Grey area drinking: millions drift beyond guidelines, experts warn

A growing number of adults are slipping into what researchers describe as a grey area of alcohol use—regularly consuming more than guidelines allow, even though they wouldn’t label themselves as alcohol dependent.

Official guidelines advise no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. Yet research shows about 24% of adults exceed this level, a pattern experts say is more common than many people realise. The phenomenon has been highlighted after warnings from The Mail on Sunday’s resident GP, Dr Ellie Cannon, that millions could have a harmful booze habit without recognizing it. The main sign, researchers say, is that drinking becomes routine rather than episodic; it can creep into everyday life and start causing problems such as sleep disturbances, weight gain, reduced focus and heightened anxiety.

One case that has drawn attention is Florence Douglas, a 58-year-old businesswoman from the Cotswolds who describes how a nightly glass of wine became a regular habit over decades. She says she began drinking to cope with stress and found herself drinking four bottles of wine a week, plus gin and tonics and social drinks on weekends. Though she would not have called herself an alcoholic, she eventually recognised the pattern and decided to change.

After reading about the effects of alcohol on different parts of the body, Mrs Douglas chose to try Dry January, the popular month-long abstinence challenge that follows the festive season. She recalls the first two weeks as the hardest, when waking felt like a hangover as her body adjusted to life without alcohol. But she persisted, and after six weeks she found it much easier. It has now been eight months since her last drink. She says: “The woolly head and brain fog have disappeared. Stomach problems have cleared up, my blood pressure’s dropped and my skin is clearer and less puffy. I feel better than I have for years.”

Dr Jeevan Fernando, an expert on substance use disorders with Alcohol Change UK, says grey area drinking is alarmingly common. He notes that “even one drink a day can take you over the threshold,” and that many people treat higher consumption as normal because the classic extremes—vomiting, aggression, passing out or an ambulance visit—are not typical for everyone who drinks regularly. He adds that the main indicator of grey area drinking is routine use: if the first thing you reach for when stressed is a glass of wine, or you’re drinking on most days, or you can’t remember how many drinks you had in a week, those are clear signals.

In the long run, grey area drinking raises the risk of strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure, as well as cancers of the mouth, throat, breast, bowel, and liver. It can also affect mental health and cause neurological damage. A 2024 study for Alcohol Change UK found that among men who drank 15 to 49 units a week and women who drank 15 to 34 units, one in four reported depression and one in three reported anxiety—significantly higher than non-drinkers. A separate study in the BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine journal linked higher alcohol intake with increased dementia risk, noting that any level of consumption may raise the odds.

There are ways to lower risk, even if reducing consumption by a small amount seems modest. Consultant psychologist Dr Zandra Bamford, an addiction specialist, says trimming one drink per week can begin to reduce the risk of harmful brain changes. She recommends switching to lower-strength drinks, alternating with non-alcoholic options, delaying the first drink of the evening and not stocking up on alcohol at home. She also suggests aiming for at least three booze-free days per week. Another key step, Dr Fernando says, is understanding why a person drinks and identifying substitutes. Keeping a diary of when and why drinking occurs can illuminate patterns; if stress is the trigger, a walk or a phone call to a friend might replace that glass of wine. He emphasizes that much of alcohol use is unconscious and habitual, but that habits can be changed.

The topic has drawn renewed attention as researchers emphasise that the line between casual drinking and potentially harmful patterns can be subtle—and health risks can accumulate even when people do not feel they are “out of control.” By recognizing early signs and adopting gradual changes, individuals may avert longer-term damage and improve overall well-being.