Is Spirits Really the Most Harmful Alcoholic Beverage? Evidence from a Recent Alcohol Survey in Sweden

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if spirits consumption is more harmful than consuming milder beverage types in Sweden, using monthly survey data for the period 2005–2009. Logistic regression modeling was performed to estimate the association between different beverages and harmful drinking, controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic factors. There was no support for the idea that spirits consumption is characterized by more harmful drinking patterns and consuming strong beer, in particular, was a better predictor of heavy drinking and harm. It also appeared that people who include spirits, strong beer, and cider/alcopops in their consumption pattern more often had harmful drinking patterns and experiences of alcohol-related problems. The present findings suggest that strong beer is the most problematic alcoholic beverage in Sweden, but also that patterns combining several beverage types are also good measures of harmful drinking, particularly patterns including strong beer, cider/alcopops, and spirits.