Young, educated and… drunk
Médor magazine has issued the first results of a survey it has conducted from April to June.
Do Belgian residents have a problem when it comes to alcohol? The Belgian beers are definitely legendary across the world. They are very tasty, that’s true.
But it seems alcohol is too important in our society. That’s what the last Médor survey suggested.
From April to June, the magazine launched an open survey about alcohol consumption. More than 2500 persons have participated, and the results are quite scary. There is no scientific or medical data, but it is just about the personal feelings on alcohol.
What’s the main point of this survey? “We drink too much, but we deal with it” could be an option. 62% of the consulted persons find they drink too much. And only 5% do not actually drink. 80% of them think they could stop drinking without any effort, although many of them are part of the 60% that drink too much. And more than 40% of the respondents have suffered from psychological or physical violence under intoxication (25% were guilty of such violence).
What do you think about these results? Let’s be honest, it is not a perfect picture of the Belgian society, as most of the respondents are 25-45 years-old and have got a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. The results could be quite different with other social categories, but it’s still frightening when it comes to having an idea about the consumption of alcohol in certain segments of the population.
While the results were presented on 24 October on RTBF, Pierre Maurage, a specialist in alcohol consumption and diseases, was also invited to comment those points. “It is not surprising to the researchers,” he said. While he advised that everybody should be aware of the impact of alcohol on health, the Belgian residents do not aim at reducing their consumption. “Alcohol is our cultural drug,” he added.
To be very clear, while 10 drinks (small beers) per week could be acceptable, the less you drink the better. “There is no positive effect from alcohol,” Mr Maurage concluded.
