Is it right that the government is taking measures against alcohol consumption? Not right at all! At least thinks the majority of the participants in the Statement of the day.
State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (CU) of Public Health wants to make more work of the prevention agreement that was concluded by his predecessor and fellow party member Paul Blokhuis. This agreement aims to reduce obesity, smoking and problematic alcohol use.
The Rutte III cabinet introduced restrictions in 2018, particularly in the area of reducing smoking. For example, it was decided to increase the excise duty on tobacco and to remove packs of cigarettes from view in the supermarket.
With regard to alcohol consumption, the ambition is to increase the number of young people under the age of eighteen who have never drunk alcohol. Alcohol consumption among pregnant women should also be further reduced and excessive and heavy alcohol consumption among adults should be limited. Sports canteens must become alcohol-free.
Almost 80 percent of the participants in the statement do not think it is right that the government is taking measures against alcohol consumption. Meddling, patronizing, ‘the state is not my father’, ‘It is everyone’s own responsibility and variants of this are the most commonly used words.
The fact that sports canteens must become alcohol-free is met with resistance. After all, many sports clubs desperately need the bar income to stay afloat financially. If alcohol is no longer served, everyone will go home after the game to celebrate the victory at home or in the cafe, or to drown the grief over the loss, so the fear is.
There are of course also supporters, albeit a sizeable minority of 20 percent. The one-voters seem to speak mainly from their own experience. They indicate that they know someone who developed cancer through alcohol use, have been confronted with alcohol-related aggression and violence and warn of the many victims of alcohol in traffic.
‘Smoking only has disadvantages and they have finally found out about that and the measures have made it “less normal”. The impact of alcohol consumption affects the environment more (aggressive behaviour, in traffic and health) than smoking. But because you are almost a pariah as a non- or hardly drinker, no one is waiting for “patronizing”,’ writes a once-voter.