Here are some statistics on adult abstainers from the NATIONAL GOOD TEMPLAR,
March 1995:
 
USA 35%
Republic of Ireland 33%
Japan 31%
Sweden 26%
Poland 25%
Canada 22%
Switzerland 22%
Australia 19%
Finland 18%
Austria 17%
Netherlands 17%
Norway 16%
Spain 15%
Germany 11%
United Kingdom 10%
New Zealand 9%
 
This was a St. Patrick's Day article that argued against the stereotype of
Irish (not Irish-American) drinking.  Some of the statistics quoted can be in-
terpreted to suggest heavy drinking by those Irish adults who do drink: per
capita consumption of 2.3 gallons pure alcohol, lower than all European Union
countries except Britain (which has many fewer teetotalers) and slightly less
than the USA.  The article also provided live cirrhosis death rates per
100,000 by country.
 
The high was Italy at 28.6 and the low (among countries listed ) was Ireland at
2.8.  The USA was listed at 10.5.
 
David Fahey (Miami Univ.) [log in to unmask]
 
PS: the NATIONAL GOOD TEMPLAR cited its sources which I can provide if anybody
wants them.