If you’re over 40 and live in Britain, the chances are you like a drink. A YouGov survey in 2015 found 'Empty Nester’ mothers were at the forefront of the middle-aged drinking epidemic in Britain, with 28 per cent of women over 45 admitting they drank as much or more than their grown-up children.

It’s also the older generation – those 65 and over that are most likely to drink on five consecutive nights each week.

Those stats chime with new data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that adults in Britain are now consuming an annual average of 108 bottles of wine per person.

Separate figures show the number of over 65s beginning NHS treatment for alcohol problems has doubled in the past decade, with 4,328 cases in 2018/19, up from 2,134 cases in 2008/9.

With midlife-and-later drinking appearing to fuel the rise in booze consumption, it's worth taking heed of the consistent warnings that emanate from the scientific community about the affects of alcohol.

"Alcohol affects just about every system because it’s a small molecule that goes everywhere in the body," says Paul Wallace, emeritus professor of public health at University College London and medical director of the charity Drinkaware.