In some European countries they prefer brandy, in others wine. Where is Bulgaria and what are the habits of alcohol consumption in other European countries?
Whether a person will drink a glass of wine or prefer hard alcohol depends to a large extent on where he lives. The use of alcohol is deeply rooted in the culture of individual nations and countries, say researchers who studied alcohol consumption in EU countries, Iceland, Norway and Ukraine.
In Europe, several countries stand out, where alcohol consumption is particularly closely related to the increased risk of disease and mortality. These are Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as shown by the data for the last 20 years. Scientists associate alcohol consumption with the reduction of life expectancy, and Ukraine is first in this indicator, followed by Latvia and Lithuania.
Wine can, but brandy not?
The greatest damages from alcohol are in the countries of Eastern Europe, where hard alcohol is more often consumed. In Western Europe, people prefer to drink lighter alcoholic beverages. But does this mean that it is good to drink wine, but not brandy?
Jürgen Rehm, who is one of the authors of the study, advises not to jump to conclusions. "10 grams of alcohol is 10 grams of alcohol - regardless of whether you drink spirits, wine or beer," says the scientist in an interview with the DPA agency.
Different countries drink differently
In general, the research team describes six patterns of alcohol consumption typical of the population in European countries. It is interesting that the scientists did not find large differences in the amounts of alcohol consumed between individual countries, but only some regional peculiarities.
For example, in southern Europe, where wines are mainly consumed, the total alcohol consumption per capita was about 9.2 liters per year - in countries such as France, Italy and Greece. In the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), where concentrates are preferred, people drink an average of about 12 liters of alcohol per year.
Germany, on the other hand, is defined as a country that mainly drinks beer and less hard alcohol. In another group of countries, a lot of beer and highly concentrated alcohol are drunk. Such are, for example, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Poland.
The researchers have identified another group of countries, among which are Ukraine and Bulgaria. Two trends are clearly outlined in them: a large part of the population does not drink at all, and those who consume alcohol prefer concentrates.
The last category of countries are those where alcohol consumption usually ends in heavy drinking. The researchers include Finland, Iceland and Ireland among them.
For 20 years, no particular changes have occurred
"Europe remains a region with distinct patterns of alcohol consumption that are closely linked to countries' cultures and difficult to change," the authors of the comparative analysis conclude. He has also shown that when there is a recorded decline in alcohol consumption, it is not due to a change in people's habits, but rather to measures taken by the authorities regarding the use of alcoholic beverages. This is the case in countries such as Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Poland.
The authors of the study are convinced that since alcohol consumption has a strong impact on the health of the population, governments must take measures at the political level - this is the only way to change the established traditions of alcohol consumption.