Every year, spiritsEUROPE brings together colleagues and partners in prevention programmes from around the globe to learn from each other. On 19 April, 70 stakeholders participated at our event which showcased some of the 400+campaigns we run, and which also noted some positive results, in particular regarding underage drinking in Europe.
Trends are improving nationally as stakeholders come together with a clear objective to reduce alcohol related harm. Training, information campaigns and education programmes are in place in many EU countries in an effort to affect the social conditions that encourage underage drinking and thus achieve a change in behaviour. The latest WHO HBSC report published on 15 March provides information about the health, well-being, social environment and health behavior of 11, 13 and 15 year-olds across Europe. The results are very encouraging and it seems that the ESPAD survey coming soon will confirm this positive news. The percentage of 15 year olds reporting first consumption at the age of 13 or younger declined by 32% between 2006 and 2014. The percentage of 11, 13 and 15 year olds who consume alcohol at least once a week has halved between 2002 and 2014. Reporting drunkenness over life time is also decreasing for the three age groups.
There are also clear improvements on the roads with a significant decrease in the number of road deaths over the last decade- despite stalling between 2013 and 2014 according to recent data published by the Commission. We believe these positive trends are the result of a holistic approach combining strict enforcement of legislation, with regular, visible controls on the roads, deterrent penalties and awareness raising campaigns such as the designated driver campaigns that have been running for years across Europe.
