More Women Drinking – Church Survey

.. MANILA, Philippines --- More women than men are drinking alcoholic beverages, according to a national survey conducted by Church-run Radyo Veritas. The survey which was conducted in 85 Archdioceses and Dioceses covering all 17 regions, sought to understand alcoholic consumption of Filipinos. The Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) said 66 percent of Filipinos drinks alcoholic beverages. Of those who drink, 52 percent are women and 48 percent are men. Luzon has more drinkers with 58.9 percent, compared to 21.5 percent in the Visayas, and 19.6 percent in Mindanao. When analyzed by region, the National Capital Region (at 17 percent), Region 4A (at 15 percent) and Region 7 (at 8 percent) were the top three regions with the most alcoholic beverage consumption while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) scored the least level of consumption at 2 percent. When it comes to the frequency of alcoholic beverage consumption, 79 percent of the respondents said that they would drink alcoholic beverages only during special occasions while 11 percent would drink alcohol on a weekly basis, 6 percent on a monthly basis and 4 percent on a daily basis. This would imply that almost 21% of Filipinos are regular alcoholic beverage drinkers. As to age range, the youngest documented drinker is 13-years old with a majority of alcoholic beverage drinkers coming from ages 19 to 25 comprising at least 25.55 percent. The next large age group comes from ages 29 to 35 comprising at least 14.38 percent. An equal distribution of alcoholic beverage consumers was documented as to urban and rural domicile location. When analyzed by salary range those earning P5,000 to P14,999 pesos would consume more alcoholic beverages (at 41 percent) compared to those earning P15,000 to P24,999 at 26 percent; those earning P25,000-Above at 20 percent; and those earning P4,999-below at 13 percent. ..