the relationship between ethnic status and alcohol drinking was analysed all other things being equal in england new zealand and the us results show that minority groups generally drink less alcohol than the white population except in the us where mexican american men have a higher prevalence of any alcohol drinking than nonhispanic white men concerning harmful forms of drinking results show that in england white men and women are more likely to engage in hazardous drinking and hed figure while findings in other countries are seldom statistically significant