London, Sept 17: Are there different types of alcohol drinkers? We probably know of two - normal drinkers and alcoholics. Britain`s health officials now tell us there are nine of them.
The department of health has researched drinking types to promote public health campaign against excessive or binge drinking. Alcohol-related illnesses cost the NHS around £2.7 billion a year.
Health researchers have over the past one year analysed the social and psychological characteristics of people who regularly drink twice the recommended guidelines of alcohol - 35 alcohol units per week for women and 5o for men.
The nine personality types of heavy drinkers are:
* "De-stress drinkers" use alcohol to regain control of life and calm down. They include middle-class women and men.
* "Conformist drinkers" are driven by the need to belong and seek a structure to their lives. They are typically men aged 45 to 59 in clerical or manual jobs.
* "Boredom drinkers" consume alcohol to pass the time, seeking stimulation to relieve the monotony of life. Alcohol helps them to feel comforted and secure.
* "Depressed drinkers" may be of any age, gender or socioeconomic group. They crave comfort, safety and security.
* "Re-bonding drinkers" are driven by a need to keep in touch with people who are close to them.
* "Community drinkers" are motivated by the need to belong. They are usually lower middle class men and women who drink in large friendship groups.
* "Hedonistic drinkers" crave stimulation and want to abandon control. They are often divorced people with grown-up children, who want to stand out from the crowd.
* "Macho drinkers" spend most of their spare time in pubs. They are mostly men of all ages who want to stand out from the crowd.
* "Border dependents" regard the pub as a home from home. They visit it during the day and the evening, on weekdays and at weekends, drinking fast and often.
The health department will launch a trial campaign in north-west England on the basis of this research. Public health minister Dawn Primarolo told The Telegraph: "The pilot will help up to 4,000 drinkers cut down in the first year alone."
IANS
