Beer floods in the Czech Republic dry up

Lucie Sykorova,HlídacíPes.org/Latvijas Avīze

Czechs tend to drink at almost every opportunity – in the pub, on a bike ride or while relaxing by the water. Positive attitude towards drinking is often portrayed in films – usually with smiles as a cheerful feature of society. However, the reality is harsh. Experts in the Czech Republic also warn that alcohol and tobacco are among the riskiest addictive substances.

“Alcohol is very cheap and available everywhere here – you can basically buy it anywhere, anytime. And alcohol advertising in the media is very visible,” notes Adam Kulhánek from the Department of Addictology at Charles University.

In addition, the younger generation’s first experience with alcohol is at a very young age – a quarter of Czech children have tried a drink by the age of 11, and 73% by the age of 17. Experts see the failure of Czech policy makers to take effective counter-measures, such as restricting alcohol sales or increasing taxes, as a long-term problem.

Heritage or burden?

“Surveys of Czech schoolchildren show that in most cases, children try alcohol for the first time with their parents’ permission. The problem is the ritualisation of drinking, which basically belongs to the celebration. Afterwards, parents condemn their child when a seventh-grader comes home drunk from school. But the child is just repeating what they see at home,” says Josef Sedivý, Head of the Information Centre of the Drug Control Service. 

Surveys show that 31% of Czechs consider regular drinking acceptable.

Daniel Prokop, a Sociologist at PAQ Research, estimates that the excessive drinking of the Czech population results in a loss of between 30–50 billion Czech crowns (EUR 1.2 – 1.9 billion) per year to the national economy, equivalent to 0.7 – 1.2% of GDP. The excise duty on alcohol contributes around CZK 13 – 14 billion (EUR 502 – 540 million) per year to the national budget. If VAT is added, this amounts to around CZK 17 billion or EUR 657 million. This is significantly less than the estimated loss.

The biggest damage in monetary terms is the indirect cost of lost productivity due to illness and premature mortality (54%) and health care costs (23%).Josef Sedivý: “Alcohol is our cultural heritage. When we drink alcohol, we show our Slavic attitude. The Czechs have no desire to start regulating alcohol in a reasonable way. And we do not admit that we have such a problem.” 

Jindřich Vobořil, the current National Drug Control Coordinator, believes that alcohol consumption could be reduced by making it more expensive, increasing excise duties and investing more in prevention. He believes that the government is not active enough in this field.

Jindřich Vobořil, who resigned this summer, has said he has faced pressure from “some big industries”.  “Of course, I am used to pressure, dirty games and unfair practices or personal threats, which have been numerous over the past year, both from private individuals and from representatives of various legal and illegal industries. But I have done my job confidently,” he said. 

Czechs also point to tourists

According to numbers compiled by the Czech Statistical Office and other sources, the Czechs are one of the most alcohol-loving nations in the world. However, like in Latvia or the Cook Islands, there is a common perception in the Czech Republic that tourists “screw up” the country’s drinking statistics. 

This is evidenced by the pandemic, when, according to a Nielsen study (January – September 2020), the value of beer sold in the Czech Republic fell by 22%, and spirits by 31%. This reflects the situation during the first lockdown. The following summer, beer sales returned to normal levels, but consumption of other spirits did not. 

The drop in sales of spirits was probably due to the closure of restaurants and hotels and the departure of foreign tourists as well as guest workers from the country.

However, the precise share of tourists in alcohol consumption is difficult to determine. According to Štěpán Křeček, an Analyst at BH Securities, it is clear that the statistics paint a twisted picture and that alcohol tourism makes Czechs look like bigger drinkers than they truly are.

“In 2018, Prague was the 20^th most visited city in the world with a total of 8.8 million tourists, each staying an average of 2.5 nights in the city. As beer drinking is part of the traditional Czech culture, a certain amount of the total alcohol consumption is the contribution of tourists, not Czech citizens,” Vladimír Darebník, Executive Director of the Union of Producers and Importers of Spirits, explained to Echo24. He added that 568 700 foreigners worked in the Czech Republic on a permanent daily basis in 2018, a significant proportion of them mainly from Poland or Ukraine: “They spend their free time drinking alcohol.” 

It should be noted that in the Czech Republic, beer or wine can also be produced at home, up to a maximum of 2000 litres per household. 

The production of spirits at home is prohibited, with the exception of distilleries, where farmers are allowed to process a limited amount of their fruit harvest into alcohol.

World’s biggest beer drinkers?

Although the Czech Republic still leads the world in beer drinking, its consumption has declined since the pandemic. In 2020, per capita beer consumption in the Czech Republic fell to 135 litres. In May this year, average per capita beer consumption was now 128 litres, a historic low for the last thirty years. 

According to the Czech Beer and Malt Association, the continued economic uncertainty and changes in consumer behaviour have had a negative impact on beer consumption and sales in pubs and restaurants.

A year ago, restaurants and pubs in the Czech Republic accounted for 31% of total beer consumption and 30% last year, whereas 15 years ago – 51%. 

“Unfortunately, the return of sales expected last year was hampered by the unfavourable economic situation,” explains Tomáš Slunečko, Secretary General of the Association. According to him, consumer habits are changing, with people increasingly choosing non-alcoholic beers or various beer beverages.

Sales of strong alcohol in the Czech Republic also dropped by 51.3% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Union of Producers and Importers of Spirits. Therefore, the organisation urges politicians to cancel further excise duty increases on strong beverages planned for 2025 and 2026.

Facts  

Alcohol consumption and misery in the Czech Republic

• The Czech Republic is one of the countries in the world with the highest average per capita consumption of absolute alcohol (annual average consumption is 10 litres of pure alcohol per capita, including the entire population).
• According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 7–10% of Czech adults drink alcohol daily or almost daily, and 12–13% of adults admit to drinking once a week or more.
• 7–9% of the population are high-risk drinkers, and another 8–10% are medium-risk. According to some estimates, this amounts to about 1.3 million Czech citizens.
• The number of alcohol-related deaths in the country is 6–7 thousand per year (6% of the total number of deaths), with the greatest impact in the 35–44 age group (more than 20%). Most of these deaths are related to liver disease and poisoning.
• In 2022, 4.8 thousand drunk driving accidents (4.8% of the total) were recorded in the Czech Republic. These accidents killed 46 people, a tenth of all road fatalities.
• In 2022, Czech households spent 3% of their total expenditure on alcohol and cigarettes – 2% on alcohol and 1% on tobacco.
• It is estimated that up to two thirds of all domestic violence is related to drinking.

Data

Czechs drink 100 – 150 million litres of absolute alcohol per year