One in four Icelanders exhibited harmful alcohol consumption patterns in 2022, with men being more prone to risky drinking than women. The incidence of cirrhosis has significantly increased.
Cirrhosis increased eightfold
One in four Icelanders exhibited a harmful pattern of alcohol consumption in 2022, according to responses from Minister of Health Willum Þór Þórsson to an inquiry regarding alcohol consumption and addiction in the country, Morgunblaðið reports.
Men are more likely than women to engage in risky drinking, with 27% of men and 21% of women reported to have engaged in such behaviour. The minister’s response also highlights that the incidence of cirrhosis has increased eightfold in recent years when comparing data from 1984 to 2000 with figures from 2016 to 2020.
As reported by IR last September, the daily alcohol consumption rates among patients admitted to the Vogur Detox Centre and Rehabilitation Hospital with alcohol-related issues have more than tripled over the past four decades.
Consumption on weekdays increasing
“This is our reality. We are serving this group that is struggling with this issue, and it is significant. The demand for our services is high,” Anna Hildur Guðmundsdóttir, Chairperson of SÁÁ (the National Centre of Addiction Medicine (SÁÁ), stated in an interview with Morgunblaðið.
Anna noted that alcohol consumption is now more frequent on weekdays than before, attributing the shift in Icelanders’ drinking patterns to several factors, including increased access to alcohol and societal attitudes toward alcohol.
“There is an overwhelming tolerance for alcohol consumption, and it has become normalised,” Anna observed. She clarified that while she is not opposed to alcohol consumption per se, she is surprised by how casual the discussion around it has become.
