Alcohol consumption of young people in the Netherlands stabilized; concerns about the consequences of drinking non-alcoholic beer

30 June 2020

After years of decline, the use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis among Dutch students has stabilized since 2015, according to the report Youth and Risky Behavior 2019: key data from a survey of the Trimbos Institute.

In 2019, nearly half (47%) of 12- to 16-year-olds have ever consumed alcohol and just over a quarter (26%) also in the month prior to the study. In groups 7 and 8 of primary education, one in eight pupils (13%) has already experience with alcohol.

The gradual decline in alcohol consumption since 2003 has come to a halt since 2015. This applies to all ages and different data: alcohol consumption ever in life, in the past month, drunkenness and binge drinking.

In 2019, questions were included for the first time about the use of non-alcoholic drinks (beer, wine or cider without alcohol). In groups 7 and 8 of primary education, two in five pupils (40%) say they have had a non-alcoholic drink, of which almost one in five (16%) drink more than once. Almost one in ten (9%) students aged 12 to 16 drink non-alcoholic beer, at least weekly, boys more often than girls.

Health professionals are concerned about this. Drinking non-alcoholic drinks may make the step to drinking alcoholic drinks easier. However, research into such effects is still scarce.

State Secretary Blokhuis of the Ministry of Health regrets that alcohol consumption among young people is not decreasing. But he is hopeful that this will change. "In the context of the Prevention Agreement, we have made agreements with many parties to further reduce alcohol, including among young people. For example, by advertising less and no longer stunting with prices. But many of those agreements have yet to be implemented. The goal is that young people under the age of 18 really don't drink alcohol anymore, because we know it's just bad. It can damage your brain and you can get very bad diseases, even cancer."

Wim van Dalen, director of the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy STAP, is less optimistic than State Secretary Blokhuis. "No concrete steps have yet been taken in the Prevention Agreement and it remains to be seen whether politicians will finally agree to decisive measures with regard to price and advertising. One of the obstacles is that the alcohol industry is part of the Prevention Agreement, which has so far succeeded in at least delaying effective measures."

The report in Dutch: rijksoverheid.nl.

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