Europeans are the ones who drink the most alcohol

It seems that in Europe and Central Asia people do not want to stop drinking alcohol: World Health Organization (WHO) found that European adults consume an average of 9.2 litres of pure alcohol per yearmaking them the biggest drinkers in the world.

A new report released on Thursday showed that drinking alcohol persists in Europe despite the health risks it poses. The WHO region called Europe covers European and Central Asian countries.

Disaggregated data from the study, which covered 53 countries, reveal that European men drink almost four times more than women and that drinkers number 470 million.

According to the publication, Two thirds of adults drinkone in ten has an alcohol use disorder and nearly 6% live with alcohol dependence.

Despite these figures, only twelve of the 53 countries in question have made progress in reducing consumption by 10% since 2010.

In Europe’s most populous countries, such as Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, there have been significant declines in alcohol consumption due to increased taxes and limited availability. The WHO explained that these reductions make the overall figures appear to indicate a significant decline in alcohol consumption in Europe as a region, even though this is not the case.

We drink as much as we did ten years ago.

Furthermore, the report emphasizes, The countries of the European Union have not registered any change in alcohol consumption for more than ten years, highlighting the need to intensify actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The WHO warned about the far-reaching impact of drinking habits, which include domestic violence, accidents and mental health problems.

In this regard, the UN agency urged countries to implement effective policies to reduce alcohol consumption.

The WHO regional adviser on alcohol, illicit drugs and prison health has said Europe is paying a high price for its drinking habits.

Impact on health and death

“Alcohol is causing hundreds of thousands of deaths cardiovascular diseases, injuries, cancers and liver cirrhosis in our region,” said Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges.

The study shows that alcohol is one of the main causes of death in Europe, with almost 800,000 deaths a year; 2,200 people die every day from alcohol-related causes, almost 9% of all deaths in the region.

Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases account for 90% of deaths and 85% of years of disability in the WHO European Region.

Most alcohol-related deaths – more than 600,000 a year – are due to non-communicable diseases, half of them heart disease.

In addition, a high incidence of cancers alcohol-related diseases due to high consumption and the ageing of the European population, which poses a problem since few people are aware that alcohol constitutes a high risk of cancer.

It takes will

But although there is very clear evidence of the damage caused by alcohol, many European countries are not implementing the WHO recommendations to reduce its consumption, which include: Increase alcohol taxes, restrict marketing and reduce availability.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are three countries where population-based control policies have reduced consumption, harm and increased life expectancy.

The WHO stressed that The evidence and the tools exist, and he stressed that what is needed is will.We must act now and make changes to keep our populations healthy, the agency stressed, calling on countries to act now to meet the Sustainable Development Goals on health and limit commercial interests that promote alcohol consumption.