Irish living 10 years longer and drinking 18% more
Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals the average Irish person will live to see the ripe old age of 80 whereas in 1960, they were likely to die by the age of 70.
Across the 34 OECD countries, life expectancy rose by 11 years over the same period. The Japanese are set to live the longest, with an average life expectancy of 83 years, while Turkish people are only likely to live until 73.
However, the OECD 50th anniversary report, Measuring Progress in Health, also shows that while alcohol consumption has dropped in most other countries, it has risen in Ireland and Britain.
In the past 20 years, drinking in Ireland has risen 18% — twice the rate of the increase in Britain. In wine-loving France, alcohol consumption has dropped 37% and in Spain, a 46% decline was recorded.
“The worrying trend in [Ireland and Britain] and other countries is the consumption patterns amongst younger people with the practice of ‘binge drinking’ increasing in recent years,” the report states.
In Ireland, 29% of the population over the age of 15 smoke daily, compared to an OECD average of 22.1%. At 39%, Greece has the highest numbers of daily smokers.
The number of regular smokers in Ireland has decreased by 12.1%. The average fall across the OECD countries is 17.9%.
