Food & Drink

Manchester ranked amongst worst in the country for ‘dangerous drinking’

Manchester had over 8,000 cases of alcohol dependency and 2,000 hospital admissions recorded in a year

Georgina Pellant - 30th June 2022

Manchester has been ranked one of the worst cities in the country for binge drinking, it has been revealed as part of a new study.

According to research undertaken by Private Rehab Clinic Delamere, Manchester is in the UK’s top 5 when it comes to cities that are considered to have toxic drinking cultures.

Coming in at number 4 on the list, we scored highly for alcoholism and hospital admissions, as well as having a large number of bars, clubs and off-licenses.

The study also looked at how many bottomless drinking locations a city had, as well as considering factors like drinking events, alcohol delivery services and alcohol tours, before ranking each city out of 80.

Overall, Manchester was given a score of 17.1.

Other cities included in the top five worst drinking locations were London, which took the number one spot with a score of 0, and Leeds, which came in at second place with a score of 11 – partially thanks to its excessive number of bottomless offerings.

Completing the top three was Bristol with a score of 16.6 out of a possible 80, reports The Hoot 

Other factors that were considered included:

• Alcohol death rates per 100,000 people
• Average alcohol consumption per year (litres)
• The percentage of the population with alcoholism
• Number of bars and clubs listed on Tripadvisor
• Number of alcohol tours listed on Tripadvisor
• Searches for ‘alcohol delivery’ on Semrush

As the most populated city in the country, London had a huge 26,580 alcohol-related hospital admissions recorded between 2019-2020, 190 bottomless drinking locations and 1,068 bars and nightclubs that all contributed to its toxic drinking culture. 

The Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities for Drinking Culture

1. London – 0/80 
2. Leeds – 11/80 
3. Bristol – 16.6/80 
4. Manchester – 17.1/80
5. Liverpool – 19.9/80
6. Birmingham – 22.3/80
7. Newcastle – 25.6/80 
8. Nottingham – 31.1/80
9. Sheffield -31.2/80
10. Brighton -32/80

When compared to other countries in Europe, the UK was in the top three “at risk of dangerous drinking levels” with a score of 17.7/80.

Read more: New documentary about iconic busking band The Piccadilly Rats to premiere in Manchester

Martin Preston, Founder and Chief Executive at Delamere, shared his insight on why binge drinking rates are so high in the UK:

“The coronavirus pandemic caused an alarming spike in binge drinking levels across the UK, the isolation caused many people to turn to drinking high levels of alcohol at home. 

Drinking at home, rather than at a pub, removes the need to wait between drinks and also the worry around spending too much money. For example, the average bottle of wine in the UK costs around £6, which is what some glasses of the same wine can cost in pubs and bars. 

The endless hours spent at home during the lockdowns meant that 18.1% of people were drinking at a high-risk level. While one in four (22%) of adults had increased their alcohol consumption, causing 10% of people to worry about the strain of alcohol on their health. 

As well as this, our research found that the top three cities with the highest binge drinking problems had a large number of drinks delivery services, so the need to leave the house to buy alcohol was eliminated. 

Read more: ‘Old school’ pub The Ancoats Lad to reopen its doors this summer

For more information about drinking culture in the UK and the results of this study, including tips for combatting binge drinking and alcohol dependancy, visit the Delamere website.

Feature Image – Flickr