Recent decline in Chinese alcohol production and consumption: Potential contributing factors and the role of globally recommended measures.

Abstract

Background and aim: Alcohol consumption in China poses significant public health challenges. Between 2005 and 2010, alcohol production and by implication, consumption, surged, leading to increased alcohol-related harms due to weak regulatory frameworks. This study examined recent patterns of alcohol consumption in China using public production data as a proxy.

Method: Statistical analysis was conducted using data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the production of beer, wine, and liquor, from the years 2009 to 2023.

Results: The production of liquor and wine in China increased from 7.1 and 0.96 million tons in 2009 to 13.6 and 1.14 million tons in 2016, respectively. Inferred alcohol per capita consumption (APC) rose from 4.38 L in 2009 to 6.45 L in 2016, representing a 47% increase. However, from 2016 onwards, alcohol production declined to 4.5 and 0.14 million tons for liquor and wine in 2023, respectively. Consequently, inferred APC decreased from 6.45 L to 2.85 L, an overall reduction of 55.8%.

Conclusions: Alcohol production and inferred consumption in China appear to have substantially declined since 2016. Potential factors contributing to this decline include stricter government policies, stricter market regulation and tax enforcement, public health campaigns, and demographic and cultural shifts. However, many global measures such as higher taxes, price controls, advertising restrictions, and a legal drinking age, have not been (adequately) implemented in China.