Dutch Reap Successes in Preventing Underage Drinking…and NLLEA Members Helped!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – in all respects – and you never know how far-reaching your efforts can be until you find that you’ve improved the lives of youth across the world. This is the case for the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (CA ABC), who in January of 2008 hosted a ride-along real-time training for 23 dignitaries from The Netherlands. Following a welcome and briefing, Dutch officials rode with CA ABC officers and participated in retailer/bar compliance checks including shoulder taps, minor decoys, and bar inspections.

In The Netherlands, youth drink at an alarmingly higher rate than in America. Seventy-three percent of Dutch youth drink as opposed to 35% of their American counterparts. Where only 22% of 15-16 year olds in the US engage in binge drinking (defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting), 58% of those in the Netherlands do. Staggering numbers like these led the CA ABC to answer with a resounding “YES!” when asked to assist in training during the 14th Annual California Council on Alcohol Policy (known affectionately as the AP-14 Conference) held in San Diego, California last January. Conference attendee Ben Cornelis, project manager from the Eindhoven Regional Government, continued his SRE project “Laat je niet flessen!,” or, “No Alcohol under 16!” with renewed vigor following the training provided by the CA ABC.

“No Alcohol under 16!” was an initiative developed in the Netherlands to decrease youth alcohol consumption using a multi-pronged approach covering all aspects of promotion, training, and rules regarding alcohol consumption and was adopted by 21 municipalities. There are three main parts to the project: Education and support; regulation and compliance; and enforcement of laws and regulations. There have been regular reviews of the programs’ effectiveness along the way.

The project recently released the results of their efforts to reduce underage drinking since its inception in 2006. Using a combination of education, information, media-advocacy, and laws, the average beginning drinking age increased from 12.2 to 14.1 (2004 vs. 2008), and the number of children drinking alcohol had decreased 85% for 12-year-olds and 30% for 15-year-olds. When the project began, 70% of parents believed that it was all right for children younger than 16 to occasionally have a drink; last year only 25% of parents of 12-year-olds and 50% of parents of 15-year-olds thought so.

The Eindhoven Regional Government held presentations in nearly 1/3 of the regions in the Netherlands, causing other regional agencies to begin similar projects with the same goal in mind. This has propelled the Netherland National Government to change the laws surrounding youth access to alcohol, although for the time being only the sellers’ face punishment, not the youth.

The NLLEA salutes the success of the “No alcohol under 16!” project in the Netherlands and wishes Mr. Cornelis and his colleagues future successes in preventing underage drinking.  The NLLEA also thanks member agency CA ABC for being such gracious hosts in showcasing the outstanding work that liquor law enforcement agents conduct daily across our nation.