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Alcohol Use Regular drinkers

Regular drinkers

Regular drinker: had at least one drink a month in the previous 12 months.

Figure C. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by sex, KFL&A

Table C. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by sex, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)

Year	Males, %	Males, 95% Confidence Interval	Females, %	Females, 95% Confidence Interval
2000 & 2001	72.9%	66.8, 78.3	56.6%	51.8, 61.3
2003	73.8%	66.6, 79.9	52.7%	46.5, 58.8
2005	76.2%	71.0, 80.7	58.1%	52.3, 63.7
2007 & 2008	76.1%	69.3, 81.8	57.7%	50.2, 64.8
2009 & 2010	73.7%	67.1, 79.4	57.3%	50.6, 63.6
2011 & 2012	75.9%	66.8, 83.2	57.4%	48.0, 66.2
2013 & 2014	70.9%	62.9, 77.8	61.0%	53.8, 67.8

Interpretation for Figure C

There are no differences between male and female regular drinkers over time in KFL&A. There are also no trends by sex over time.

Regular drinkers by sex

Regular drinker: had at least one drink a month in the previous 12 months.

Figure D. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by sex, Ontario

Table D. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by sex, Ontario, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Males, %	Males, 95% Confidence Interval	Females, %	Females, 95% Confidence Interval
2000 & 2001	70.3%	69.2, 71.4	50.7%	49.4, 51.9
2003	73.9%	72.8, 75.0	53.9%	52.8, 55.0
2005	73.9%	72.9, 74.9	53.3%	52.1, 54.5
2007 & 2008	73.3%	72.1, 74.5	53.0%	51.8, 54.2
2009 & 2010	72.2%	71.0, 73.4	52.4%	45.7, 53.7
2011 & 2012	71.0%	69.7, 72.3	53.9%	52.6, 55.3
2013 & 2014	69.3%	67.9, 70.6	52.1%	50.7, 53.5

Interpretation for Figure D

There are more male regular drinkers than female regular drinkers. The percentage of male regular drinkers in 2013 & 2014 is lower than years 2003 through to 2009 & 2010 in Ontario. No trends are evident among female regular drinkers.

Regular drinkers by age group

Regular drinker: had at least one drink a month in the previous 12 months.

Figure E. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by age group, in KFL&A and Ontario, 2013 & 2014

Table E. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by age group, in KFL&A and Ontario, 2013 & 2014, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Age Group	KFL&A, %	KFL&A, 95% Confidence Interval	Ontario, %	Ontario, 95% Confidence Interval
19 to 29	72.8%	62.6, 81.1	66.5%	64.5, 68.5
30 to 39	66.3%	52.0, 78.2	60.3%	57.7, 62.9
40 to 49	68.7%	51.1, 82.1	61.9%	59.3, 64.4
50 to 64	61.7%	51.3, 71.1	61.1%	59.1, 63.0
65+	62.4%	55.7, 68.7	52.1%	50.6, 53.6

Interpretation for Figure E

In KFL&A in 2013 & 2014, the age group 19 to 29 has the highest percentage of regular drinkers, 72.8% (62.6, 81.1), although there are no statistical differences between age groups.

Regular drinkers by income group

Regular drinker: had at least one drink a month in the previous 12 months.

Figure F. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by income group, in KFL&A and Ontario, 2013 & 2014

Table F. Regular drinkers, adults, 19+, by income group, in KFL&A and Ontario, 2013 & 2014, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Income group	KFL&A, %	KFL&A, 95% Confidence Interval	Ontario, %	Ontario, 95% Confidence Interval
Lower income	55.3%	45.8, 64.4	42.9%	40.9, 44.8
Medium income	61.1%	52.3, 69.3	60.6%	59.1, 62.1
Higher income	82.6%	73.7, 89.0	76.7%	75.2, 78.0

Interpretation for Figure F

In Ontario, the proportion of regular drinkers increases as income increases. The same trend exists for binge drinkers and heavy drinkers. The proportion of binge and heavy drinkers increases as income increases (data not shown).

Notes on the income groupings

The income variable was based on a derived income variable from the CCHS. This variable provided a distribution of respondents in deciles based on the adjusted ratio of their total household income to the low income cut-off corresponding to their household and community size. It provides, for each respondent, a relative measure of their household income to the household incomes of all other respondents. The income variables used in this report were determined as follows: the lowest 3 deciles of the derived variable from CCHS were categorized into 'Lower Income', the middle 4 deciles were categorized into 'Middle Income' and the highest 3 deciles were categorized into 'Higher Income'.

Frequency of drinking by urban and rural status

Regular drinker: had at least one drink a month in the previous 12 months.

Everyday drinker: had at least one drink a day in the previous 12 months.

Binge drinker: had 4+ (females) or 5+ (males) drinks on one occasion in the previous 12 months. Please note that in our analysis for all years prior to 2013 & 2014 (due to data limitations) both men and women who have 5 or more drinks on any one occasion are considered to have binge drank.

Heavy drinker: had 4+ (females) or 5+ (males) drinks on one occasion at least once a month during the previous 12 months. Please note that in our analysis for all years prior to 2013 & 2014 (due to data limitations) both men and women who have 5 or more drinks on any one occasion at least once a month are considered to be heavy drinkers.

Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, KFL&A, 2013 & 2014

Figure G. Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, KFL&A, 2013 & 2014

Figure G. Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, KFL&A, 2013 & 2014 *Use with caution due to high variability.

Table G. Adults (19+) by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, KFL&A, 2013 & 2014, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Type of drinker	Urban, %	Urban, 95% Confidence Interval	Rural, %	Rural, 95% Confidence Interval
Regular Drinkers	67.6%	59.8, 74.5	62.6%	52.9, 70.4
Everyday drinkers	7.2%	5.5, 9.6	11.8*%	6.1, 13.5
Binge Drinkers	48.7%	42.3, 55.1	37.3%	25.2, 43.7
Heavy drinkers	20.8%	15.9, 26.7	19.9*%	9.3, 24.8

*Use with caution due to high variability.

Interpretation for Figure G

There are no differences in types of drinkers by urban and rural status in KFL&A.

Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, Ontario, 2013 & 2014

Figure H. Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban and rural status, Ontario, 2013 & 2014

Table H. Adults, 19+, by frequency of drinking and urban/rural status, Ontario, 2013 & 2014, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Type of drinker	Urban, %	Urban, 95% Confidence Interval	Rural, %	Rural, 95% Confidence Interval
Regular Drinkers	59.6%	58.5, 60.7	65.3%	63.4, 67.2
Everyday drinkers	7.0%	6.5, 7.5	10.4%	9.5, 11.4
Binge Drinkers	38.2%	37.3, 39.2	44.1%	42.2, 46.1
Heavy drinkers	17.0%	16.2, 17.8	21.7%	20.3, 23.2

Interpretation for Figure H

In Ontario in 2013 & 2014, those living in rural environments have higher proportions of the population who are regular drinkers, everyday drinkers, binge drinkers and heavy drinkers than those living in urban environments.