Jersey among worst OECD countries for drinking alcohol

Jersey is the 13th worst in the world, out of the OECD countries, for alcohol consumption, putting us on par with France and Russia.

The latest figures show that islanders drink more alcohol than our UK counterparts, coming in at 10.8 litres of pure alcohol per capita.

This is equivalent to 2.1 bottles of wine, 9.2 pints of beer (4% ABV), 6.1 pints of strong beer (6% ABV) or 0.74 litres of spirits (40% ABV) each week.

NHS guidelines suggest 14 units per week, which equates to 1.6 bottles of wine or 5 pints of strong beer.

The United Kingdom ranks 24th, at 9.3 litres, and the OECD average sits at 8.3 litres.

It measures the litres of 'pure alcohol' consumed per capita between 2019 and 2023.

However, previous figures placed the island second, with 12 litres of pure alcohol in 2022.

READ: Quarter Of Islanders Drink To Hazardous Level

The statistic has reduced to 1 in 5 islanders who drink more than the recommended amount of alcohol weekly, rather than a quarter.

Although, men consistently drink more than women, according to the Alcohol Profile.

Frequent binge drinking tends to peak when islanders reach middle age, between 45 and 54, and Jersey is less likely to abstain from drinking, especially among working-aged adults and men.

Despite these figures, fewer young islanders are choosing to experiment with alcohol, with more than half of secondary school pupils saying they have never tried it.

However, girls in Year 12 are the most likely to drink alcohol.

Regarding the purchase of alcohol, islanders seem to be turning away from beer and possibly towards wines and spirits.

Beer imports have seen a sharp decline, dropping from 12.9 million litres in 1999 to 7.6 million litres in 2024.

In terms of the effect of Jersey's alcohol consumption, more than £600,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on alcohol-related benefits.

The government reveals that Long-Term Allowance payments are putting pressure on health and social systems.

Similarly, 4 in 5 islanders going to the hospital with alcohol-related medical issues are men.

People in Jersey are more likely to get admitted to the hospital for those reasons compared to those in England.

There are also concerns on the roads, as there has been a 100% increase in drink drivers involved in collisions between 2023 and 2024.