Addiction report: consumption of tobacco and alcohol remains at a high level

addiction report
Consumption of tobacco and alcohol remains at a high level

The consumption of tobacco and alcohol continues to decline in Germany, but remains at a high level according to the German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS). This emerges from the “Yearbook Addiction 2023” published on Wednesday. Spending on tobacco products fell to 27.1 billion euros in 2022 – a drop of 7.7 percent compared to the previous year.

The consumption of finished cigarettes fell by 8.3 percent to 65.8 billion pieces, while the consumption of fine-cut cigarettes for hand-rolled cigarettes rose slightly by 0.9 percent to around 25,000 tons. Consumption of cigars and cigarillos fell by 8.9 percent to 2.5 billion units.

Higher shisha consumption

In recent years, addiction reports have also shown an increase in the consumption of shisha water pipe tobacco. No comparison is possible for 2022, since the consumption of water pipe tobacco and heated tobacco is not included in the new figures from the Federal Statistical Office, explained DHS Managing Director Christina Rummel. “A drop in numbers is not to be expected in this area.”

Overall, the proportion of smokers continues to decline. According to the microcensus, around 16 percent of women and 22 percent of men were still smoking in 2021. When it comes to tobacco prevention and tobacco control, Germany is still at the bottom of the table in an international comparison, says Rummel. “We must consistently continue and expand measures to sustainably reduce tobacco consumption and exposure to passive smoke.”

According to the DHS managing director, there is “still a lot to do” when it comes to alcohol. According to the addiction report, 7.9 million Germans consume alcohol “in a way that is hazardous to their health”. This corresponds to a daily amount of twelve grams of pure alcohol for women and 24 grams for men, i.e. one to two small glasses of beer.

Even a little alcohol can make you sick

“Although alcohol consumption has fallen further compared to previous years, significantly more alcohol is still drunk in Germany than the global average,” said DHS CEO Norbert Scherbaum. Alcohol as a supposed cultural asset is widely accepted in society. “Even small amounts of alcohol can make you ill,” said alcohol researcher and yearbook author Ulrich John from the University Hospital in Greifswald. Abstaining from alcohol could bring women an extra lifetime of at least 16 years, for men it is at least 10 years.

In addition to prevention campaigns for individual consumption, for example in schools, the DHS experts call for more structural political measures. “There are three main points here: raising alcohol prices, restricting the current 24/7 availability and regulating alcohol advertising,” said Rummel. Structural prevention is proven to be effective and also reduces the costs of consumption for society as a whole. “Alcohol hurts with every sip,” stressed Rummel. “It’s a cytotoxin.”

According to the experts, among the illegal drugs, cannabis is the most common among both young people and adults. According to current estimates, around 4.7 million adults between the ages of 18 and 64 and around 374,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have used an illicit drug in the past 12 months.

Sports betting observed critically

In the gaming market, the report for 2021 shows an increase in sales of 14.6 percent to 53.4 billion euros. This is due in particular to an amendment to the State Treaty on Gambling made in July 2021, which legalized sports betting nationwide. According to this, sports betting grew by 409.6 percent to a turnover of 18.3 billion euros in 2021 alone. There are no figures for 2022 yet. “We take a very critical view of this and keep an eye on it,” stressed Rummel.

Casinos and slot machines, on the other hand, would have lost importance between 2020 and 2021. At least in part, this can also be explained by the corona pandemic, said Rummel. Gambling has moved from bars to the internet.

dpa