Saving face ? Survey respondents who claim their last week's drinking was atypical

Thirty-one per cent of survey respondents asked about their last week's drinking claimed it was atypical. They are shown, by examining their levels on two blood tests (mean cell volume and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase) and by a comparison of their consumption on a recent social occasion with that of their companions, to be reporting a trivial difference between their last week and their typical week and appear to be attempting to deny heavy habitual consumption.