Heavy episodic drinking (Indicator 4)
Updated
The indicator describes the following: The proportion of adolescents and adults who engage in heavy episodic drinking.
This indicator is part of Target (2): At least 20 per cent reduction in harmful alcohol consumption from 2010 to 2030.
Heavy episodic drinking is defined as drinking more than five units of alcohol within the same day at least once per month in the last 12 months.
Results
Figure 1 shows that the proportion engaging in heavy episodic drinking was stable at around 17 per cent from 2012 to 2022, except for a somewhat smaller proportion during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. In 2024 the proportion increased to 19 %.
|
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
| Population 16-79 years old |
18 |
17 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
18 |
17 |
17 |
15 |
15 |
17 |
16 |
19 |
Data source: Norwegian Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs
The data source for this indicator is the Norwegian Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs.
A description and definitions follow below.
Description
The Norwegian Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs is a telephone-based nationwide survey of alcohol, tobacco and drug use among individuals aged 16-79, and undertaken by Statistics Norway on behalf of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The survey is conducted on a representative sample of 3 700 people who are selected from the National Population Register and interviewed via telephone, after having received an information letter regarding the survey. The average response rate for the survey years 2012-2020 was 58 per cent. The survey enables trends in alcohol use to be traced back to 2012.
Numerator
- The proportion of individuals who drank more than five units of alcohol within the same day or several times per month during the last 12 months, as a percentage, age- and gender-standardised.
This percentage was estimated on the basis of a question from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The question reads as follows: “How often have you drunk six units of alcohol or more on a single occasion in the last year?” The response options are: “Never”, “Less than monthly”, ”Monthly”, “Weekly” and “Daily or almost daily”.
The fact that the age and gender distribution of the population may change over time is taken into account when calculating the figures. The age and gender distribution of the Norwegian population as at 01.01.2012 is used as a standard.
Global indicator definition
Indicator 4. Age-standardised prevalence of heavy episodic drinking among adolescents and adults, as appropriate, within the national context.