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The usual alcohol intake in a community-based sample of subjects aged 70 years and over was investigated. A sample of 825 subjects was drawn from the records of five general practices in a rural township and 774 subjects (93.8%) agreed to participate. A stratified sub-sample of subjects from the abstainers, infrequent, weekly, and daily drinkers was subsequently investigated in more detail. Men took alcohol more frequently than women and in greater quantities although frequency and amount decreased with age. The usual place for drinking was the home. The highest use of psychotropic drugs occurred in the abstainers, but this was significant for men only. When compared with drinking patterns in middle age, 60.1% of men and 30.3% of women said that they took less alcohol, while 7.4% of men and 11.1% of women said that they took more. The main reasons for decrease in alcohol intake were change in health and fewer social opportunities. The main reasons for increase in alcohol intake were more money and more time. Drinking was most commonly associated with social activities and few took alcohol to help cope with personal situations.