In the EU, per capita alcohol consumption has decreased by 21% since 2000 and by 9% over the past decade. Harmful drinking behaviours, including 'binge' drinking and underage drinking, are also on the decline in most EU countries.
These trends would appear to reflect cultural shifts towards moderation, informed by better public education, targeted harm-reduction strategies, and collaborative engagement across sectors. If we are serious about improving public health outcomes, we need to engage in an honest conversation that considers the nuances and realities of alcohol consumption in the EU.
Most people are aware that heavy drinking is not conductive to physical health and wellbeing, but telling them that any alcohol consumption is unsafe, without considering context, health status, or quantity, may not lead to healthier decisions. It may foster scepticism, reduce trust in public health institutions, or worse, drive responsible drinkers away from further engagement with health messaging altogether.
Alcohol’s impact on health is real; when misused it can contribute to non-communicable diseases, but like many health factors such as diet, exercise, or medication, the effect of alcohol depends on how, when, and how much it is consumed. Blanket policies that ignore these subtleties are unlikely to succeed. Instead, public health initiatives should focus on promoting risk literacy, giving people the tools to understand and manage their behaviours based on reliable, transparent information.
Rather than one-size-fits-all recommendations, a risk-based, targeted strategy can better serve populations most at risk, whether due to socio-economic vulnerability, access to healthcare, or problematic consumption patterns.
Evidence also shows that countries with the most restrictive alcohol policies are not necessarily those that have achieved the largest reductions in harm. Cultural change, not just legislation, is key, that’s why a whole-of-society approach, involving governments, public health bodies, educators, communities, and industry, has proven to be more effective in the long term.
For decades, the spirits sector has participated in public-private partnerships to support moderation and combat harmful drinking. These include campaigns addressing underage consumption, drink-driving, and ‘binge’ drinking behaviours, initiatives shaped with input from health professionals and often implemented through education or community outreach.
This isn’t about the industry deflecting responsibility, it’s about acknowledging the role all stakeholders can play in contributing to better health outcomes. This “whole-of-society” approach, bringing together policymakers, industry, public health actors and civil society, is working; in the EU, alcohol-attributable mortality is down 21% over the last decade, alcohol-attributed road injuries are down 37% and underage drinking has come down by 18%. This puts EU countries well on-track to reach the United Nations' global objectives of reducing harmful levels and patterns of alcohol consumption by 2030.
Public health messaging must walk a careful line: serious enough to highlight real risks, but not so rigid that it denies the lived experience of millions of people who consume alcohol in moderation as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Oversimplifying the message may win headlines, but it rarely leads to lasting behavioural change.
Instead of focusing solely on abstinence, let’s empower people with information they can use, information that respects the diversity of individual circumstances, cultural habits, and national contexts. Most Europeans are moderate drinkers, and alcohol consumption, when done responsibly, can have social and cultural benefits that should not be dismissed outright.
The framing of “no safe level” of alcohol consumption shuts down any dialogue about risk and benefits. In public health, our dialogue should be open, evidence-based and reflective of the real-world situation. Europe is on the right track and should be having these open, frank conversations about improving our health. We increasingly see these conversations happening amongst consumers and welcome that Europeans now more than ever, are making balanced and more informed decisions about how they consume any product.
Let’s not lose momentum by reverting to absolutism. Let’s build on progress through balance, nuance and a shared commitment to reducing harm together.
Explore the bigger picture around alcohol trends with the fact sheets on https://responsibledrinking.eu/alcohol-trends-the-bigger-picture.
N.B.: All data presented are calculated as a simple average of changes in EU27+ countries (or most countries for which data is available).
