New study reveals Irish drinkers consume over twice as much alcohol as the global average

54% of Irish men were described as "heavy episodic drinkers".

A new study has revealed that Ireland has continued to increase its annual alcohol consumption year-on-year, even as those same levels are decreasing in the rest of Europe. Figures released by The Lancet show that 40% on Irish people - broken down to 54% of men and 26% of women - are described as heavy episodic drinkers, which is defined as having at least one occasion of consuming the equivalent of 60g of pure alcohol (or five standard units) over a 30-day period. Alcohol intake in Ireland has grown, up from 12.3 litres in 2010 to 13.2 litres in 2017. This is over double the global average of 6.5 litres, which is based on findings from 189 countries around the world. Alcohol intake in Europe and Russia has mostly dropped, but the global average has increased as alcohol intake has seen an uptick in developing countries, with vast increases in places like China, India, and Vietnam. The study suggests that almost a quarter of the entire global population will binge drink once a month by the year 2030.