One in four adults in England did not drink alcohol in 2024, according to the Health Survey for England. The figure, based on a questionnaire of 10,000 people, rose from 19% in 2022 to 24% this year.
Women were slightly more likely to abstain, with 26% not drinking compared with 22% of men. Regional variations showed the highest proportion of non-drinkers in the West Midlands (27%) and London (26%), while north-east England had the lowest (17%).
Jem Roberts, head of external affairs at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said the rise was “encouraging” but warned of “the scale of alcohol harm in England”. He added that millions still drink at levels that increase risk of serious harm, and called for population-level measures such as minimum unit pricing and marketing bans.
Among those who did drink, 51% of men and 60% of women drank at lower-risk levels. However, 27% of men and 15% of women drank at increasing or higher risk (more than 14 units per week). People aged 65 to 74 were twice as likely as those 25 to 34 to drink at risky levels (29% vs 14%).
The survey also found that 27% of adults were inactive (less than 30 minutes of exercise a week), 46% had a longstanding illness, and 10% used e-cigarettes. Alcohol abuse is estimated to cost the NHS £4.9bn annually.
