Is the postwar drinking binge ending? Cross-national trends in per capita alcohol consumption.

Examination is made of per capita alcohol consumption data for 33 (largely developed) countries for 4 periods of time--1951-1952, 1968-1970, 1974-1976 and 1983-1984. The trends indicate that there was a large increase in consumption between 1950-1952 and 1974-1976 in most countries. However, after 1974-1976, consumption stabilized or decreased in most. Declines appear to be more common in wine-drinking countries and in those with very high levels of consumption. The tendency for countries to have a dominant beverage has declined: the overall trend has been towards beer consumption and away from spirits consumption. Reasons for the results include demographic changes and life style changes towards greater interest in health.