Alcohol abuse is a growing problem in Croatia, which is among the top five European countries in terms of daily alcohol consumption. Another worrying fact is the number of young people who consume alcohol, as was revealed at a round table in Zagreb on Tuesday.

According to the 2019 European Health Interview Survey, Croatia is among the five countries with the highest daily alcohol consumption, with a prevalence of more than 10 per cent. The other four countries are France, Bulgaria, Spain and Portugal.

The data is worrying because alcoholism is not only a personal problem, but has far-reaching effects on families, health systems and society in general, according to the round table organised by the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ).

Alcohol abuse is one of the most important risk factors for the development of disease, disability and death and has serious health consequences, including liver and heart disease, mental disorders and injuries.

Alcohol consumption among young people

According to some indicators from the 2022 Health Behaviour Survey of School-Age Children, girls have overtaken boys for the first time since 2002.

The survey shows that 41.5% of boys and even 45% of girls aged 13 and 66% of boys and even 71% of girls aged 15 have drunk alcohol at least once in their lives.

In the 11-year-old age group, more boys than girls came into contact with alcohol at a very early age, namely 23% of boys compared to 15% of girls. But even in the 15-year-old age group, girls overtook boys in terms of alcohol consumption: 43% of girls have drunk alcohol at least once in their lives, compared to 42.5% of boys.

Prevention measures include information campaigns for young people and the general population, education and raising awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption.

The round table participants concluded that schools should employ psychologists to better manage the problem of alcohol consumption. They should also organise mental health risk screening to be carried out by school doctors as part of medical examinations in the final year of primary school and the first year of secondary school.