China: Pervasive Alcohol Problems in Men
A new study into alcohol in China has uncovered the pervasive alcohol problems among Chinese men.
Alcohol use is increasing in China, with alcohol problems, including addiction, also rising.
- Per capita alcohol consumption increased from 4.1 liters in 2005 to 7.2 liters in 2016.
- Alcohol dependence in China increased from 0.02% to 0.68% between the 1980s and 1990s.
The new study published in the scientific journal Addiction, analyzed over 500,000 men and women aged 30 to 79 years from ten rural and urban areas in China. The study categorized alcohol users as, abstainers, ex-regular alcohol users, reduced-intake alcohol users, occasional alcohol users, and current regular alcohol users. The results show:
- Less than 2% of Chinese women consumed alcohol regularly but about 33% of men were described as current regular alcohol users.
- 1 in 4 men who are regular alcohol users also reported one or more indicators of pervasive alcohol problems.
- 8% of men reported pervasive alcohol problems.
Pervasive alcohol problems can be characterized as follows:
- Using alcohol in the morning,
- Being unable to work or do anything due to alcohol use,
- Feeling depressed, irritated, or losing control after alcohol use,
- Being unable to keep away from alcohol use,
- Having “shakes” when stopping alcohol use.
Reasons for pervasive alcohol problems among Chinese men
Several risk factors for the alcohol problems among Chinese men identified in the study are as follows:
- Lower educational level,
- Lower household income,
- Living in rural areas,
- Loss of income or debt,
- Experiencing violence.
Pervasive alcohol problems lead to both physical and mental health problems, alcohol use disorder and addiction. The study found, the men with alcohol problems had:
- poor health,
- less life satisfaction,
- more sleep problems, and
- a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
Compared to those who consumed less alcohol, Chinese men with 2 or more indicators of alcohol problems had about a two-fold higher risk for all causes of death.
Alcohol use in the country has been climbing since the 1980s. Officials are starting to notice national health problems that resemble those in Western countries. Now that researchers have gathered evidence, they hope it can help policy makers when making decisions on how to improve health outcomes in China.
Alcohol harm and policy in China
© WHO Global Alcohol Status Report 2018
The trend of recorded per capita alcohol consumption has been increasing in China from 1961 to 2016. Binge alcohol use is high in the country with over one-third (40.7%) of alcohol users engaging in this especially harmful behavior.
Every year alcohol causes:
- over 83,000 deaths from liver cirrhosis,
- over 88,500 deaths from road traffic injury and
- over 78,000 deaths from cancer.
Despite the obvious alcohol harm in the country, China does not have a national alcohol control policy. In fact, the country has no laws on legal minimum age for alcohol use or restrictions on alcohol sales. Alcohol advertising is weakly regulated and alcohol sponsorship and sales promotions are not regulated at all.
It is evident that the Chinese government needs to implement the alcohol policy best buys as recommended by the WHO, to reduce alcohol consumption and prevent and reduce alcohol harm affecting the Chinese people.