The French continue to drink a lot of alcohol, but less than before, and women tend to catch up with men in terms of “drunkenness”, reveals a study by health authorities published on January 23.
According to the latest Santé Pública France survey, which covers until 2021, long-term trends reveal “a very marked decline in reported daily consumption over the last decades”, which is reflected in sales figures.
The proportion of weekly drinkers, which stood at 62.6% in 2000, has fallen to just 39% in 2021. And the proportion of adults who drink alcohol daily has almost halved, from 21, 5% in 2000 to 8.0% in 2021. according to the study, which is based on self-reported data.
Driven by the decline in wine consumption, this trend is the result of cultural changes and the implementation of public policies such as the Evin law of 1991, which severely restricted advertising for alcohol, explains Santé Publish France.
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Average alcohol consumption continues to vary greatly by age. Younger people drink less frequently, but when they do, they consume larger quantities of alcoholic beverages than their elders.
Drinking
Another trend “that we have been observing for several years, both in France and abroad, is a convergence of behavior between men and women,” explains Raphaël Andler, co-author of the study.
The phenomenon of drinking sessions – defined as the consumption of at least six glasses of alcohol in one go, i.e. occasional excessive drinking – is decreasing among young men, but tends to increase among women over 35 years.
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Several hypotheses have been considered to explain these trends: the increase in the proportion of women in the labor market, the increase in the age of first marriage or even the marketing of the alcohol industry aimed at women.
Alcohol consumption is responsible for some 41,000 deaths per year and constitutes one of the main risk factors for premature death, recalls the health agency, but France “does not have a national plan to fight this disease” .
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
