Globally, alcohol intake increased; but most notable increase was in India between 2010-2017
India has bucked the global trend in drinking with a 38 percent jump in just seven years.
Increasing rates of alcohol use suggest that the world is not on track to achieve targets against harmful alcohol use. According to a study of 189 countries’ alcohol intake between 1990-2017, consumption increased from 5.9 litres pure alcohol per adult per year in 1990 to 6.5 litres in 2017. The study also estimated intake up to 2030. It was published in The Lancet
In India, consumption of alcohol has increased by  38% from 2010 to 2017.
The estimates suggest that by 2030 half of all adults will drink alcohol, and almost a quarter (23%) will binge drink (drinking 60g or more pure alcohol in one sitting once or more within 30 days) at least once a month
As a result of increased alcohol consumption and population growth, the total volume of alcohol consumed globally per year has increased by 70% (from 20,999 million litres in 1990 to 35,676 million litres in 2017).
Intake is growing in low- and middle-income countries, while the total volume of alcohol consumed in high-income countries has remained stable. The economic transitions and increased wealth of several countries – in particular, the transitions of China and India – were accompanied by increased alcohol use.
The estimates suggest that by 2030 half of all adults will drink alcohol, and almost a quarter (23%) will binge drink (drinking 60g or more pure alcohol in one sitting once or more within 30 days) at least once a month.
Alcohol is a major risk factor for disease, and is causally linked to over 200 diseases, in particular non-communicable diseases and injuries.
“Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the changing landscape in global alcohol exposure. Before 1990, most alcohol was consumed in high-income countries, with the highest use levels recorded in Europe. However, this pattern has changed substantially, with large reductions across Eastern Europe and vast increases in several middle-income countries such as China, India, and Vietnam. This trend is forecast to continue up to 2030 when Europe is no  longer predicted to have the highest level of alcohol use,” said study author Jakob Manthey, TU Dresden, Germany.
The new study measured per capita alcohol consumption using data for 189 countries between 1990-2017 from the WHO and the Global Burden of Disease study. In 2017, at the country-level, Moldova had the highest alcohol intake (15 litres per adult per year), and Kuwait had the lowest (0.005 litres per person per year).
Globally, alcohol consumption is set to increase from 5.9 litres pure alcohol a year per adult in 1990 to 7.6 litres in 2030 with the volume of alcohol consumed growing faster than the number of drinkers. Between 2010-2017, consumption increased by 34% in southeast Asia (from 3.5 litres to 4.7 litres), with increases in India, Vietnam and Myanmar.
“Based on our data, the WHO’s aim of reducing the harmful use of alcohol by 10% by 2025 will not be reached globally. Instead, alcohol use will remain one of the leading risk factors for the burden of disease for the foreseeable future, and its impact will probably increase relative to other risk factors. Implementation of effective alcohol policies is warranted, especially in rapidly developing countries with growing rates of alcohol use,” added Mr Manthey.
The authors note some limitations, including that there is uncertainty around estimates of unrecorded alcohol consumption, in addition to scarcity of data in certain regions.
Highlights of the report :
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Globally, alcohol intake increased from 5.9 litres pure alcohol a year per adult in 1990, to 6.5 litres in 2017, and is predicted to increase further to 7.6 litres by 2030. This is likely to be caused by increased alcohol use in low- and middle-income countries as they become wealthier.
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Between 2010-2017, the most notable increases in alcohol drinking occurred in India and Vietnam, compared with significant decreases in Azerbaijan, Russia, the UK, and Peru.
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The world is not on track to achieve global targets to reduce harmful alcohol use, and the authors call for effective policy measures, such as the WHO best-buys including increasing taxation, restricting availability, and banning alcohol marketing and advertising, to be introduced globally.
