A new study from Italy’s National Alcohol Observatory paints a stark picture of drinking habits across the country, with binge drinking almost doubling among women in a decade and the elderly among the most at-risk and least-treated groups.
Italy may be synonymous with the civilised pleasures of a glass of wine with dinner, but a new report from the National Alcohol Observatory (ONA) of the Italian National Institute of Health lays out a considerably less temperate reality. Published on Wednesday ahead of the annual “Alcohol Prevention Day” workshop in Rome, the findings reveal that in 2024, approximately 36 million Italians consumed alcohol. That is equivalent to 77% of men and 57% of women. Of those, around 8.2 million people aged 11 and over were drinking in quantities and at a frequency harmful to their health.
Binge drinking: a growing epidemic
The report’s most alarming finding concerns binge drinking, i.e. drinking specifically to get drunk. Some 4.45 million Italians engage in the practice, including 79,000 under the age of 18. Looking at the 11-to-24 age bracket specifically, the report identifies 1.27 million at-risk consumers, 580,000 of whom are minors.
The sharpest rise, however, has been among women. Binge drinking has almost doubled across all female age groups over the past decade, with an 84% increase recorded between 2014 and 2024, from 2.5% to 4.6%. The report flags this trend as particularly concerning given the well-documented risks that alcohol consumption poses to foetal development.
The undertreated and the overlooked
Among those identified as dependent or impaired drinkers, the treatment gap is stark. The report estimates that 730,000 people already suffer from alcohol-related physical or mental health conditions requiring clinical intervention. However, only 8.3% are currently receiving care from specialist services.
The elderly represent a particular blind spot. “Particularly critical,” said Claudia Gandin of the ISS National Alcohol Observatory, “is the situation of the elderly population, one of the least reached targets by prevention efforts. This age group has the highest proportion of harmful consumers, often undetected by the National Health Service.”
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