Alcohol consumption in the EU fell by 0.5 liters between 2010 and 2020. However, there were several countries where consumption increased over the same period, Euronews reported.
"No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health," warned the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the amount of alcohol we drink is still significant.
The risk of developing cancer increases significantly with the consumption of more alcohol. Health authorities are urging people to stop drinking alcohol or at least cut down on it.
But do we heed these calls?
Some people stop drinking alcohol in January, which is called "dry January". The data shows that alcohol consumption in Europe is decreasing.
How has alcohol consumption changed in Europe in recent decades? Which countries have seen the highest rate of decline and increase in alcohol consumption?
Total alcohol consumption is defined as the annual sales of pure alcohol in liters per person aged 15 and over. The data does not include unregistered alcohol consumption, such as home or illegal production.
A gradual decline in alcohol consumption has been observed in the EU and the WHO European Region.
In the EU, total alcohol consumption per person aged 15 and over has fallen by 2.9 liters over the past four decades, from 12.7 liters in 1980 to 9.8 liters in 2020, corresponding to at a 23 percent reduction.
Consumption fell significantly between 1980 (12.7 liters) and 2000 (10.5 liters).
Over the next two decades, the rate of decline slowed. Between 2000 and 2010, it decreased by 0.5 liters in the EU.
Alcohol consumption in the WHO European Region, which covers 53 countries, including Russia and surrounding countries, decreased from 12 liters in 2000 to 9.5 liters in 2020, corresponding to a decrease of 2.5 liters (21 %).
Despite this decline, the region still has the highest level of alcohol consumption per person in the world.
Every year, every person over the age of 15 in this area drinks an average of 9.5 liters of pure alcohol. This equates to 190 liters of beer, 80 liters of wine or 24 liters of spirits.
In 2020, among 36 European countries, including the EU, the UK, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU candidate countries, annual alcohol consumption ranged from 1.2 liters in Turkey to 12.1 liters in Latvia.
On average, EU citizens consumed 9.8 liters of alcohol.
Among the "big four" of the EU in terms of economy and population, Germany has the highest alcohol consumption at 10.6 liters, followed by France at 10.4 liters, Spain at 7.8 liters and Italy at 7.7 liters. In the UK, this figure is 9.7 litres.
If we look at changes at the national level between 2010 and 2020, we see that in 25 countries alcohol consumption has decreased and in 11 countries it has increased.
Alcohol consumption decreased by more than one liter in 14 countries, while in 5 countries it increased during this period.
The largest decline in alcohol consumption during this period was recorded in Ireland and Lithuania. In both countries it decreased by 2.1 liters, closely followed by Spain and Greece (both by 2 liters).
The Netherlands, France, Cyprus and Finland also saw reductions of over 1.5 litres. Between 1 and 1.5 liters was the reduction in Serbia, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany.
In the EU, alcohol consumption fell by 0.6 liters between 2010 and 2020.
The biggest increase was in Latvia, where consumption rose by 2.3 litres.
Bulgaria (1.4 litres), Malta (1.1 litres), Romania and Poland (both 1 litre) also saw significant increases. In Norway, Italy and Iceland the increase is over 0.5 litres.
Many European countries have introduced a number of policies to limit alcohol consumption, such as taxation, limiting the availability of alcohol and banning its advertising.
However, according to the OECD, their effectiveness is hampered by their weak implementation on the ground and limited resources.
Alcohol consumption varies significantly by gender and education. Instead of the quantity, the proportion of heavy episodic drinking is examined.
This is the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who report drinking 60 grams or more of pure ethanol in the past 30 days. This equates to 6 or more drinks.
In 2019, almost one in five adults (19%) reported heavy episodic drinking at least once a month in EU countries, a proportion that has remained stable since 2014.
In all countries, men were more likely than women to report heavy episodic drinking. In 2019, on average across EU countries, 26.6% of men reported heavy episodic drinking at least once a month, compared to 11.4% of women.
The highest share of this indicator among men was reported in Romania (55.2%). This percentage is over 35 percent in Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium.
Women in Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany and Ireland show the highest proportion of heavy episodic drinking at over 20%.
Academic research suggests that gender differences may be related to different cultural expectations and reflect traditional gender roles. They may also be related to the employment gap and lower incomes.
Level of education is also relevant to heavy drinking. People with a lower level of education do not have a higher rate of heavy episodic drinking in EU countries, except Latvia.
On average, 12.5% of people with less than a high school education reported heavy episodic drinking, compared with 20% or more of people with at least a high school education (22.3%) or college (20.2%).
These differences largely reflect greater purchasing power.
"Alcohol is more accessible to people with higher education and higher incomes. However, when looking at alcohol-related harm, the burden is greater for people of lower socioeconomic status," it found. in the OECD report "State of health in the EU cycle-2022".
The highest percentage of the gap in the education of heavy drinkers is observed in Latvia, Greece, Estonia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
In these countries, the rate of heavy episodic drinking among people with less education is slightly higher than among people with college education.
Is there a safe level of alcohol use?
It's a simple question with a simple answer: no, it doesn't exist.
"We can't talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn't matter how much you drink - the risk to the drinker's health starts from the first drop of an alcoholic drink," explains Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges, Acting Head of Department Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor on Alcohol and Illicit Drugs at the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
"The only thing we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is - or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is," Borges said./BGNES
