German Study Finds Weekly Alcohol Use Among Youth Has Fallen to a Historic Low

Young people in Germany are drinking alcohol less often and are starting later than they did two decades ago, but binge drinking remains common, especially among young adults, according to the 2025 Drug Affinity Study by the Federal Institute for Public Health, or BIÖG, cited Monday by Apotheken Umschau.

The study found that 6.8% of adolescents and 25% of young adults in Germany said they drink alcohol every week. BIÖG said those figures mark a historic low. The data point to a continued decline in regular alcohol use among younger age groups, even as public health officials warn that the riskiest forms of drinking have not disappeared.

The study also found that the average age at which young people first try alcohol has risen. In 2004, the average age was 14.1 years. It is now 15.1 years. That shift suggests that many teenagers are delaying their first contact with alcohol, a change that public health researchers have tracked over several years.

At the same time, the study showed that binge drinking is still firmly present. BIÖG defines it as drinking with the aim of becoming intoxicated in a short period of time. About one in seven adolescents said they had engaged in binge drinking in the month before the survey.

The pattern was especially pronounced among people ages 18 to 25. Among men in that age group, 45.8% said they had drunk to intoxication in the previous 30 days. Among women ages 18 to 25, the figure was 26.1%.

The figures draw a distinction between lower routine drinking and continued heavy episodic drinking. In other words, fewer young people may be drinking regularly, but a significant share still report drinking in a way that carries acute health and safety risks.

BIÖG said binge drinking is particularly dangerous for adolescents and young adults because the brain and body are still developing during those years. According to the institute, alcohol can disrupt those processes and at the same time increase the risk of accidents, injuries and other risky behavior.

The findings are likely to feed an ongoing debate in Germany over youth drinking, prevention efforts and the role of families, schools and public policy. The later starting age may be seen as a positive sign for prevention campaigns, but the persistence of binge drinking suggests that reducing overall consumption does not automatically reduce the most dangerous forms of alcohol use.

That distinction may also matter beyond public health. For brewers, winemakers, distillers and other alcohol producers, the data suggest that demand among younger consumers may be weakening in terms of regular use, while the continued prevalence of heavy drinking could increase scrutiny from regulators and public health advocates. That could affect how the industry approaches youth-facing communication, product positioning and debates over alcohol policy.

The BIÖG study was focused on adolescents and young adults in Germany and forms part of the country’s broader monitoring of substance use. The results cited Monday come from the alcohol section of the 2025 study on the drug affinity of adolescents and young adults in Germany.

Apotheken Umschau, a widely read German health publication, reported the figures and highlighted the contrast between declining weekly alcohol consumption and the continuing spread of binge drinking. The publication also pointed to expert concern that even when young people drink less often, the health consequences can remain serious if drinking is concentrated into short episodes of intoxication.

The new figures come at a time when many European countries are reexamining alcohol prevention strategies for younger age groups. In Germany, where beer, wine and spirits are deeply rooted in social life, the latest data suggest a generational shift in habits, but not a clean break from risky drinking behavior.