Post #163338 by thejab on Fri, Jun 3, 2005 10:12 AM

Here's the top ten drinking countries by per capita consumption annually in gallons of pure alcohol:

1. Portugal 2.98
2. Luxembourg 2.95
3. France 2.87
4. Hungary 2.66
5. Spain 2.66
6. Czech Republic 2.64
7. Denmark 2.61
8. Germany 2.50
9. Austria 2.50
10. Switzerland 2.43

The US ranks at 32nd with a consumption of 1.74. In Europe it's common for people to drink during lunch and after work. In England the pubs are packed at lunch hour with folks drinking beer (and they didn't even make the top 10). Maybe they don't get as fat as us because they're out drinking and socializing instead of being cooped up at home on the couch watching TV.

Drinking is down in the US compared to the past. Per capita consumption among people over 14 in the US:
2000 2.18 gallons
1990 2.43 gallons
1980 2.76 gallons

Whatever happened to the 2 martini lunch? And, as tikifish said, in the colonial times and up to prohibition people drank enourmous quantities of ale and rum.

What about underage drinking? Drinking among those 17 years old and less went down by two thirds between 1985 and 1997 according to research by the federal government.

Many studies have shown the health benefits of moderate drinking. One study showed that 135,884 additional deaths by coronary heart disease would occur each year in the US if everyone abstained from drinking!

I got these facts from a web site by David J. Hanson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the State University of New York at Potsdam. The site includes references to the source of all stated facts.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/index.html

Drink up Bong and stop worrying! Just watch the drinking and driving.