Poland: Average Pole over the age of 15 drinks 272 half-litre cans of beer per year

The average Pole over the age of 15 now drinks 272 half-litre cans of beer per year, according to a new report on the rise of beer consumption in Poland compiled by the Jagiellonian Institute.

The figure reflects the growing popularity of beer drinking in a country that for long has been associated with vodka.

"For 30 years now, we've been observing an increase in beer consumption in Poland, and this fact has generated an increase in the amount of pure alcohol consumed per person," said Dr. Katarzyna Oblakowska, a sociologist and an author of the report, entitled "Poland flooded by beer. An analysis of the evolution of the alcohol consumption model in Poland – causes and effects."

According to the report, beer is responsible for the consumption of 5.34 litres of pure alcohol by an average Pole per year, and spirits, and wines and meads for 3.7 litres and 0.74 litres, respectively.

State Agency for the Prevention of Alcohol Related Problems data show that in 1992 the amount of alcohol consumed was 38.6 litres per person but, by now, this figure has risen dramatically to 97.1 litres per person. Statistically, every Pole, including new-borns, drinks 194 0.5 litre cans/bottles of beer per year.

In the opinion of Dr. Artur Bartoszewicz, an economist from the Warsaw School of Economics and co-author of the study, the majority of Poles do not identify beer as alcohol. Only 46 percent of the adult population associates beer in this way while the majority of Poles equate alcohol with spirits.

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