Germany has an alcohol problem. No drug is so widespread and socially established. According to the latest calculations for 2017, each adult drank around 131 liters of alcohol in this country, reported the German main office for addiction issues. That was equivalent to a bathtub full of alcoholic drinks. Particularly popular were beer (around 101 liters per year), wine (20.9 liters per year) and spirits (5.4 liters). But tobacco, illegal drugs, drugs and gambling continue to worry addicts.
An overview from the current yearbook for addiction:
Alcohol: In comparison to 2016, people in Germany consumed two percent less alcohol in 2017. Nevertheless addiction researchers give no all-clear. "Drinking alcohol is considered completely normal in Germany," said Christina Rummel, vice-director of the German main office for addiction issues. In the European comparison, the Federal Republic thus remains a high consumption country.
This has consequences: 7.8 million Germans between 18 and 64 years are loud Rummel risk takers. Men fall into this category when they drink an average of 0.5 liters of beer a day. For women, half is.
Around 21,700 children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 20 came to the hospital in 2017 with alcohol poisoning. In the year stood in 231,300 crimes, the alleged perpetrators under the influence of alcohol - that was almost 11 percent of all suspects. Addiction researchers demand less advertising for alcohol, higher prices and a sale only from 18 years.
Tobacco : About one third of Germans still smoke. The consumption of cigarettes has dropped from 2017 to 2018 by just under two percent, according to the yearbook. For the sale of cigars and cigarillos rose by 6.5 percent, in pipe tobacco and fine cut, it was almost three percent. These are both classic pipe tobacco and tobacco for hookah pipes.
The researchers suggest that a "hipster effect" could have led to the increase in sales of cigars and cigarillos. The amount of cigars sold is nowhere near that of cigarettes. Almost 13.5 percent of all deaths have to do according to the addiction researchers with the consequences of smoking.
Medication: According to the yearbook, 1.2 to 1.5 million people are dependent on tranquilizers and sleeping pills, especially older people and women. Many medications can make you dependent. Another 300,000 to 400,000 people are considered dependent on other medicines.
Illicit Drugs: The most commonly used prohibited drug remains cannabis in adolescents and adults. In 2017, around 7,331 kilograms of marijuana were secured, which was almost 30 percent more than in the previous year, according to the yearbook. But even harder drugs such as heroin continue to play a role. In the past year, 1276 people worldwide died from the use of illegal drugs.
Gambling was the focus of addiction researchers this year. Striking for them are the increasing sales on the legal German gambling market - despite more restrictive laws. According to the yearbook, sales of 46.3 billion euros were achieved in 2017. That was around 10 million euros more than five years earlier.
The biggest contributors in 2017 were slot machines with a share of around 58 percent of the total market. Around 180,000 people in Germany are considered addicted to gambling, another 326,000 have according to the yearbook a problem with their gaming behavior.
Casino, scratch card and poker games on the Internet are still banned in Germany, said Ilona Füchtenschnieder, chairman of the Association gambling addiction. It will be advertised and played anyway. Addiction researchers and consultants demand advertising bans and more gaming supervision. Because significantly more people than previously sought help from consultants.