French cutting back on alcohol

FRENCH people are easing back on alcohol consumption, with a study showing only 45% of customers in bars, cafés and restaurants order alcohol.

This is a reduction since the last study, in 2008, which showed 46.7% would order alcoholic drinks. It is backed by the finding that only 14% of people said they had alcohol each day - with the majority of them being over-60s. Daily drinking is very rare among women or young people.

The over-45s were the largest group drinking alcohol in bars and cafés.

Drinks industry group Entreprise & Prévention, which aims to cut down on alcohol abuse, carried out the study and said people were becoming occasional drinkers.

Nearly one in three said they were weekly drinkers while 21% said they were monthly drinkers and 20% said they did not drink alcohol.

It added that people were also buying less alcohol in supermarkets - but spending more money, with the annual alcohol budget rising €11 to €312.

Entreprise & Prévention managing director Alexis Capitant said: "For five years we have seen a reduction in alcoholic occasions, but people are drinking better quality alcool."
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