Drinking patterns, drinking-at-risk and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in eight European countries

RESEARCH AIMS: To describe alcohol consumption and preferences among both drinkers, and high-risk drinkers; to compare consumption before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across 8 European countries.

METHOD: Secondary analysis of a dataset from 24,946 respondents 18-90 years old from 8 European countries who reported having drunk any alcoholic beverages during the week prior to the online interview (October-November 2022).

RESULTS: Weekly alcohol consumption across countries was between 123.6 and 197.2 grams of pure alcohol per person, with a male/female ratio between 1.1:1 and 1.5:1. Traditional wine-drinking pattern was confirmed for France, Italy, and Greece, as well as for Great Britain. Prevalence of high-risk drinkers (daily consumption >30 grams for females, >40 grams for males) was highest in Great Britain; M/F ratio was between 1.1:1 and 1.3:1, except in Belgium, Great Britain and Greece, where females outnumbered males. Those older than 65 years and those who resided in the countryside were less likely to be high-risk drinkers. Most respondents reported drinking the same amount of wine and beer in 2022 as before the COVID-19 outbreak, with high-risk drinkers increasing their drinking frequency of all types of alcoholic beverages.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm a downward trend in alcohol consumption in most European countries. The gender gap between male and female high-risk drinkers is narrowing or, in some cases, reversing.
In 2022, compared with before the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of respondents reported drinking the same amount of alcoholic beverages, whereas high-risk drinkers increased the frequency of their drinking.