Guyanese alcohol consumption is above global average:
The World Health Organisation (WHO)in a new report launched earlier this week said that on average, Guyanese consumed more than eight litres (17.5 grams daily) of pure alcohol in 2010 compared to the global figure of 6.2 litres (13.5 grams daily).
That is, alcohol consumption in Guyana in 2010 was equal to 8.1 litres of pure alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older (15+). However, the average drinker in Guyana consumed more than 3.5 gallons (13.7 litres or 29.76 grams daily.
A one-seventh of this consumption (14 per cent) was unrecorded, ie, homemade alcohol, illegally produced or sold outside normal Government controls. Of total recorded alcohol consumed, 77 per cent was consumed in the form of spirits, while 23 per cent was beer, less than one per cent wine, and less than one per cent other. Some 40.5 per cent of the population aged 15+ had not drunk alcohol in 2010, while 11.5 per cent of the males and 28.8 per cent of females in this age group were lifetime abstainers. About 15.2 per cent of male drinkers (10 per cent of the population aged 15+) engage in heavy episodic drinking, that is, consumed at least 60 grams of pure alcohol at least once per month.
