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Prices in the catering industry and supermarkets are rising, as are those of beer, wine and spirits. But that will have little effect on the alcohol use of children and the number of young people who end up in hospital as a result of binge drinking, two experts suspect.
By: Mirjam BedafDuring the first lockdown, 70 percent fewer children ended up in the emergency room because of acute alcohol intoxication (coma binge drinking). “Parents were at home a lot, there was more supervision. And children had nowhere to go, not even to the canteen at the sports club,” says professor and pediatrician Nico van der Lely.
The number of hospital admissions has now returned to its previous level. “And also the amounts they drink,” says Van der Lely. Boys start with beer, girls with wine. Later they switch to spirits. “Beer alone does not put you in a coma. It concerns drinks such as vodka and rum.”
In 2020, approximately 840 young people under the age of eighteen ended up in the emergency room because of alcohol poisoning. In 2019, this number was significantly higher, according to figures from the Dutch Youth Institute: 1,400.
Many parents think something was put in their child’s drink
The number of alcohol poisonings per 100,000 inhabitants is highest among young people under the age of eighteen, with 71 emergency room visits per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020. Of the young people under eighteen treated in the emergency department, 62 percent have been admitted afterwards in the hospital.
The number of alcohol poisonings in the emergency department among young people up to the age of 25 had stabilized in the period 2008-2019. In the corona year 2020, however, there has been a significant decrease in cases of alcohol poisoning in the emergency room due to the closure of sports canteens and catering.
The number of emergency room visits due to alcohol poisoning was 36 percent lower in 2020 than in 2019. This decrease was relatively equally strong within all age groups, according to research by Valkenberg & Nijman in 2021.
If you send a 14-year-old to the supermarket or sports club for alcohol, the chances that he can buy alcohol are a lot higher at the football or hockey club than at the supermarket.
Many parents of children who end up in the hospital think that something has been put in their child’s drink. “That is almost never the case. Parents don’t realize that alcohol has a dampening effect. Children react differently to alcohol than adults. At a certain point the lights go out. They don’t feel it coming.”
The price of alcohol can influence alcohol consumption, says Ninette van Hasselt, alcohol program manager at the Trimbos Institute. “It just has to be a really big increase if it is to have an effect on behaviour. In addition to the price, there are other incentives that play a role, such as the availability of alcohol and marketing.”
‘Children take a bottle of vodka from the cupboard at home’
Children and young people hardly ever drink in places of entertainment. According to Van der Lely, they will therefore hardly notice the price increases in the catering industry. And in the supermarket and liquor store, alcoholic beverages are still affordable. “An eighteen-year-old buys a bottle for younger children and they drink it in the park, or they pick up a bottle of vodka from the cupboard at home.”
Children also drink a lot in the sports canteen, Van der Lely knows from his research. “If you send a 14-year-old to the supermarket or the sports club for alcohol, the chance that he can buy alcohol is a lot higher at the football or hockey club than at the supermarket. Clubs depend too much on the turnover of the bar. The sports associations are now also recognizing this problem.”
Price, availability and marketing have an effect
Van Hasselt and Van der Lely are both involved in the Prevention Agreement. It contains various agreements, for example that attention must be paid to alcohol at school. Van Hasselt: “Actually, we know that the most effective measures are in price, availability and marketing, and it is precisely there that little action is taken. But that is not up to us, that is up to politicians.”
One aim of the Prevention Agreement is to reduce binge drinking among young people by limiting drink advertisements. “Unfortunately, there has been no improvement in recent years. Something really needs to be done there,” says Van Hasselt. Young people are especially sensitive to advertising.
You can reach young people quite easily, especially online. Van Hasselt: “They are actually not up to it. Many people see banning alcohol advertising as patronizing, they believe that people should be free in their choices. But certainly young people are much less free than they think. They are fully seduced by advertising to drink.”
Alcohol tijdens de zwangerschap
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