The world consumed ten per cent more alcohol per adult in 2017 than in 1990, due in large part to heavier and more widespread drinking in China and India, researchers said Wednesday. On current trends, global consumption per capita will rise another 17 per cent over the next decade, they reported in The Lancet.
By 2030 half of all adults worldwide will drink alcohol, and almost a quarter will binge drink at least once a month, according to projections covering 189 countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) goal is to reduce "harmful alcohol use" 10 percent by 2025.
Globally, some 237 million men and 46 million women suffer from alcohol-related disorders, with the highest rates in Europe (15 and 3.5 per cent, respectively, for men and women) and North America (11.5 and 5 percent).
"Before 1990, most alcohols was consumed in high-income countries, with the highest use levels recorded in Europe," said lead author Jakob Manthey, a researcher at the Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Dresden, Germany.
"However, this pattern has changed substantially, with large reductions across Eastern Europe and vast increases in several middle-income countries such as China, India, and Vietnam."
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