Abusive Consumption

The harmful effects of abusive consumption

If consumed in excess, alcoholic drinks increase exposure to a vast range of risk factors, the risk heightening with the quantity of alcohol consumed. It is therefore crucial to prevent abusive consumption and the wine sector is committed to doing this.

Estimating the social and health costs

The dangerous and harmful drinking of alcohol is one of the main causes of premature death and avoidable diseases. One in four deaths of young men (between 15 to 29-years-old) and one in every 10 deaths of young women is related to the harmful use of alcoholic beverages. The causes of death include road traffic accidents, injuries, violence and liver disease. It is also the cause of 7.4% of all cases of invalidity and premature death in the EU and has a negative impact on both work and productivity.

Alcohol abuse has also been associated with various chronic diseases that reduce quality of life. These include: hypertension, cardiovascular problems, liver cirrhosis, alcohol dependency, various types of cancer, brain damage related to alcohol and many other problems.

The excess consumption of alcoholic beverages in pregnant women can cause fetal malformations and babies can have symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome. For this reason, alcoholic beverages should be avoided during pregnancy.

Apart from the questions of health that result from the excessive consumption of alcohol, there are also social consequences for both the consumers themselves and the wider community. These ramifications include family problems (including for children), problems with friends and family and also potential issues for bystanders and strangers who, for example, may be harassed by drunken individuals. The abusive consumption of alcohol affects the professional lives of around 5% of men and 2% of women in the EU–15 who report that alcohol has a negative impact on their work and studies.