Young people drink later, but more

When you 'start drinking' differs from younger to younger. In some families, young people openly drink with their parents, others have a policy of tolerance and still others do not drink until they are eighteen. And then you have a lot in between. Yet the rules are very clear: drinking and smoking are prohibited until you are eighteen. Below you can read the facts and figures regarding alcohol and young people.

We start with good news: compared to 2003, young people are on average more than one year older in 2019 when they drink alcohol for the first time (12.0 years versus 13.3 years). We must, however, immediately add a comment. Compared to 2003, far fewer primary and secondary school pupils drink, but drinkers among them drink more often. binged.

We also get on well when you compare the ages of Dutch young people who start drinking with their European peers. But here too there is a downside. According to the ESPAD study, Dutch 15 and 16-year-old students drank for the first time in 2019 – compared to the average European peer – at a somewhat older age, more often per month, but above all much more per occasion. Dutch young people drink alcohol on average 6.5 times a month.

It has been proven that young people who drink also drink a lot. In the corona year 2020, 14.5% of the drinking young people aged 12 to 17 years - according to CBS - was a heavy drinker. Because an alcohol problem does not make anyone happy, it is not a question, but one knows that you forbid alcohol (and tobacco) until your son or daughter's eighteenth birthday. Source: step.nl.