Key points

Frequency of consumption

• No change in the prevalence of alcohol consumption (annual, monthly, or daily) has been observed in recent years.

• In 2017, 10.7% of the population aged 18 to 75 consumed alcohol daily, comparable to the national average (10.0%). Daily consumption is more common among men (18.3%). The frequency of daily consumption increases with age, ranging from 5.1% among 18- to 30-year-olds to 21.4% among 61- to 75-year-olds.

• 43.5% of 18- to 30-year-olds consume alcohol weekly, which is significantly higher than the national average (32.5%).

• 93.7% of 17-year-olds have tried alcohol at least once in their lives (compared to 85.7% nationally).

Heavy episodic drinking (HED, at least 6 drinks on a single occasion)

• Among 18- to 75-year-olds, Brittany is the only region with a monthly Binge Drinking prevalence (20.5%) significantly higher than the average of other regions (metropolitan average of 16.2%). Nearly one-third (32.4%) of men engage in at least one Binge Drinking episode every month.

• Among 18- to 30-year-olds, the prevalence of weekly BEBs is similar: 9.8% in Brittany versus 9.0% nationally.

• More than one in five 17-year-olds (21.8%) had at least three API in a month (higher than the national level of 16.4%).

Patterns of consumption

• Regardless of the type of alcohol, 18- to 75-year-olds have a weekly alcohol consumption significantly higher than the average in other regions (metropolitan average for beer (23.2%), wine (35.8%), spirits (11.6%), and other (8.6%)).

• The average number of drinks consumed each week among 31- to 45-year-olds is higher (8.7 drinks) than in other age groups (ranging from 6.1 drinks among 18- to 30-year-olds to 5.6 drinks among 61- to 75-year-olds).

Health Observations

• In hospital emergency departments, more than 15,000 visits directly related to alcohol were recorded in 2017 (an average of 42 visits per day). More than half of these visits occurred during the last three days of the week. Two-thirds of visits occur between 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. Rates of emergency room visits directly related to alcohol are higher among those aged 31–45 and 46–60.

• Regional incidence and mortality rates for cancers of the aerodigestive tract (lips, mouth, pharynx) among men, and for esophageal cancer among both men and women, are significantly higher than the metropolitan average.

• Regional mortality rates for the main alcohol-related diseases are higher than the metropolitan average for both genders (the region with the second-highest rates).