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8.2M Italians at Health Risk From Alcohol
15 Apr
Summary
- 8.2 million Italians consume alcohol harmfully, with 79,000 underage.
- Binge drinking has nearly doubled among women in the past decade.
- Only 8.3% of frequent heavy drinkers with health issues receive treatment.
In Italy, approximately 8.2 million individuals aged 11 and above consume alcohol at levels detrimental to their health, according to a new report. This figure represents a significant portion of the 36 million alcohol consumers in the country.
Binge drinking, characterized by consuming alcohol with the intent to become intoxicated, impacts 4.45 million people. Disturbingly, 79,000 of these are under the age of 18. The report highlights a concerning trend of binge drinking nearly doubling among women in the past decade, increasing from 2.5% to 4.6%.
Furthermore, 730,000 frequent drinkers in Italy already experience physical or mental impairments due to alcohol and require clinical intervention. However, only a small percentage, 8.3%, are currently receiving treatment.
The National Alcohol Observatory (ONA) of the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) has identified the elderly population as particularly vulnerable, noting they are less frequently reached by prevention efforts and often have undetected harmful alcohol consumption patterns.
