The survey, which questioned 2,000 students from 144 universities across the UK on their social and academic lives, found that a third of students (33%) say they do not drink at all, up from 23% in 2010 and 26% in 2012, while a further 40% limited their drinking to just once a week.
Not all students are so self-disciplined, with 27% drinking more than once a week, of whom 2% drank daily and 20% two or three times a week.
The research found that men are far more likely than women to consume alcohol regularly, with 35% drinking more than once a week compared to just 21% of female students. International students were those most likely to be teetotal; 58% fell into this category, as did 54% of students living at home with their family.
Type of drinks
This year’s survey asked students to say how much of each type of drink they consumed each week, with spirits such as vodka, rum and gin the most popular tipple. Of those who drank, 61% said they drank at least one shot of spirits every week, and 45% of those cited they consumed up to five shots a week.
Wine was the next most popular drink, with 39% of drinkers enjoying at least one glass a week, followed by draught beer (31% drank this). Other drinks consumed in a typical week by student drinkers included bottled beer (30% drank this), bottled cider (29%), draught cider (26%) and cocktails (25%). Alcopops appear to have fallen out of favour, with only 15% consuming these regularly.
However, very few used any of these to excess. Of those who drank, those drinking spirits consumed alcohol in any great quantity, with 16% having more than five 25ml shots in a typical week.
That compared to wine drinkers, of whom only 4% drank more than five glasses a week, while the same proportion of draught beer fans consumed more than five pints in an average week.
Food
On a related note, variety in food is of less interest to today’s students, with only 17% valuing this compared to 21% two years ago.
Students were more concerned with gaining value for money when purchasing their lunch. Some 47% were concerned by this, up from 34% in 2010 and 45% in 2012, with it now the second most cited consideration. Speedy service was a factor for a fifth of respondents (20%), while having a convenient location concerned 16%, down from 26% two years ago.