Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...

• Total deaths from alcohol-related conditions (primary and secondary causes of death
together) remained stable between 2004 and 2008 (§ 7.7).
7.2 Usage: general population
Alcohol use is widespread in Dutch society.
• According to the findings of National Prevalence Surveys (NPO), the percentage of
people in the population aged 15 to 64 that used alcohol in the past year dropped
slightly from 87% in 1997 to 85% in 2001 (Rodenburg et al., 2007). This drop was
most marked among females and among respondents in the 25-44 age group.
• Between 2001 and 2005 the percentage of recent drinkers remained stable at 85%.
• The number of people who had taken alcohol in the past month remained stable
throughout the years at around 78%.
• The percentage of drinkers who had consumed six or more drinks in one day during
the past six months (binge drinking) dropped from 40% in 2001 to 35% in 2005. This
decline took place both among males and females and particularly among respondents
aged from 15 to 24.
• The age of onset is the age at which an individual first uses a substance (see also
appendix A: age of onset). Among recent users of alcohol, the age of onset in the
15 to 24 age group was 14.6 years on average. In the population aged 15 to 64 the
age of onset averaged at 16.5.
According to a survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in 2008, approximately
four out of five people (81%) aged 12 and older ‘sometimes drink alcohol’. In 2001
the figure was 82%. The percentage of drinkers has remained fairly stable for years
(Statistics Netherlands, 2009c).
Sales figures give an indication of the amount of alcohol consumed annually per head of
the population (Table 7.1) (Alcohol producers’ association, 2008b; Vintners’ association,
2009).
• Alcohol consumption was highest in the Netherlands during the second half of the
1970s and in the 1980s. Then followed a slight decline, which did not continue from
the early 1990s.
• In 2006, 7.9 litres of pure alcohol were consumed per capita – the same amount as
in 2005.
• The consumption of spirits and beer remained unchanged in 2006 and wine drinking
rose slightly from 21.3 litres in 2005 to 21.5 litres in 2006.
• After a sharp drop in 2003 (minus one third compared to 2002) sales of ready-mixed
drinks (‘alcopops’) stabilised in 2004. However, in 2005 there was another sharp drop
(by 31% compared to 2004). This decline continued in 2006 (down a further 19%).
Accordingly the consumption of these drinks has plummeted by more than two-thirds
since 2002 to 114,746 hectolitres.
144 Netherlands National Drug Monitor - NDM Annual Report 2009