Use of alcohol

In 2016 the percentage of population aged 11 and over who had consumed at least one alcoholic drink during the year was 64.7%. This rate was stable if compared to the previous year (64.5%).

From 2006 to 2016 the number of daily consumers has been decreasing from 29.5% to 21.4%. The number of people consuming alcohol at least once outside mealtimes has been increasing (from 26.1% in 2006 to 29.2 in 2016) as well as the number of occasional consumers (from 38.8% in 2006 to 43.3% in 2016).

In 2016, 51.7% of people aged 11 and over drank wine, 47.8% drank beer, and 43.2% drank alcoholic aperitifs, digestive liqueurs, spirits or liqueurs.

Overall, risk behaviours in alcohol consumption (no moderate habitual consumption, binge drinking – i.e. to drink six or seven glasses of alcoholic beverages on a single occasion – and alcohol consumption by teenagers aged 11 to 17) concerned 8,643 million person of the overall population (15.9% of
population and 25% of consumers).

Groups of population most at risk of no moderate consumption were: the elderly (36.2% of males and 8.3% of females), the young adult population aged 18-24 (22.8% of males and 12.2% of females) and the adolescents aged 11-17 (22.9% of males and 17.9% of females).

The young adult group was (aged 18-24) the population group most at risk of binge drinking  with a 17.0% share (21.8% of males and 11.7% of females). This behaviour often occurs during socialisation occasions.