Irish people are the biggest binge drinkers in Europe

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It comes as no surprise that Ireland has been rated as Europe's top binge drinking nation.

According to a Eurobarometer survey, published by the European Commission, a total of 19 percent of Irish people said on average they regularly have five or more drinks in a single sitting.

The Irish average is three times greater than the EU average of 6 percent.

 “Worryingly the Eurobarometer shows that in Ireland people are still binge drinking and are not responding to the fact that alcohol is the third-biggest cause of premature death in the EU," said European Commission Irish director Martin Territt.

Over 27 percent of Irish people surveyed, said they consumed alcohol about two or three times a week, while 7 percent consumed alcohol four times a week.

In contrast, 24 percent of Irish people said that they had not consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.

In fact Ireland's abstention rate is greater than the Czech Republic (18 percent), Denmark (7 percent) and the (19 percent).

The survey found that 25 percent of all Europeans aged over 55 years consumed alcohol on a daily basis, compared with 3 percent of 15-24 year olds.

However, the survey found that 25 percent of 15-24 year olds drink more than 5 drinks once a week, compared with 10 percent of people aged over 55.

Irish people are aware of the health problems surrounding the consumption of alcohol.

91 percent of Irish people are aware that alcohol is a depressant while 88 percent acknowledge that it increases heart disease.

However only 25 percent of Europeans knew the legal driving limit in their country.

"Many Europeans don’t know that a standard glass of wine, whisky or beer contains the same amount of alcohol; whether they should drink when pregnant; or what a safe limit is to drive. These are some of the knowledge gaps that Europe needs to bridge in order to bring about a change in behavior,” Jamie Fortescue, European Spirits Organization director, told the Irish Times.
 

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