WHO denounces alcohol consumption
Published: Tuesday, Jun 25th 2024, 14:50
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People around the world are drinking less alcohol, but the World Health Organization (WHO) believes this development is happening far too slowly. The goal of reducing consumption by 20 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 cannot be achieved in this way, the WHO reported in Geneva on Tuesday.
According to the WHO, per capita consumption worldwide fell from 5.7 liters of pure alcohol in 2010 to 5.5 liters of alcohol in 2019. The WHO is calling for countries to do more to reduce drinking. This could be achieved, for example, with advertising bans and sales restrictions as well as high prices.
The WHO also makes no statement on how much alcohol would be unproblematic. "There is no such thing as risk-free alcohol consumption," said Vladimir Poznyak, head of the responsible WHO department. But it also depends on the circumstances. A glass of wine in your free time could mean a low risk, but for someone who has to operate a complicated machine, a high risk. His advice: "Less is more." Two glasses of wine or two bottles of beer every day is too much.
According to the WHO, 22% of 15 to 19-year-olds worldwide drink alcohol. Alcohol consumption caused 2.6 million deaths in 2019. 209 million people were addicted to alcohol and a further 200 million had at least problematic alcohol consumption.
Due to the Covid pandemic, more recent data than from 2019 could not be reliably evaluated, said Poznyak.
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