On average, the French drink alcohol about every 3 days, putting them ahead of the rest of the world in terms of regularity of consumption.
While the Irish regretted their alcohol consumption from the previous day in over a quarter of cases and wished they had drunk less, Finns and Danes get drunk largely without regret (17% regrets in each country). Worldwide, about 20% alcohol consumption is regretted the next day.
The Australians surveyed got really drunk almost 27 times within a year - quite different from their neighbours in New Zealand. Although in second place in terms of regularity of consumption, they do not land in the top 10 when it comes to drunkenness.
Moderation by Law or the Economy?
Within the EU, there are regular discussions about tightening alcohol legislation - from mandatory labeling to advertising bans and higher taxes. A recent IWSR Consumer Confidence survey (https://www.theiwsr.com/consumers-choose-to-drink-less-to-save-more/) suggests that European consumers are already rethinking their budget for alcoholic beverages due to the poor economic outlook. This is especially true for on-premise behaviour: In European markets almost half of consumers claim they will restrict their alcohol consumption on at least some on-premise occasions.
The trend toward less alcohol in times of crisis appears to be an almost worldwide phenomenon: Across the 17 markets surveyed by IWSR, approximately half of the adults drinking alcohol agree with the statement "I am more interested in moderating my alcohol consumption generally." And it’s not surprising´ that this is particularly true for Generation Z.
Source: The Wine Gourd, Global Drug Survey 2021
