Is alcohol far too cheap in Germany?

"Germany has an alcohol problem": that was the bleak assessment of Dr. Jakon Manthey, an addiction researcher at the University Clinic of Hamburg-Eppendorf, on the country's current drinking habits. 

Manthey was commenting on his latest findings, set out in the German Centre for Addiction Issues' (DHS) "Yearbook of Addiction 2025". In the yearbook, the Hamburg researcher estimates that more than a fifth of adults in Germany engage in risky or addictive drinking, while around nine percent abuse alcohol or are addicted. 

This dangerous drinking isn't without consequences: each year around 47,500 people die in German as a direct result of alcohol consumption. These include deaths from alcohol-related diseases such as cancer and liver cirrhosis, as well as deaths caused by drunk driving accidents and violence fuelled by alcohol. 

Against this backdrop, the DHS researchers have been calling for an urgent rethink on the cheap alcohol prices and loose regulations in Germany. 

"If Germany wanted to effectively reduce alcohol consumption and the resulting problems, access to alcohol in particular would have to be restricted and excise duties on alcoholic beverages would have to be significantly increased," Mathney and co-author Carolin Kilian write in the study.

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In European and global comparisons, Germany often stands out as the country with the cheapest prices and least restrictive policies on alcohol. Discounters sell beers for around 50 cents per bottle, while a budget bottle of wine can cost well under €3.

Are affordable prices fuelling risky drinking?

That's certainly the view of the DHS experts.

While grocery prices have been soaring, alcohol prices have remained constantly low, the study's authors point out. This has made alcohol even cheaper over time, in terms of its cost as a proportion of household income.

Summing up the situation, DHS director Christina Rummel made a stark comparison: "Orange juice is getting expensive again," she said, "while the price of a bottle of vodka remains stable."

Based on their research, the academics see a direct correlation between the price of alcohol and how much people drink. 

If alcoholic drinks were five-percent pricier, per capita consumption could to fall by 2.2 percent and 850 alcohol-related deaths per year could be avoided, Manthey predicts.

The state would collect an additional €1.4 billion in tax per year, offsetting a meagre portion of the some €57 billion in economic costs caused by alcohol.

Nevertheless, there are some signs that people are starting to drink less in Germany, despite its availability at low prices.

Statistics published by Destatis ahead of National Beer Day show that consumption of alcoholic beer has dropped by around 15 percent over the past ten years, while sales of non-alcoholic beers are booming.

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This aligns with the DHS's data on alcohol consumption, which suggests that the amount of pure alcohol consumed per person in Germany dropped by 1.2 litres between 2012 and 2023.  

This could be due to increased awareness over the negative health effects of drinking. In the DHS study, the researchers point out that claims that there is a "safe" - or even healthy - level of alcohol consumption have been repeatedly debunked in recent years. In addition, people have become more aware of the link between drinking and cancer. 

"Alcohol is toxic to every cell in the body and the key question is: how do we deal with this toxic substance," Manthey told DPA. "Abstinence is best, but any reduction can help. It makes a difference whether I drink three beers or two."

Why is alcohol so cheap in Germany?

A major factor in the ultra-low price of wine, beer and spirits is the low - or in some cases, non-existent - taxes on alcohol products in Germany.

Other EU countries levy higher taxes on alcohol to fund additional healthcare and pay for policing and other social costs caused by problem drinking.

Excise duties (taxes on consumer products) levied on beer haven't risen in Germany since 1993, and this type of tax doesn't apply to wine products.

These low taxes mean that alcohol companies can continue to sell their products far more cheaply than in other European countries. In the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, for example, between €167 und €218 in alcohol taxes were levied per person in 2022, compared to just €44 in Germany.

It's not easy to say why politicians have shirked a hike in alcohol taxes, though the policy does follow a trend of remarkably lax alcohol regulations in Germany. Alcohol companies face no restrictions whatsoever on advertising their products, for example, and there are very few rules around opening hours for businesses that sell booze. 

The relaxed regulations are similar for tobacco, where advertising restrictions are scarce and public bans have often been thinly enforced, especially in states like Berlin.

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DHS director Rummel suggests this may be due to the strength of the alcohol lobby in Germany - but it may also be that raising prices or restricting access to the nation's beloved beer and wine would likely be unpopular with voters.

Much like the car industry, beer is a source of cultural pride for Germans, with politicians like Bavaria's state premier Markus Söder often staging photo ops in pubs and folk festivals with a beer in hand.

There are signs, however, that this part of German identity is gradually shifting over time, with young people tending to drink less than their older counterparts.

"I have a lot of hope when I look at the current young generation, who drink significantly less than their elders," said Mathney. "This could bring about a change in society."

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