise but binge drinking looks to be in long-term decline. Out of a group of 16- to 24-year-old women surveyed by the Department of Health in 2010, 17 per cent confessed to drinking more than six units on their heaviest drinking day, compared with 27 per cent five years before.”

But a glance at the above graph shows that the number of people getting absolutely wankered in London, as measured by the number of people so wankered an ambulance is called to sort them out, is rising.

The data is available via the GLA’s London Dashboard. Here’s a breakdown:

“The highest number of binge drinkers seen by the London Ambulance Service since December 2009 (when the data was first collected) was 3,012 in August 2012. The number of cases in the most recent quarter (Aug-Oct) was 18% higher than the same quarter last year.”

In London, the number of people getting absolutely wankered is not falling. It’s increasing. I’ve yet to see a compelling explanation of why.

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