Alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and alcohol dependence (AD) in particular, are prevalent and associated with a large burden of disability and mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate prevalence of AD in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland for the year 2010, and to investigate potential influencing factors. The 1-year prevalence of AD in the EU was estimated at 3.4% among people 18-64 years of age in Europe (women 1.7%, men 5.2%), resulting in close to 11 million affected people. Taking into account all people of all ages, AD, abuse and harmful use resulted in an estimate of 23 million affected people. Prevalence of AD varied widely between European countries, and was significantly impacted by drinking cultures and social norms. Correlations with level of drinking and other drinking variables and with major known outcomes of heavy drinking, such as liver cirrhosis or injury, were moderate. These results suggest a need to rethink the definition of AUDs.

Recent birth cohorts (born between 1995 and 1999) in Australia report significantly lower rates of both drinking participation and drinking volume than previous cohorts, controlling for their age distribution and overall changes in population drinking. These findings suggest that the recent decline in alcohol consumption in Australia has been driven by declines in drinking among these recently born cohorts. These trends are consistent with international shifts in youth drinking.

The theory of collectivity of drinking cultures seems valid for understanding changes in alcohol consumption among Swedish year 11 students. No support was found for a polarization of alcohol consumption in this nationally representative sample.

Aim To (i) examine several factors associated with trends in heavy episodic drinking (HED) in Finland, Norway and Sweden, (ii) investigate similarities in these associations across the countries and (iii) analyse the contribution of these factors to the trend in HED and the differences across the countries. Design and Setting Observational study using five waves of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) from Finland, Norway and Sweden between 1999 and 2015. Participants A total of 18 128 male and 19 121 female 15‐ to 16‐year‐old students. Measurements Monthly HED, perceived access to alcohol, truancy, parental control, leisure time activities and daily smoking. The Cochran–Armitage test was used to examine linear time trends in HED. Logit regression models using the Karlson–Holm–Breen (KHB) method were fitted for each country separately, including all the independent variables together with time and adjusted for family status, parental education and gender. Findings In Finland, Norway and Sweden, perceived access to alcohol, truancy and daily smoking decreased significantly between 1999 and 2015 whereas risk perceptions, parental control and participation in sports increased in the same period. The confounding percentage of all the independent variables related to the trend in HED was 48.8%, 68.9% and 36.7% for Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively. Decline in daily smoking (P < 0.001) and perceived access to alcohol (P < 0.001) were positively and increase in parental control (P < 0.001) negatively associated with the decline in HED in all three countries. Changes in truancy, going out with friends, and engaging in sports and other hobbies had little or no impact on the decline in HED or displayed no consistent results across the countries. Conclusions The decline in adolescent heavy episodic drinking in Finland, Norway and Sweden between 1999 and 2015 appears to be associated with a decline in adolescent daily smoking and perceived access to alcohol and an increase in parental control.

Non-drinkers presented more adaptive and healthier behaviours than their drinking peers, but it is difficult to determine whether their health benefits were related to their improved alcohol status or to the more general trend towards adaptation that occurred from 2004 to 2012 among adolescents.

The main Australian monitoring surveys remain useful monitoring tools for alcohol consumption in Australia. There is consistent evidence that the recent declines in Australian per-capita consumption have been driven by sharp falls in drinking among young people, a trend that requires further study. [Livingston M, Callinan S, Raninen J, Pennay A, Dietze PM. Alcohol consumption trends in Australia: Comparing surveys and sales-based measures. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000].

Parenting characteristics are important for adolescents who do not use alcohol, which has implications for prevention strategies. However, the increased trend of non-drinkers could not be attributed to parental factors.

Internet activities were in general not associated with non-drinking among adolescents aged 15-16 years in Sweden. Although, a weak positive association between computer gaming and non-drinking was found in 2012, this effect benefited the vast majority of the boys. The larger alcohol use among those with extensive social media use/chatting may indicate that these online platforms are arenas where adolescents are exposed for positive alcohol preferences and alcohol advertising without parental supervision.