Half of under-25s say they do not consume alcohol all week as survey finds the biggest drinkers in the UK are the middle class Managers and professionals have highest level of regular drinking Drinking double the number of daily units is also on the downward trend Heavy drinking is in sharp decline, according to a large-scale survey. Numbers of people who drink every day of the week have fallen by a third since the 1990s, it was found. The biggest drinkers in the country are the middle-aged and higher-earners, the state-backed survey said. And despite the apparent prevalence of teenage binge-drinking, the findings show that drinking is going out of fashion among the young. The results come from the General Lifestyle Survey drawn up by the Office for National Statistics from interviews with 15,000 people. They suggest that heavy alcohol consumption is now following smoking as a social and personal habit that is increasingly uncommon among the young. Instead it is most typically found among those who developed a taste for drink years ago. Declining heavy drinking will further undermine David Cameron's scheme to introduce minimum pricing on alcohol bought in supermarkets. The Prime Minister believes that blocking sales of cheap alcohol with minimum prices, possible 50 pence a unit, would tackle alcoholism, violence and anti-social behaviour, and save the NHS large sums. But the ONS findings back the majority of the Cabinet who have opposed the pricing plan on the grounds that it would punish lower income people who drink moderately. Yesterday's survey says that people in routine jobs and on low incomes drink less alcohol - as do the unemployed. The survey said that in 1998 some 23 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women were drinking on five or more days every week. By 2011, that had dropped to 16 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women. It added that the people most likely to drink five days or more a week were those over 45, and that younger people drink less. There was a major drop in binge-drinking among men under 24. In 2005, nearly half, 46 per cent, reported drinking more than four units of alcohol on their heaviest drinking day in the week before they were interviewed. Four units is the equivalent of two pints of beer, two medium glasses of wine, or four pub measures of spirits. By 2011, fewer than a third of men in that age group - 32 per cent - were drinking at that level. The ONS said there was a similar downward trend in the proportions of women exceeding three units. The survey said highest levels of regular drinking were among managers and professionals, and lowest levels among those whose work was described as routine or manual. Similarly, the wealthier the household, the more likely the people in it to drink. Three-quarters of men with jobs drank alcohol in the week before they were interviewed, but fewer than half of those who were unemployed or workless had drunk. It was also found that 67 per cent of men and 54 per cent of women had a drink in the week before their interview in England, compared with 56 per cent and 48 per cent in Scotland. Almost one in ten pregnant women continue to drink during pregnancy, the General Lifestyle Survey found. The survey also noted that the number of people who smoke has gone down from 45 per cent in 1974 to 20 per cent in 2011. Elaine Hindal, of the Drinkaware pressure group, said: "On the surface, today's figures seem to suggest we're all drinking less, but if you take a closer look, there's still cause for concern. Of regular drinkers, more than half report drinking over the guidelines, and a quarter are drinking to binge-drinking levels.