Alcohol: 8 million consumers at risk, binge drinking is rampant
According to data from the Iss Observatory, the behaviour of the most fragile, young people and women, while the elderly escape public services, are a cause for concern
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Key points
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There are 36 million alcohol consumers in Italy, accounting for 77.5% of males and 57.6% of females. Of these, about 8 million from the age of 11 have consumed alcohol in quantities that put their health at risk. While 4.13 million people have engaged in binge drinking, i.e. drinking to get drunk.
This is the picture taken by the National Alcohol Observatory of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ONA-Iss) on the occasion of Alcohol Prevention Day 2025, which is celebrated on 18 April.
The expected reduction in alcohol-related risk behaviour is not in sight. In total, there are 780 thousand 'harmful consumers', i.e. those who have suffered physical or mental harm from alcohol consumption and who require clinical treatment, but only 8.1 per cent are taken into care by the National Health Service. The most vulnerable groups remain minors, adolescents, women and the elderly (who register the highest incidence of alcohol use disorders not intercepted by the public service).
Significant increase for female binge drinkers
.At-risk consumers among young people (11-24 years) are 1.260 million, of whom 615 thousand are minors. Among them, female consumers at risk account for 13.3% in the 11-17 age group. The most significant increase concerns female binge drinkers, who will rise from 2.5% in 2013 to 4.5% in 2023, marking an 80% increase in ten years. Consumption outside meals is also on the rise, and again among women: 23.9% say they drink alcohol outside meals and 1.230 million do so to get drunk. Also worrying is the upswing in mortality totally attributable to alcohol, which is increasing especially among the productive age groups of both sexes, thwarting expectations of a reduction.
Scafato (Iss): more focus on young people
"Alcohol consumption in Italy shows a consolidated situation, rampant in the most vulnerable segments of the population: minors, adolescents, women and the elderly," explains Emanuele Scafato, director of the ONA-Iss -. National and regional prevention is possible if we target the main targets. Attention must be increased for young people, with greater protection in places of aggregation and health education in schools. Adequate resources must be ensured for treatment networks and the implementation of guidelines for alcohol use disorders'.
