英國年輕人飲酒量下降

Diageo last week took a majority stake in Seedlip, a non-alcoholic spirit sold as an alternative to gin — a move seen by analysts as the drinks giant’s attempt to grab more of the growing teetotal market. The young are more abstemious than their elders, and manufacturers and marketers need to keep up.

帝亞吉歐(Diageo)不久前收購了Seedlip的多數(shù)股權(quán)，這是一種被作為金酒替代品出售的無酒精型烈酒——市場分析師們將此舉解讀為酒業(yè)巨頭試圖在日益擴張的無酒精飲料市場中分一杯羹。年輕一代相對于他們的長輩在飲酒方面更加節(jié)制，酒類生產(chǎn)商和營銷機構(gòu)必須跟上這種趨勢。

For those of us who don’t drink or, in my case, only occasionally, a reduction in others’ drinking, along with a fall in the antisocial consequences, is a welcome development. At a wedding in Italy this summer, I marvelled as a group of Italian and French guests partied under a hot afternoon sun and late into the night, without anyone staggering or slurring in the way they would inevitably have done in the UK.

對于我們當中那些不喝酒——或者以我自己為例——僅偶爾喝一杯的人來說，他人飲酒量的下降，以及與之相隨的危害社會公共利益問題的減少，是一種令人愉快的新變化。今年夏天在意大利的一個婚禮活動上，我面對一群在炎熱午后大玩派對直至深夜的法國和意大利賓客深感驚訝，因為沒有任何人因為飲酒過量而走路困難或口齒不清，而在英國，人們通常免不了總會這樣。

But how much less are people drinking? Is overdoing the booze really on the decline?

但人們的飲酒量究竟下降了多少?飲酒過量的情況是否真的越來越少了?

Alcohol is largely confined to certain countries. Much of the world does not, for religious or cultural reasons, drink at all. Worldwide, in 2016, 57 per cent of those aged 15 or over had not drunk alcohol in the previous 12 months, according to World Health Organization figures.

酒精消費總的來說集中于某些特定國家。全球許多國家出于宗教或文化原因完全不飲酒。世界衛(wèi)生組織(World Health Organization)提供的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2016年全球15歲以上人口中，有57%的人在過去12個月里從未飲酒。

Much drinking is confined to certain parts of the world. The only regions where more than half the over-15 population drank alcohol were the Americas, Europe and the western Pacific, the WHO said. The highest per capita consumption was in Europe, although European drinking had decreased, from 12.3 litres per person in 2005 to 9.8 litres in 2016.

大部分飲酒人群集中在世界某些地區(qū)。世界衛(wèi)生組織表示，15歲以上人口中飲用飲酒比例過半的地區(qū)只有美洲、歐洲和西太平洋。歐洲是全球范圍內(nèi)人均酒精消費量最高的地區(qū)，不過歐洲人已經(jīng)開始減少飲酒，從2005年人均飲酒12.3升降至2016年人均飲酒9.8升。

There are signs of increasing teetotalism in drinking countries. In the UK, where Diageo is headquartered, one in five people aged 16 and over said they did not drink at all in 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics. The trend is particularly noticeable in the younger generation. Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the proportion who claimed not to drink rose from 19 per cent in 2005 to 22.8 per cent in 2018. Among 25- to 44-year-olds, non-drinkers rose from 15.5 per cent in 2005 to 20.6 per cent in 2017.

在有飲酒習(xí)慣的國家還出現(xiàn)了禁酒主義群體擴大的跡象。以帝亞吉歐總部所在的英國為例，來自英國國家統(tǒng)計署(Office for National Statistics)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，16歲以上群體中有五分之一的人聲稱自己2017年全年未曾飲酒。這一趨勢在較為年輕的代際中表現(xiàn)得尤為明顯。在16至24歲的年輕人中，聲稱自己不喝酒的比例已從2005年的19%上升至2018年的22.8%。而在25歲至44歲的群體中，滴酒不沾者所占比重從2005年的15.5%升至2017年的20.6%。

The over-65s showed a different pattern: 24.2 per cent said they were non-drinkers in 2017 but that was a fall from 29.4 per cent in 2005.

65歲以上人群則表現(xiàn)出了不同的趨勢：2017年該群體中自稱不喝酒的人數(shù)占比為24.2%，相對于2005年的29.4%出現(xiàn)了下滑。

The consequences of a drop in drinking are difficult to assess. While alcohol is often implicated in street fighting, domestic violence and accidents, it is not the only factor. The sober can be guilty of causing them too.

飲酒減少的后果很難評估。雖然人們常把酒精與街頭斗毆、家庭暴力以及事故聯(lián)系在一起，但酒精并不是唯一作用因素。滴酒不沾的人同樣可能發(fā)生上述問題。

One way of looking at drinking’s effects is who ends up in hospital. In England, the number of hospital admissions where an alcohol-related condition was either the primary or contributory reason has increased every year since 2008, according to Public Health England.

評估酒精影響的方式之一是分析哪些人被送進了醫(yī)院。英國公共衛(wèi)生部(Public Health England)提供的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，英國以酒精相關(guān)癥狀為主要原因或影響因素入院治療的人數(shù)自2008年以來每年持續(xù)上升。

But, again, there were generational differences. Among those admitted to hospital for reasons that were primarily alcohol-related, the biggest increase was in the over-65s, followed by 40- to 64-year-olds. There has been a significant reduction in alcohol-related hospital admissions among teenagers. “Alcohol-specific hospital admissions in the under 18s have been falling every year over the past decade,” Public Health England said.

但這其中同樣存在代際差異。在入院治療的主要原因與酒精相關(guān)的群體中，增幅最為顯著的是65歲以上人群，緊隨其后的是40至64歲人群。青少年中因飲酒問題入院治療的人數(shù)大幅下降。英國公共衛(wèi)生部指出，“18歲以下群體中因酒精問題入院治療的人數(shù)在過去十年間持續(xù)下降”。