I didn’t vote, because it would be pure speculation, but a data point:
I’m thoroughly American, and I once got into a serious drinking contest with a visiting Spanish guy who was staying with a friend of mine.
He kept insisting that he could drink me under the table, because I was American, and he’d been “drinking wine at the dinner table since he was a little boy.”
He kept insisting that, right up until he lost the ability to walk, and we had to carry him up the stairs and pour him onto my friend’s couch (where he promptly threw up all over himself.)
In China, people tend to binge drink. It is not in any way unusual to see full-grown men being carried out of bars by their friends- even on weekdays. When people in China start drinking, they generally drink until someone is puking and passing out. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Chinese bar toilet that was not covered in puke. Chinese drinking culture, which encourages taking shots, means you end up consuming large amounts very quickly. It’s normal and even expected to drink yourself stupid on occasion.
In Cameroon, people rarely got roaring drunk, but people drank steadily. It’d be completely normal to have a couple beers with lunch, or to start a meeting by drinking beer. In the countryside, millet beer was pretty much an essential part of the diet. But you would rarely ever see anyone actually drunk, and getting drunk would reflect poorly on you.
I think the statistics are probably strongly affected by the fact that most women (half the population) rarely drink, and in my experience teenagers and even college students do not tend to drink much. So you have a subset of working men who drink A LOT, and then a whole lot of other people who basically don’t touch the stuff.
America’s statistics probably seem high because it’s one of the few places where it’s socially acceptable for women to drink and even binge drink.
Hm. That doesn’t mesh with my experience at all, to the extent that I would question the validity of the poll. Bulgarians not only drink more than Americans, AFAICT, they drink stronger drinks, and they drink at crazy times. My colleagues regularly drank rakia in the teachers’ lounge during our long break - at 9:30 am. (Which is way, way, WAY too early for me, and I got teased a lot about not partaking. And people, we were elementary school teachers.) People drink from earlier ages and it’s not at all uncommon to smell alcohol on people’s breath at times of the day that would be unusual in the US. (Like, noon.)
I think even sven may have hit the nail on the head with the fact that it’s socially acceptable for American women to drink. Now, Bulgarian women will happily drink rakia and beer, but most of the excessive drinking I saw was done by men.
Here comes the anecdote! I would not suggest it is indicative of the whole.
When I lived in China, I lived with quite a few Canadians. They really did drink, across the board, far more than the Americans there. It was impressive.
Average alcohol consuption isn’t the same as the prevelence of heavy drinking, although obviously there is some correlation. This graph might better reflect the countries with the largest numbers of heavy drinkers.
I second this. I spend a good deal of time in Crete (I go almost every year) - the raki is deadly and constantly consumed. I spend most of my time in the little (non-tourist) villages on the north side, where every shopkeeper seems to brew their own. Buying a bar of soap? Have a raki with your change. And its rude to refuse.
That being said, while I see them constantly drinking, I have almost never seen them drunk.
Also speaking only for myself, I have out drank South Koreans, Japanese, Germans and 3 Russians in the US, the others in their own countries. But to be fair the Average American probably couldn’t. You have to Practice!
In my experience, a lot of western Europeans drink a lot over a long period of time instead of binge drinking quickly. I’ve known some Irish lads who put down a lot over the course of the entire night, but each pint is sipped at a pace slower than your typical American pub crawler. Exceptions, exceptions, anecdotal… yes. Anyhow, I’ve always tried to pattern my crazy nights on what I perceive to be the western European approach: drink often, start early, and pace yourself to “waltz” out at last call – not stagger out at 10:30. One of those lads used to say, “yeah, while you Americans are drinking faster than me and getting loud and stupid, I’m staying paced enough to pick up your girlfriend.”
