Europeans are cutting down on alcohol – but are still by far the world’s biggest drinkers, according to new figures.
For European consumption of alcohol remains twice the world average, according to the World Health Organisation.
And, while binge-drinking is regarded as a problem of the northern beer-drinking European countries, WHO says that, continent-wide, nearly one in three European males goes on a binge at least once a month.
About one in eight women also indulge in binge drinking monthly, its figures show.
The latest analysis shows a 10% reduction in alcohol consumed per person in Europe each year – falling to 10.9 litres of pure alcohol a year.
WHO said national governments were increasingly, but slowly, bringing in measures to tackle alcohol problems.
Some 47 countries in Europe have restrictions on alcohol advertising and 46 now use random breath-testing for drivers.
According to WHO’s global report yesterday, some 3.3 million died worldwide in 2012 from the results of alcohol.
WHO European director Zsuzsanna Jakab said: "Policy developments are starting to show a positive impact, but, although there are signs that consumption is on the decline, alcohol is still a major contributor to death and disease and goes hand in hand with the big killers: cancer, cardiovascular diseases and obesity."
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