12/5/2007 3:14:23 PM
Drinking Heaviest in European Nations
Fourteen of the 15 nations that lead the world in per-capita alcohol consumption are located in Europe, according to a new survey.
Forbes reported Nov. 28 that the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development's study on the World's 15 Heaviest-Drinking Countries found that per-capita alcohol consumption was highest in Luxembourg, where residents consume an average of 15.5 liters of alcohol annually. Following closely were France, Ireland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
The study found that Europeans tended to have more acceptance and tolerance for alcohol use than nations in other parts of the world, and also tended to have low alcohol taxes. Luxembourg, for example, has some of the lowest alcohol taxes in Europe.
A separate study found that the Czech Republic leads the world in per-capita annual beer consumption, and the 94 percent of 15-year-old Czechs identified themselves as beer drinkers.Read More