Wednesday 1st February 2012
THE dominant participants in Febfast, the campaign that encourages people to abstain from alcohol in February, are heavy-drinking professional women in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
VicHealth research released to coincide with the start of the 2012 campaign shows that women represented 75 per cent of last year's participants, many of them tertiary-educated and earning high incomes.
Outside of Febfast, participants tended to drink more often, and more on each occasion, compared to a sample of Australians who had consumed alcohol in the past year.
The campaign attracted participants who were likely to drink more than four standard drinks a day - a level associated with long-term harm. More than 31 per cent of Febfast participants drank at this level, compared with 17 per cent of the Australian drinkers group.
The findings were the result of an online survey, which included 1330 Febfast participants and 2015 Australian drinkers.