OBJECTIVES To explore whether people 'other' when making judgements about 'harmful' drinking and the drinking contexts (e.g., pub with friends) and features of drinking contexts (e.g., location, company) perceived as being indicative of harmful drinking.

DESIGN Focus group design with arts-based methods.

METHODS Risky drinkers (AUDIT-C ≥ 5; n = 20) in four focus groups, drew and discussed contexts and features of contexts they thought indicated harmful drinking. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted alongside content analysis of drawings informed by themes and prior research.

FINDINGS There are three deductive themes. The first theme semblance of control referred to people's tendency to differentiate their own drinking practices as controlled and safe in relation to the out-of-control behaviours of a harmful drinker. This was seen in the content analysis of drawings where participants tended to draw drinking contexts which were different to those they drank in. The drinking practices perceived as being indicative of harmful drinking were further explored in the second theme harmful drinking contexts. This theme was made up of four subthemes: mental harms, physical harms, social harms and societal harms which were discussed as being differentially associated with different types of drinking contexts. The final theme, features which make drinking 'harmful', focused on the features of drinking contexts which participants felt were more indicative of harm. There were seven subthemes: alone, home, amount, drink type, having responsibilities, reason for drinking and timing/pattern.

CONCLUSIONS Drinking contexts fed into the construction of othering narratives among risky drinkers. This has implications for alcohol harm reduction campaigns.