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Article Excerpt
This section aims to describe the trend in alcohol consumption (and in consumption of wine in particular) in Italy over the last 30 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is indeed the first attempt to combine all the Italian sources dealing with alcohol consumption into one study, while examining the changes that have occurred at the same time.
National statistical sources for alcohol consumption
The sources available for data collection on the characteristics and consumption of alcoholic beverages are essentially the following:
* National budget statistics
* National sampling surveys
* Ad hoc national surveys
* Ad hoc local surveys
* Local or multi-center surveys performed for various purposes
* Market research surveys
National alimentary budget
National Alimentary Budget Statistics ("Bilancio alimentare nazionale-BAN") are issued annually by ISTAT (National Institute for Statistics) and represent the inventory of foodstuffs possessed by citizens. It is therefore constructed according to the "availability" method. In general, the availability of a food item to be consumed by a person (D) during a certain period (Dt) is given by the algebraic sum of the following quantities: DDt = P + (I - E) - U + (G1 - G2), where P = home production, I = imports, E = exports, U = quantity used for purposes other than human consumption, G1 = stock present at the start of the period being considered (solar year), G2 = stock present at the end of the period being considered and G1 -G2 = stock. This index is divided by the resident population. Thus, the average per capita consumption can be obtained for each year taken into account.
The advantage of this survey method is that it is regularly repeated and thus can be used for long time-series analyses. It is also true that it has several limitations: consumption by immigrants and tourists is attributed to the resident population, and the values of each of the equation's parameters are estimates that may in turn be derived from surveys using different sources and methods. The per capita consumption values referring to the entire population include citizens below 14 and over 75 years of age (who are not normally considered to be consumers of alcoholic beverages), and it is impossible to stratify the data by sex, age, or geographical area.
Several international organizations use this method for comparing countries. Among these are "Productschap voor Gedistilleerde Dranken" (now "Commission for Distilled Spirits") which has annually published statistics on wine, beer, and spirit consumption in 58 countries (including Italy), from 1961 to the present (while ISTAT provides the same data starting from 1861).
National sampling surveys
There are four national sampling surveys:
* Family consumption surveys (ISTAT)
* Surveys performed by the National Institute of Nutrition
* Population surveys on health and the use of health services (ISTAT)
* Surveys of the population's habits and lifestyles (ISTAT)
Family consumption surveys
This is an annual survey conducted by ISTAT on representative samples of Italian families (about 30,000 per year) in which expenditures on goods and services are recorded, and among these are included about 15 food products. The survey started in 1968, but data about consumption of home food products has only been published from 1973 to 1996 inclusive.
Data from the sample families is collected by registering consumption, and filling in questionnaires, combined with direct questioning by interviewers. Consumption outside the home (like cafeterias, restaurants, bars) is excluded. Before 1982 no data on home-produced goods was collected, yet this could be significant for certain food items (wine, eggs, poultry, rabbits, vegetables, and so on), in particular for families living in rural areas.
The methodology changed significantly starting from 1982, creating some limitations in interpreting the time series. From 1997 onwards, ISTAT ceased to record the quantities of food items, and continued recording only data concerning purchases.
An analysis of the quantities of drinks and food items consumed per capita with a regional geographical breakdown is therefore only possible for the 1973-1996 period. Since the data is recorded by family, and not individual, the per capita consumption estimate is reached by dividing the total consumption by the number of family members.
Although ISTAT records data for many food items, it only publishes data for 15 of them, broken up by macro area, size of the municipal district, professional status of the head of the family, and number of family members. The data cannot be accessed electronically. The method is similar to that of Household Budget Surveys used in other countries, and so the data can be used for international comparisons. As far as wine is concerned, it is possible to analyze the series from 1973 to 1996, and for beer and strong spirits from 1987 to 1996 (ISTAT data which is unpublished, but nonetheless at our disposal).
National Institute of Nutrition (Istituto Nazionale della Nutrizione INN, now called INRAN) surveys
These surveys are the only ones that report national food consumption levels in terms of weight from 1996 onwards, after ISTAT changed their recording methodology for family consumption levels. The surveys carried out on sample families use more precise and reliable methods, but are still not carried out or published regularly.
The first national survey was carried out over the period 1980-1984, and about 10,000 families from nine regions were involved by means of keeping of diaries, interviews, inventory and weights of the portions consumed in one week, including consumption outside the home. As in the case of the ISTAT family consumption survey, data is recorded by family and not by person, so while it is possible to estimate per capita consumption, it is impossible to obtain any breakdowns according to individual sociodemographic variables. Nevertheless, the dataset is useful for cross-regional comparisons.
The second survey (1994-1996) recorded (food consumption behaviors of about 2,000 individuals from more than 1,100 families representing the four Italian geographical areas (northeast, northwest, center, and south). This survey consisted of individually completed weekly diaries, household item inventories, recipe, and household garbage details. It is therefore possible to analyze data by sociodemographic and geographical factors. Till now, INRAN has only published the main aggregate data, without detailed analysis of the determinants of consumption.
Population health and use of health services
This survey was first carried out in 1980, and then repeated in different years. Unfortunately, data on daily consumption of wine, beer, and spirits was only collected in the 1983 survey. This survey was carried out on 31,000 families by means of a questionnaire which recorded the consumption of wine (nondrinker, less than 1/4 liter, from 1/4 to less than 1/2 liter, from 1/2 liter to less than 1 liter, more than 1 liter, not indicated), of spirits (non-drinker, 1 liqueur glass, 2 or more, not indicated) and of beer (using non-quantitative data: non-drinker, drinker, summer-only drinker, not indicated). The data was broken down by sex, age, region, and the main sociodemographic variables (educational qualifications and profession).
Population's habits and lifestyles
The "Multi-Purpose Family Survey of Aspects of Everyday Life", that has been carried out by ISTAT since 1993, is an annual sample survey throughout the country, where fundamental aspects of the population's everyday life and citizen satisfaction levels of services are recorded. It is based on about 20,000 families (about 55,000 individuals). In the section regarding nutrition, feeding patterns and consumption frequency, the main (20) types of food items and drinks are surveyed, but the actual quantities...
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