People in Germany continue to smoke and drink more than they should, according to the results of a new survey published by the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS). Germans are also increasingly likely to consume pipe tobacco. 

Germany is a “high consumption country” for alcohol

In the past year, people over the age of 15 in Germany consumed an average of 10,2 litres of pure alcohol per year, which is a significant decline compared to the 14,4 litres people were consuming in the 1970s. Despite the decline, however, experts say numbers are still too high. 

Unsurprisingly, Germany, which is well-known for its love of beer, is flagged as a “high consumption country” when it comes to alcohol. Addiction experts in Germany such as Professor Norbert Scherbaum warn that despite alcohol being widely consumed and legal to buy unlike other drugs, it should be remembered that alcohol is a cell poison and numerous physical illnesses can be attributed to its consumption.

Smoking is on the decline in Germany

Alcohol is not the only addictive substance to be on the decline in Germany. Smoking cigarettes has become much less common in recent years, thanks to health campaigns, counselling and public smoking bans. According to the study, 71,8 billion finished cigarettes were smoked across Germany in the last year, which is 2,8 percent fewer than in 2020. On average, this means that there were 863 cigarettes consumed for every German citizen.

While demand for cigarettes is declining, demand for other tobacco products is on the increase. Pipe tobacco has surged in popularity in recent years, with experts putting the surge down to the growing popularity of hookah among young people.

The survey also studied gambling patterns among people in Germany and found that gambling declined around 11 percent in 2020, but still contributed 38,3 billion euros to the German gambling economy. It is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has affected the figures.