How much do we drink?

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  • Alcohol-related problems cost Ireland an estimated €2.65 billion in 2003: that’s a cost of €650 for each man, woman and child
  • Over half of all Irish drinkers have a harmful pattern of drinking, that’s 4 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men who drink
  • A higher proportion of Irish women drink compared with women in other European countries (77% compared to 68%)
  • The average amount of alcohol consumed by every person in the country aged 15+ was 12.4 litres of pure alcohol in 2008. This amounts to 490 pints or 129 bottles of wine or 46 bottles of vodka per adult.
  • When we consider the above statistics, alongside the fact that one in five adults in Ireland don’t drink alcohol, it means that those who do drink are consuming much more than consumption statistics show
  • Alcohol consumption in Ireland increased by 46% between 1987 (9.8 litres) and 2001 (14.3 litres) when our consumption reached a record high
  • Consumption has been falling from this peak in 2001, to 12.4 litres in 2008
  • Even at current levels we are still drinking 20% above the levels we drank at in 1986/1987
  • Ireland continues to rank among the highest consumers of alcohol in the 26 countries in the enlarged EU. We drink about 20% more than the average European