Suchej únor

Czechland ranks third in the world for alcohol consumption.  The Czech Statistical Office, ČSÚ, reported that in a year the average Czech consumes 292 beers, 100 glasses of wine and 175 shots of hard spirits.  According to the World Health Organization the average Czech drinks 14,4 litres (38 gallons) of pure alcohol every year.

There's a cost to all of this drinking.  The 292 beers alone cost about 8.800 Kč ($405).  The government spends more than 56 billion Kč (~$2,58 billion) on alcohol-related health care.  Heavy drinking kills about 7.000 people each year here.

The National Institute of Mental Health, NÚDZ, reported that men drink 4 times more than women.  Due to COVID-19 it looks like Czechs are drinking about 60% more than before.

I'm actually drinking less.  Way less.  Our last virtual pub night was back in November.  I had wine with my virtual Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners but I haven't had a drink since.  It's not like I'm trying to become a teetotaller it's just I don't really see a point to drinking alone during a global pandemic.  

This year is the 9th annual Suchej únor challenge.  I don't expect that the Dry February challenge will be too difficult since I haven't had a drink since December.

But full disclosure...I'm for sure looking forward to the next lad's night at the pub.  Hopefully sometime this Spring.