Dranquilo as a prelude to IkPas

You may have already seen the term: Dranquilo. This is the name of the new public campaign on alcohol consumption launched by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. With this alcohol campaign, the government sends out a signal that 'saying no' to alcohol is completely okay. Even better, because doing dranquilo is healthy for you. We spoke with Annette Menheere, senior communications strategist at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Dranquilo is the first government campaign in thirty years. Why is it now time for action?

Dranquilo is the first government campaign in thirty years. Why is it now time for action?
“Now is not the time for action, alcohol policy is much more than a public campaign, but this is of course the most visible to the general public. In addition to legislation and regulations, guidelines, agreements with the sector and information, public communication is very important. With the Dranquilo campaign we help people to feel more free in their choice to choose something non-alcoholic. Because dranquilo is a corruption of the word tranquilo which means 'to calm down'.

The campaign focuses in particular on the elderly, students and rural youth. What do these three target groups have in common and why do they constitute risk groups?

“Just to be clear, the campaign concerns us all. Because if we don't adjust the norm of alcohol in a social setting, we will maintain the social pressure surrounding alcohol use. What these target groups have in common is that together they make up the lion's share of the population of people responsible for problematic alcohol use. This ensures that these groups have to deal with the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption for the most part. Think of healthcare costs, social problems, required police deployment, death, et cetera. Young people fall under risk groups because they often suffer from peer pressure -that means the social pressure they experience to participate/drink- and the elderly deal with alcohol differently. They are in a different phase of life.”

The message leaves room for your own interpretation. You drink when you feel comfortable with it. Why was this approach chosen?

“Beverage is deeply embedded in our culture. We opted for a stepped approach. We are working on knowledge about alcohol and awareness about one's own alcohol consumption on the one hand, and we are making it easier to choose no alcohol. We show that you have a choice and that you decide. You don't have to choose alcohol. This awareness ultimately dampens the growth of excessive or heavy drinkers.”

Dranquilo is a nice prelude to IkPas. You do not have to choose an alcoholic drink, you can take an alcohol break yourself if you feel the need.

"Precisely. Dranquilo is the first push to say 'no' to alcohol at any time, without falling outside of a group. That moment can also mean a month, a year or always. IkPas is a step in which people who regularly use alcohol consciously choose to leave the alcohol alone for a certain period of time. They do this with the help of IkPas support. Both initiatives are committed to the fact that consciously not drinking alcohol is also a choice. Based on the conviction that, in the long run, this will have a beneficial effect on the number of people who suffer from problematic alcohol use at a later stage.”