Danish youngsters still drinking too much

Despite slight decline, Danes a long way ahead of their European peers

According to the latest Espad (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) report, nobody in Europe can compete with Denmark’s 15 to 16-year-olds when it come to binging on alcohol.

The health authority Sundhedstyrelsen finds the results alarming and contends that parents and schools must work together to help reduce the massive consumption.

“Even though the use among 15 to 16-year-olds in Denmark has dropped slightly in the period from 1999 to 2015, the report shows the Danish youngsters stand out when compared to the kids in other Nordic and European nations,” said Kit Broholm, a Sundhedstyrelsen spokesperson.

READ MORE: Drinking less but smoking more

Binge drinking nation
On average, about 80 percent of European youngsters drink alcohol – a figure that rises to 92 percent when focusing just on Denmark. In comparison, Iceland (35 percent), Norway (57 percent), Sweden (65 percent) and Finland (74 percent) are a long way far behind.

In 2015, 13 percent of European youngsters had got intoxicated within the last month. But Denmark was yanking up the stats with 32 percent.

The Espad report (here in English) includes statistics from 35 countries and is published every four years.

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