Hungarians worried mainly by cost of alcohol consumption

44 percent of Hungarians claim that they never consume alcohol. According to a survey conducted by the GfK group for Wall Street Journal Europe, the biggest concern for Hungarians regarding alcohol is its cost. A total of 17,343 people in 17 countries have been interviewed. 32 per cent of Europeans said that they never drink alcohol, while this percentage was 44 in Hungary. Another 45 percent drinks alcohol once a week or less frequently. It is probable that these claims made by Hungarians are not completely sincere. 59 percent of Hungarian women claimed that they never drink, whereas only 28 percent of men did the same. Contrary to international trends, mainly young adults claimed to be abstinent in Hungary, while older age groups seemed to conform to regional trends better. Regarding the preferred beverage, there is no big difference between the number of beer and wine fans in Europe. However, wine is more popular in Italy, Switzerland and France, while beer is preferred in Germany and Hungary as well. 45 percent of Hungarian adults prefer beer, while wine is preferred by 35 percent. Spirits and cocktails are preferred by 7 and 5 percent respectively, mainly from younger age groups. One-third of Europeans claimed that alcohol consumption has no effect on them at all, but only few Hungarians said this. For Hungarians, the cost of alcohol is a bigger concern than the effects consumption has on human relations and health.