WHO Names Region With World’s Highest Alcohol Consumption

Consumption levels in this region have remained unchanged for over 10 years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the European Union (EU) is the subregion with the highest alcohol consumption in the world, which has remained virtually unchanged for over 10 years. This is reported on the organization’s website.

The report says that the EU as a whole is currently not moving toward reducing alcohol consumption. However, the most successful example that demonstrates a decrease in alcohol consumption, according to WHO, is the model of alcohol management in the Nordic countries of Europe, where there are state monopolies on the sale of alcoholic beverages. These monopolies operate in Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands.

In contrast to for-profit alcohol sales models, the Nordic system limits the availability of alcohol and minimizes commercial influence by prohibiting the sale of strong drinks in stores and private retailers. State monopolies such as ATVR in Iceland, Systembolaget in Sweden, Alko in Finland, Rusdrekkasøla Landsins in the Faroe Islands and Vinmonopolet in Norway operate with public health as a priority rather than profit.

These regions have restrictions on the number of outlets, opening hours and days of sale, as well as strict age controls and a ban on advertising and discounts, the WHO notes. As a result, countries with state monopolies have lower per capita alcohol consumption and fewer alcohol-related diseases and injuries than the EU average.

“This public health-first approach in the management of alcohol retail sales in Nordic countries is a great demonstration of alcohol policies that work,” says Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Adviser for Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health at WHO/Europe.

“Countries with state-owned monopolies have lower per capita alcohol consumption compared to the EU average, and generally have lower rates of alcohol-attributable harms, which span from liver disease, cancers and cardiovascular conditions to injuries and drownings.”

In 2023, the WHO stated that there is no safe dose of alcohol. According to it, the currently available scientific data does not prove the existence of a threshold at which the carcinogenic properties of alcohol “switch on” and begin to manifest themselves in the human body. Moreover, there are no scientific studies that could demonstrate the potential beneficial effect of alcohol consumption.

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