This chapter focuses mainly on modifiable risk factors to health among children and adults, including smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity. It ends with a new indicator of mortality related to environmental factors such as air pollution and extreme weather conditions.
Recent estimates indicate that some 790 000 people in EU countries died prematurely in 2016 because of tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. Smoking among both children and adults has decreased in most EU countries, yet about one-fifth of adults still smoke every day, and the proportion still exceeds one in four adults in some countries that are lagging behind. Alcohol control policies have achieved progress in reducing overall alcohol consumption in several countries, with overall consumption dropping by over 10% over the past decade, but heavy alcohol consumption remains an issue among adolescents and adults. Nearly two out of five adolescent boys and girls report at least one “binge drinking” event in the past month, and more than two out of five young men aged 20-29 also report heavy episodic drinking across EU countries. The use of illicit drugs remains an important public health issue in Europe. While the use of some drugs has declined, cannabis remains frequently used among young people and the use of cocaine is on the rise in several countries.
Obesity continues to spread among adults in most EU countries, while there are some signs of plateauing among children. Inequality in obesity remains marked: 12% of people with higher education level are obese compared to 20% of those with lower education level.
Exposure to serious air pollutants is estimated to have caused the death of nearly 240 000 people across EU countries in 2016. Extreme weather conditions such as heat waves or cold waves are also becoming more frequent, and some episodes in the past have led to the deaths of many thousands of people, particularly among frail elderly people.
These findings suggest that a much stronger focus on health promotion and disease prevention could help reduce the burden of many diseases and avoid a large number of premature deaths.