A THIRD of Islanders consider getting drunk to be “socially acceptable” behaviour, a new survey has shown.
The alcohol survey, carried out by Island Global Research, asked more than 1,200 people for their views, most of whom expressed concern about the impact of alcohol consumption across a range of headings.
Among the results of the survey, released on Friday, 8% “strongly agreed” that getting drunk was socially acceptable and a further 25% said they “agreed”, while 47% responded with disagreement or strong disagreement.
Drinking in moderation was considered “acceptable” by 91% of respondents.
Asked about their drink-related concerns, 53% said they were “very concerned” about antisocial behaviour resulting from alcohol consumption with another 33% being “somewhat” concerned.
The implications to the healthcare system were “very concerning” for 38% of respondents, “somewhat concerning” for 39% of respondents, while the combined total of those concerned about the health of drinkers was an almost-identical 76%.
Fewer people were concerned about the impact of alcohol consumption on their own health (36%) and behaviour (20%).
Turning to measures to reduce the harm caused by alcohol, 36% said more should be done, with a further 20% opting for “much more”.
Options for seeking help to cut back on alcohol consumption were also explored in the survey, with 49% of those surveyed saying they would know where to go for support, a significantly higher figure than in Guernsey (39%) or the Isle of Man (44%), which were also part of the wider survey.
Researchers said that analysis of the additional answers provided by respondents showed a number of comments about people needing to take responsibility for themselves, with price increases or changes to legislation unlikely to stop those determined to drink.
The social impact of price increases was referenced, with some people saying they were more likely to drink at home than to go out.
It was the first time IGR had carried out the survey, meaning no information was available about whether attitudes had changed over time.
