Over-40s are the last generation of regular drinkers in Britain, new research shows. Data from nearly 1.7 million people found that Britons' drinking habits sharply diverged around the age of 40. Those in mid-life both drank more frequently and in larger quantities, the analysis showed. People in their 40s were 52 per cent more likely than under-40s to exceed government recommended guidelines - consuming more than 14 units of alcohol a week, the equivalent to six glasses of wine.Just 12.6 per cent of 18-to-39-year-olds drank above the recommended limit, compared to 19 per cent of people in their 40s, and 28 per cent of people 60 and above.The research is the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that suggests young people in Britain are drinking less than ever. Government data released in January revealed that almost a quarter of adults in England now don't drink alcohol at all.And figures from the Office for National Statistics published in May showed deaths caused by alcohol have fallen to their lowest level since 2021, as sales of zero per cent beverages soar. Just 12.6 per cent of 18-39-year-olds drank above the recommended limit, compared to 19.2 per cent of people in their 40s and 28.2 per cent of people 60 and above, new data showed The latest data, by research firm Our Future Health, suggests affluence - as well as age - can play a role in how much Britons drink, however. Adults earning more than £100,000 were more likely to drink above recommended limits in every age bracket - with 25 per cent owning to regularly doing so. More than nine in 10 of the highest earners drank alcohol, compared with fewer than eight in 10 of those earning £18,000 or less.Generations differed not just in whether they drank at all, but how regularly and how much they consumed. Nearly a quarter of adults under 40 said that they only drank on special occasions, compared to 13 per cent of those in their 60s. Fewer than two per cent of people in their 20s, meanwhile, drank daily or almost daily - rising to almost six per cent among those in their 40s, and almost 14 per cent of 60-somethings. Among those aged 80 and above, one in four admitted to drinking every or almost every day. Ros Blackwood, director of population health at Our Future Health, said the latest data offers insights into drinking habits at an unprecedented scale.