PEOPLES GAZETTE
People around the world are drinking less alcohol than they used to, but the World Health Organisation is warning that the reduction is happening far too slowly.
The WHO reported in Geneva on Tuesday that the organisation’s goal of reducing consumption by 20 per cent by 2030 compared to the 2010 level cannot now be achieved.
The WHO’s figures suggest per capita consumption worldwide fell from 5.7 litres of pure alcohol in 2010 to 5.5 litres of alcohol in 2019.
Moreover, it is calling for countries to do more to reduce drinking, including introducing advertising bans and sales restrictions and raising prices through taxation.
According to the WHO’s figures, Germany is one of the world leaders in alcohol consumption.
It said that on the average every person over the age of 15 in Germany drank 12.2 litres of pure alcohol in 2019.
WHO does not provide precise rankings of countries because, it says, there are margins of error in all the figures.
The organisation is also reluctant to put a figure on how much alcohol can be drunk safely.
