The 2007 report from the OECD indicates that Icelanders have increased their consumption of alcohol by 65% since 1980, the highest level of all members in the organisation.
The ‘Health at a Glance 2007 – OECD Indicators’ report surveyed the alcohol consumption in 30 countries between 1980 and 2005 by measuring annual sales per capita.
In two thirds of OECD countries, the average alcohol consumption has fallen since 1980 but in Iceland there has been an increase of 65% during the same period. However, in terms of annual consumption, Iceland scores low on the list with 7.1 litres of alcohol per capita, a little more than in Norway and Sweden. The average for OECD countries was 9.5 litres.
Luxembourg ranked first overall in terms of annual consumption, with Ireland coming second. “Leaving aside Luxembourg, given the high volume of purchases by non-residents in that country, Ireland, Hungary, France and the Czech Republic reported the highest consumption of alcohol, with 12 litres or more per adult per year in 2005,” the report concluded.
The report attributed the comparatively low levels of alcohol consumption in Iceland and other Nordic countries to the strict controls on sales and high taxes.
It also pointed to falls in consumption in France, Italy and Spain which “may be associated with the voluntary and statutory regulation of advertising, partly following a 1989 European directive.”
For Ireland, coming second place in annual consumption (13.5 litres per head) as well as seeing the second highest increase in drinking since 1980 was not all bad news. A spokesperson for the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland said, “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that alcohol consumption per adult has passed its peak now and as the population continues to age, we expect to see further reductions in per adult consumption in the years ahead”.
The report took data from 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international body which collects economic, social and environmental data from democratic and free market countries around the world.