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. 2021 Dec 30;19(1):405.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010405.

Alcohol Use in China: Unrecorded and Recorded Bai Jiu in Three Rural Regions

Lanyan Ding  1 , Baoping Song  1 , Chengli Wu  1 , Ian M Newman  2 , Lok-Wa Yuen  2 , Ling Qian  3 , Botao Wang  1 , Wenjuan Zhang  1 , Ping Wei  1
Affiliations

Alcohol Use in China: Unrecorded and Recorded Bai Jiu in Three Rural Regions

Lanyan Ding et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

In China, approximately 70% of beverage alcohol is consumed in the form of spirits. An estimated 25% of all alcohol consumed is unrecorded, mostly spirits (bai jiu), produced outside regulatory systems in small neighborhood distilleries, mostly in rural areas. Unrecorded bai jiu drinkers are generally older, male, prefer higher-strength bai jiu, and drink daily and mostly at home. To explore possible regional differences, researchers used interview data from 2919 bai jiu drinkers in rural areas in Hebei, Anhui, and Hubei provinces in China. Results confirmed that patterns varied by province. The sample in Hubei preferred unrecorded bai jiu with a more stable preference to alcohol type, tended to drink less frequently, and reported experiencing less drinking pressure, suggesting lower-risk drinking patterns in this region. The Hebei and Anhui sample reported higher frequency and greater amount of alcohol consumption, were more likely to experience drinking pressure, indicating higher-risk patterns in alcohol use in these two regions. The results provide needed details about regional differences in unrecorded bai jiu drinking patterns that are not evident in aggregated data and suggest variations in drinking patterns that may reflect local geography, local values, traditions, and ethnic differences.

Keywords: alcohol preferences; bai jiu; distilled spirits; drinking patterns; grain spirits; noncommercial alcohol; unrecorded alcohol.

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Conflict of interest statement

Prior to 2015, Ian M. Newman was a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the International Center for Alcohol Policies, Washington, D.C. Prior to 2015, he received fees and travel support to attend meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by the International Center for Alcohol Policies. Prior to 2013, Ian M. Newman consulted for the National Health Education Institute, Chinese CDC, Chinese Center for Health Education. Prior to July 2017, he received University of Nebraska employment-related funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the Nebraska Department of Roads/Nebraska Office of Highway Safety. As American deputy director of the American Exchange Center at Xi’an Jiaotong University, he received funds from the U.S. State Department and the University of Nebraska. Ian M. Newman owns an equity interest in The Buffalo Beach Company (Lincoln, Nebraska) and has received consulting fees from The Buffalo Beach Company for independent research on indigenous alcohol use and traffic safety. Prior to 2015, Ling Qian was a member of an International Center for Alcohol Policies advisory committee. Ling Qian has received fees and travel support to attend and to speak at meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by the International Center for Alcohol Policies and for assisting in the organization of and data collection for projects funded by the International Center for Alcohol Policies. ICAP (now IARD) is funded by a consortium of the world’s largest alcohol beverage producers. ICAP/IARD had no role in the design of the original study; in the data collection, neither primary nor secondary analyses of the data, nor interpretation of results, nor the writing of the manuscript; nor in the decision to publish the results. Other authors have no competing interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A map indicating the location of Anhui, Hebei, and Hubei in China. This map is provided by Shanghai Baotu Internet Techonology Company with an authorization [16].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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