BEVERAGE EFFECTS ON PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION

In this paper an analysis is made of beverage preferences and their ef fect on alcohol consumption patterns. For this purpose we have used th e 1993 Spanish National Household Health Survey conducted on members o f the population aged 16 or over. Beer and spirits are consumed more f requently by young people and wine by older people. The most consumed daily drink is wine and beer on a weekly basis. Men always drank more frequently and consumed a greater number of drinks per occasion than w omen for the three types of drink analyzed. The study shows that bever age preference is an important factor in the characterization of alcoh ol use patterns.