Slovenia: Youth Alcohol Use Declining
Youth alcohol use is declining in Slovenia according to a new survey.
The results of the 2018 international survey Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children show:
- The share of youth who were alcohol intoxicated at least twice in their lives dropped in all age groups.
- Smoking as a habit has become less common among teenagers, too, especially among 13- to 15-year-olds.
The results of the survey were presented at a debate hosted by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).
Not all news is good, however, as cannabis use and internet addiction is seeing a rise according to the survey.
Martina Vuk, a state secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, believes a breakthrough must be made in these fields similar to the one which banned smoking in closed public spaces. She believes a general social consensus should be reached on what is acceptable and what is not in terms of addictive substances/ internet use.
For as long as we are highlighting wine as food, we do not have a clear picture of what we want,” said Martina Vuk, as per Total Slovenia News.
Agreeing with Ms. Vuk, the head of the Public Health Directorate at the ministry, Mojca Gobec added the debate must not be confined to experts and should be raised to the national level.
Ms. Vuk also thinks progress in this field is being obstructed by strong lobbies on the one hand and weak politicians on the the other.
All participants agreed that more can be done in terms of school-based prevention and health promotion.
Youth shifting to more alcohol-free lifestyles is an emerging global trend, which is changing the alcohol norm as youth prefer to live healthier lives.
—