One in three young Belgians (34%) between 18 and 24 years old admit that they have drunk more alcohol than they initially intended, a study by Belgian wine and spirits federation Vinum Et Spiritus shows.
While a growing majority of Belgians aged 18 to 24 consume alcoholic beverages in a controlled and reasonable manner, this is not always the case in groups: 34% indicated they drank more under the influence of their peers.
"In most cases, the heart of the problem is not the drinker themself, but rather the groups [of friends] who insist that a person drink more alcohol," said Managing Director of Vinum Et Spiritus Geert Van Lerberghe.
This phenomenon can be considered one of the causes of excessive alcohol consumption or binge drinking (when someone drinks more than four to six units of alcohol in the space of two hours to get drunk quickly). More than half of these young people (51%) have drunk excessively at least once in the past month, and 11% even do so at least once a week.
"Although this peer pressure often stems from a desire to have fun together, we need to be more vigilant about this and encourage young people via social networks to respect their own limits and those of others," Van Lerberghe said.
The analysis also showed that men are both the victims and the instigators of this phenomenon: almost 41% of young Belgian men drink more alcohol because their friends encourage them to, compared with 29% of women. And 29% of young men encourage their friends to drink alcohol, compared with 17% of women.
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Beer remains young people's favourite alcoholic drink, with nearly seven in ten young people (69%) drinking mainly beer, followed by cocktails (54%) and wine (51%). Hard liquor (17%) is less popular.
Following its survey, Vinum Et Spiritus is now launching a campaign to encourage young people to respect their limits and those of others, and dare to say 'no' to the social pressure to drink alcohol. The campaign will also target youth movements, youth organisations, schools and universities to lift the taboo on the problem.
