Overview
- The DHS Addiction Yearbook, released Thursday, ties alcohol to about 44,000 deaths and seven million hospital treatments each year and puts the annual cost at roughly €57 billion.
- Per person use in 2024 averaged about 11 liters of pure alcohol, which researchers say remains above the European average.
- About 8.6 million adults drink at risky levels, and 9.5 million reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past month.
- Report authors urge higher excise taxes, limits on where alcohol is sold such as no sales at petrol stations, and strict advertising curbs.
- Experts note there is no wine tax and only a low beer tax in Germany, which keeps prices down and helps sustain high use.