New figures from The World Health Organization (WHO) confirm that Europeans are the heaviest drinkers in the World consuming 9.2 litres of pure alcohol (equivalent to 460 pints) of beer a year on average. This compares to an international average of 5.5 litres (275 pints per person).
Largest consumers are the Romanians who drink 4.6 units of alcohol per day (36.9g of pure alcohol}. Men manage to down 1,365 pints a year and women consume 500 glasses of wine. Britain ranked 18th out of 51 European nations with people drinking 2.9 units (23.5g of pure alcohol). The average male consumes 850 beers and females drink 327 glasses of wine. Italy famous for its love of food and wine was surprisingly modest. Italians drink the equivalent of 635 beers or 233 glasses of wine per person.
Albania, who according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is one of the top countries worldwide for cannabis cultivation consumes even less with just 420 Beers or 127 glasses of wine per person.
European-Wide, Men consumed almost four times more pure alcohol (14.9 litres) than women (4.00 litres) per year. The WHO said there 'has been little or no progress' on reducing alcohol use in line with its goal to cut consumption by 10%. its data suggests that in 2019 there were more than 470 million drinkers in Europe, meaning that two out of three adults consumed alcohol. Their report stated that only 12 out of 53 countries had made significant progress towards the amount they drink.
From the other side of the globe, experts from a different research body in Australia surveyed more than 600 teens and found over half thought zero alcohol products were appealing, and more than one in three had tried them. Researchers were told by some of the teens that they feared their peers could get hooked on the taste of alcoholic beverages from alcohol free alternatives and drink more once they turned 18 as a result. Researchers concluded that the results highlighted a need to treat alcohol free beers wines and cocktails with caution, as they might become the gateway to young people converting to the real thing.
