The findings confirm a long-standing pattern: alcohol consumption in Poland has remained stable for years, with men consistently drinking much more than women.
Daniel Rabczenko from the institute’s Department of Population Health Monitoring and Analysis said: “Alcohol consumption in Poland has changed very little over the past dozen years or so. We’ve been drinking at a similar level for years. Men drink much more than women, and consumption decreases with age, although men aged 40 to 59 drink the most.”
On average, a Polish adult consumes the equivalent of 200 pints of beer, six bottles of wine, and three liters of spirits per year.
These figures are part of the institute’s latest report on behavioral risk factors to health, which refers to habits that can be changed to improve health outcomes.
To assess risky drinking, researchers asked three questions: whether the respondent had felt they were drinking too much and felt unwell as a result, whether they had experienced guilt related to drinking, and whether they had felt irritated by others' comments on their drinking.
If the answer to at least one question was yes, the person was classified as engaging in risky drinking.
Based on these criteria, nearly 30 percent of men and 18 percent of women were identified as drinking in a way that could negatively affect their health.
More than 18 percent of men and 8 percent of women reported drinking alcohol at least once a week, a level considered potentially harmful.
The survey found strong links between alcohol use and the respondents’ demographic and economic situations.
Among men, risky drinking was most prevalent in the 40–59 age group (37.3 percent), among those with higher education (31.1 percent) or vocational education (30 percent), and among those in difficult financial situations (44.8 percent).
Interestingly, men who said they were in good financial condition also reported higher drinking levels than those describing their situation as average.
Among women, one in five aged 20 to 59 reported risky drinking. This pattern was seen in nearly 17 percent of those with higher or post-secondary education, and in almost one in four women in poor financial situations (24.1 percent).
Women living in cities were nearly two-thirds more likely to drink at risky levels than those living in rural areas, the report said.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP