Europeans drink too much

Most European citizens consume alcohol, but there are also 55 million adults who abstain from it (15%); bearing this figure and unregistered consumption in mind, it is estimated that each individual in Europe drinks on average 15 litres per year. Just under half of these 15 litres consists of beer (44%); the rest is divided between wine (33%) and spirits (23%). Alcohol is the third leading cause of death in the EU: it has overtaken obesity and is topped only by smoking and hypertension. Seven million European adults have declared they have been involved in brawls after drinking sprees over the last year. These are just a foretaste of the data contained in the publication “Perspectives of intervention on alcohol-correlated problems” edited by the Italian research agency ISFOL (Istituto per lo Sviluppo della Formazione Professionale dei Lavoratori), on behalf of Italy’s Ministry for Social Solidarity.9 billion euros. According to the research, a quarter of the world production of alcohol and half of that of wine takes place in Europe. “The trade in alcohol contributes approximately 9 billion euros to the trade budget of the EU as a whole”; some 750,000 workers are employed in the production of alcohol, mainly wine. Other jobs are linked to the supply chain, for example in pubs or shops. In the EU-15 – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK – adults report on average getting drunk five times each year. They have also declared that they have had recourse to ‘binge drinking’ (concentrated intake of 5 glasses of alcoholic beverages at a single sitting) no less than 17 times each year. This means, says the research, “that 40 million European citizens ‘drink too much’ each month, and that 100 million (1 in 3) engage in episodes of binge drinking at least once each month”. Too many youngsters. People begin to drink early in Europe. The finds of the ISFOL research show that “almost all students between the ages of 15 and 16 have used alcohol at some time in their life; the average age of initiation is 12.5 and the age at which a young person first gets drunk is 14”. Over 1 out of 8 in the 15-16 age bracket (13%) have been drunk more than 20 times in their life, and over 1 out of 6 (18%) have experienced episodes of binge drinking. The economic costs of criminal acts attributable to alcohol were estimated as 33 billion euros in 2003. The cost is divided between police, courts and prisons (15 billion), costs for the prevention of crime and insurance (12 billion). Damage to property caused by driving in a state of drunkenness is estimated at 10 billion euros, “while the intangible costs of the physical and psychological effects of [alcohol-related] crimes are estimated between 9 and 37 billion euros”. Alcohol and family. “Alcohol – points out ISFOL – also has an impact on families, with 16% of abuses and neglect of children attributable to its consumption. Several million children in fact live in families with alcohol-related problems. According to some estimates, notes ISFOL, “each year some 23 million people suffer from alcohol dependence” while “the suffering caused to members of their families represents a cost of 68 billion euros”. Alcohol and work. The data on the labour front are no less disturbing: almost 5% of male drinkers and 2% of female drinkers in the EU report a negative impact of alcohol on their work or on their study. The loss of productivity due to absenteeism attributable to alcohol and unemployment has been respectively estimated from between 9 and 19 billion and 6 and 23 billion euros per year. From the point of view of health, alcohol is responsible for some 195,000 deaths each year in the Union. Alcohol, accidents and illnesses. According to ISFOL, “17,000 [alcohol-related] deaths each year are due to road accidents, 27,000 to accidental deaths, 2,000 to homicides, and 10,000 to suicides.” Alcohol also has a destructive effect on non-drinkers: “10,000 deaths from road accidents are persons other than those who drive under the influence of drink”. On the other hand, 45,000 people die of cirrhosis of the liver, 50,000 from tumours and 17,000 from neuro-psychiatric problems related to drink. To this long list we can also add the over 200,000 cases of alcohol-related depression. The costs of medical treatment are estimated at 17 billion euros, in addition to the 5 billion euros spent on the treatment and prevention of alcohol dependence. Among all these negative effects, linked to the consumption of alcohol, ISFOl does at least report one positive effect: “the delayed death of 160,000 elderly people due to the protective effect that alcohol, if consumed in moderation, has on cardiovascular diseases”.