Ukraine has seen a fall in alcohol consumption of almost 25% over the last decade. Currently, over a quarter of Ukrainians say they have reduced or stopped consuming alcohol since the start of war in 2022 and many support strict regulations to reduce alcohol consumption further.
These are the findings from a survey to monitor alcohol consumption trends and patterns, as well as attitudes towards alcohol control policies, which was carried out in Ukraine in late 2023.
The survey was undertaken by the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in coordination with WHO/Europe, through the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, as part of the implementation of the Biennial Collaborative Agreement for 2022–2023 between the government of Ukraine and WHO/Europe.
Alcohol consumption patterns a concern
The survey found 21.5% of Ukrainians had reduced their alcohol consumption and 6.8% had abstained since the beginning of the war in February 2022. Another 5.5% said they had consumed more alcohol in this period, while 2.9% said they had started consuming alcohol again after having stopped.
Despite the indications of reduced alcohol consumption overall in the period, almost half of the current drinkers reported heavy episodic drinking (defined as the consumption of an equivalent of 60 g or more of pure alcohol on one occasion for men and 40 g for women). Of those who reported engaging in this dangerous drinking pattern, more than 60% were men and over 30% women. Of respondents, 15% said they felt the harmful effects of alcohol on their health and material well-being, but only 5% of the current drinkers who visited a doctor in the past year were advised to reduce or stop consuming alcohol.
“Tracking and monitoring alcohol consumption patterns in Ukraine is crucial, especially during wartime, to inform measures that support the health and resilience of its citizens. It’s important to recognize that alcohol is not an effective coping mechanism for distress. Therefore, we must make reducing alcohol consumption an easy choice and encourage healthier choices for the population. Any amount of alcohol can be harmful,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
Support for population-level policies
The survey found strong support for alcohol control measures, with 75% of respondents saying special regulations to reduce alcohol consumption are necessary. The support for specific policies was strong with 71% of respondents approving of policies to increase alcohol prices and limit availability. These 2 evidence-based policies are highly effective in reducing alcohol consumption and harms.
“Research shows that the most effective policies are also usually the least popular ones. However, there are several countries where public support for stricter alcohol control has increased once policies have been implemented,” said Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Adviser for Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health at WHO/Europe.
The 3 WHO “best buys”, in other words the most cost-effective alcohol policies, are to increase taxes on alcohol products, to restrict the availability of alcohol (e.g. through restrictions on hours and days of sales) and to restrict exposure to alcohol advertising.
“There is still a lot of untapped potential for using cost-effective policies in Ukraine, but what we clearly see is that key policies like taxation are reducing consumption and burden, and are bringing additional tax revenue, also in times of crisis,” explained Dr Ferreira-Borges.
A longer-term trend
The apparent decline in alcohol consumption since 2022 comes on top of a 26% decline in the average volume of alcohol consumed in the 9 years from 2010 to 2019. A new WHO report on Ukrainian alcohol taxation explores this longer-term trend.
The report found that the decline in alcohol consumption in this period before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, came in part because alcohol became less affordable during the 4-year economic crisis of 2014–2018.
“Even though Ukraine is one of the few countries in the WHO European Region that is on track to reach the targets set in the Global Alcohol Action Plan and European Framework for Action on Alcohol, harms from alcohol in the country still remain high. It is therefore important to build on the great progress made in Ukraine to reduce alcohol consumption with further public health measures, regulations and health-care services in the coming years,” concludes Dr Ferreira-Borges.