Almost half of those who drink alcohol binge

PUTRAJAYA: Some 45% of alcohol drinkers in Malaysia binge drink, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023.

This is despite the fact that overall, fewer people were drinking.

"In 2023, 45.1% of current alcohol drinkers engaged in binge drinking," the report stated.

"Binge drinking (which is a form of harmful drinking) is defined as those who consume six or more standard alcoholic drinks in one sitting," it said.

Harmful alcohol use refers to drinking that causes detrimental health and social consequences for drinkers.

The report noted, however, that the prevalence of alcohol drinkers had decreased from 11.8% in 2019 to 10.4% last year.

The prevalence of current tobacco smokers had also declined slightly from 21.3% in 2019 to 19% in 2023, it said.

The NHMS 2023 Report is based on data collection sessions conducted between July and September last year.

A total of 13,616 respondents participated in the survey, representing an overall response rate of 83.2%.

The NHMS report was launched by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Also launched was the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) Malaysia 2023.