Heavy drinking has long-been linked with mainly negative connotations and it’s hard to argue with the majority of them. But what if we told you that the heaviest drinkers are actually smarter? And that there’s actually science to back up such a claim? Does that make you feel better about your choices last weekend? A study carried out by the London School of Economics investigated the correlation between alcohol consumption and education. In a nutshell, they found that women who had a degree to their name, were almost twice as likely to drink alcohol daily. The research found that women with educational qualifications were 71% more likely to drink most days. There were similar results for men too, being 49% more likely. The report summarised: “The more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems due to their drinking patterns,” “The better-educated appear to be the ones who engage the most in problematic patterns of alcohol consumption.“ There’s more science to back up the claim too, The National Survey on Drug and Health use found that among college graduates, 68.4 percent reported drinking versus only 35.2 percent of those who did not graduate high school. It goes without saying that we don’t encourage excess drinking in any kind of way, everything should be done in moderation. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol addiction there are a range of helpful organisations. Drinkline – Free helpline: 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm) Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain – Free helpline: 0800 917 7650 Email helpline: [email protected] Al-Anon Confidential Helpline 0207 4030888 (open 10am-10pm) Source
