Overview
- A national BIÖG survey published Thursday found 45.8% of German men aged 18–25 reported at least one binge episode in the 30 days before the interview, using the study’s five-glass definition.
- The same study recorded a historic low in regular weekly drinking, with 34.7% of men and 14.3% of women aged 18–25 saying they drank at least once a week in the past year.
- Young women showed a clear drop in binge drinking between 2023 and 2025, falling from 32.0% to 26.1%, while male binge rates changed little from 2023.
- About 15% of adolescents aged 12–17 of both sexes reported a binge in the past 30 days, and the average age for a first drink rose to about 15 years with first intoxication near 16.
- Federal drugs commissioner Hendrik Streeck called the mixed results encouraging but warned against complacency and backed a plan to end accompanied drinking from age 14 to better protect developing brains and reduce acute harms.