Europe is home to the world's heaviest drinkers
There has been little or no progress on reducing alcohol consumption and harms in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.
The top 10 European countries with the highest alcohol consumption per capita: Czechia (14.3 litres), Latvia (13.2), Moldova (12.9), Germany (12.8), Lithuania (12.8), Ireland (12.7), Spain (12.7), Bulgaria (12.5), Luxembourg (12.4), and Romania (12.3).
Dr Gauden Galea, Special Adviser to the WHO Regional Director for Europe on NCDs and Innovation said:
The European Region continues to hold the unenviable record of having the highest levels of alcohol consumption and related harms worldwide, as well as the lowest number of abstainers. The harms from alcohol can be devastating to health and wellbeing and reach far beyond the person drinking to include domestic violence, injuries, accidents, family break-ups, and mental health.
According to the latest globally comparable data, men in the European Region consumed almost 4 times more alcohol (14.9 litres) than women (4.0 litres) per year. One in every 10 adults (11%) in the Region are estimated to have an alcohol use disorder, and almost one in every 20 live with alcohol dependence (5.9%).
Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Adviser on Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health, emphasized:
The high levels of alcohol consumption and the associated harms in Europe are a clear indication that we are not doing enough. We are paying a heavy price for our inaction, with alcohol causing hundreds of thousands cardiovascular diseases and injuries, cancers and liver cirrhosis in our Region.
Alcohol harms individuals, families, and communities, affecting not only those who drink, but also those around them. In Europe, alcohol is a leading cause of death with almost 800,000 deaths every year. Every day, around 2,200 people die from alcohol-related causes in the Region.
The majority of deaths due to alcohol in the Region were from Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (over 600 000 deaths per year), approximately half of these were from cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases) - the leading cause of death due to alcohol. European countries have some of the highest incidences of alcohol-related cancers globally due to high alcohol consumption and an aging population.
Despite the clear evidence of the harms caused by alcohol, many European countries have yet to make significant progress in implementing the WHO-recommended policies. These are 1) increasing excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, 2) implementing comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing, and 3) reducing the availability of alcohol.
Although the European Region as a whole appears to be on track towards achieving the target, this is primarily due to substantial reductions in alcohol consumption in a few of the most populous countries, such as the Russian Federation, Türkiye and Ukraine, where decisive action was taken to increase alcohol excise taxes and limit availability of alcohol.
Dr. Gauden Galea highlights the need for immediate action:
We have the tools and the knowledge to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. What we need now is the political will to implement these evidence-based policies. We must accelerate our efforts and commit to the necessary changes to protect the health and well-being of our populations.