The consumption of tobacco and alcohol continues to decline in Germany, but according to the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS), it remains at a high level. This is the result of the “Addiction Yearbook 2023”, reports ntv.
According to the report, expenditure on tobacco products decreased to EUR 27.1 billion in 2022 – a decrease of 7.7 per cent compared to the previous year. The consumption of cigarettes fell by 8.3 per cent to 65.8 billion units, while the consumption of fine cut for RYO cigarettes increased slightly by 0.9 per cent to around 25,000 tonnes. Consumption of cigars and cigarillos had declined by 8.9 per cent to 2.5 billion pieces. Overall, the proportion of smokers continues to decline. According to the report, around 16 per cent of women and 22 per cent of men still smoked in 2021.
In the past years, the addiction reports had also shown an increase in the consumption of shisha water pipe tobacco. For 2022, no comparison is possible, as the consumption of water pipe tobacco and heated tobacco is not included in new figures of the Federal Statistical Office, explained DHS Managing Director Christina Rummel. “However, a drop in numbers is not to be expected in this area.”
According to the addiction report, 7.9 million Germans consume alcohol “in a way that is risky to health”. This corresponds to a daily amount of 12 grams of pure alcohol for women and 24 grams for men, i.e. one to two small glasses of beer.
In the field of illicit drugs, cannabis is the most widespread among young people as well as among adults. According to current estimates, about 4.7 million adults aged 18-64 and about 374,000 young people aged 12-17 have used an illicit drug in the last 12 months.