Alcohol use in Jindřichovice, a municipality in the Karlovy Vary region

In addition to individual negative health and social consequences, heavy drinking also affects alcohol users’ social environment. Such harm increases with the quantity of ethanol consumed. The aim of this study was to explore the level and patterns of alcohol use in the small municipality of Jindřichovice in the Karlovy Vary region. METHOD: Questionnaire survey among all adult inhabitants: 267 addressed, 53 participated (32 men, 21 women). RESULTS: 37.8% of the respondents, of whom 52.4% were men and 18.8% women, had drunk alcohol every day or almost every day, which is approx. five times more than in the general Czech population. The quantity of pure alcohol consumed weekly per respondent reached 287.8 g, on average 49.8 g daily in the men and 26.1 g daily in the women, which is approx. double and triple, respectively, the amounts consumed among the general Czech population. The largest quantities were consumed by retired men, the lowest by retired women. CONCLUSION: The levels of alcohol consumption found in Jindřichovice are risky and suggest that alcohol use is strongly embedded in the lifestyle of its inhabitants.