Alcohol study - Pleasure drinkers or coma drinkers? How differently Europe drinks
Germany is known as a beer nation, in France a meal doesn't make it to the table without wine and the Scandinavian North keeps warm with Schnaps – such are the clichés. But do they still hold up? A research team has now analyzed drinking habits in Europe between 2000 and 2019 based on criteria from the World Health Organization.
A common piece of advice is: "Beer instead of wine, that's one thing. Wine instead of beer, that's another." The Swedes did it the opposite way around. This Scandinavian country experimented with being a beer nation for a short time, only to switch back to wine – and all of this within five years, between 2010 and 2015. Currently, the Swedes, along with the mentioned French and Italians, Greeks, and Portuguese, are counted among the so-called Mediterranean countries in terms of their drinking behavior. These countries have the highest wine consumption in Europe. Alcohol is mostly consumed during meals, and it is consumed more sparingly otherwise. These countries have the lowest overall consumption in Europe.
Alcohol Study: Comas in Finland and Malta are popular
The Spaniards, who made the same switch from wine to beer around the same time as the Swedes, have remained in the beer-drinking camp and are now considered beer nations. Germany's status as a beer country is also confirmed by the study. The Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway are also assigned to this group. When alcohol is consumed in these countries, it is primarily beer that is consumed, ́. High-proof alcohol is not given out very often.
In contrast to the Mediterranean countries, where more hedonistic than binge drinkers are found, the alcohol consumption in typical beer countries often ends in a stupor. The people drink themselves most frequently into a coma in Finland, Malta, Ireland, Iceland, and Luxembourg. Europe-wide, these are the countries where excessive alcohol consumption is most common.
Nowhere else is more schnapps and alcohol consumed in total than in the Baltic region. According to the study results, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, in addition to Ukraine, are the countries where the strongest correlations between heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health damages and deaths have been identified.
- Despite France's reputation for wine, the study showed that countries like Finland and Malta have the highest frequency of alcohol-related comas in Europe.
- In contrast to Germany, known as a beer nation, Finland and some other European countries have a drinking behavior that often leads to excessive alcohol consumption.
- The World Health Organization's criteria were used to analyze drinking habits in Europe between 2000 and 2019, revealing surprising trends in alcohol consumption and its associated health impacts.
- Wine is consumed more sparingly in typical beer countries like Germany, leading to more frequent alcohol-induced comas compared to Mediterranean countries like France, which have a higher wine consumption.
- Malta, along with Finland, Ireland, Iceland, and Luxembourg, is one of the European countries where excessive alcohol consumption is most prevalent, according to the research from the World Health Organization.
