Less educated Danes eat unhealthy food, smoke too much and get too little exercise – but highly-educated and rich Danes drink too much, according to a report from the government’s Prevention Commission, which now aims to target alcohol consumption.

Amarone belt
“In almost all health problem areas, there is a social bent. But with alcohol, those with medium and long-term educations drink more than those with shorter education. You could call it an Amarone Belt in the suburbs,” says Commission Chairwoman Mette Wier.

Ten percent of Danes with a shorter education drink more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol for women and 21 for men. But at the top end of the education scale the percentages are 16 for women and 14 for men.

Figures from the National Institute for Public Health also show that there are more self-employed and managers who drink too much than students and wage-earners. The use and abuse of alcohol gives hospitals some 100,000 patients each year, with knock-on effects of chronic circulatory, liver and kidney illnesses, as well as psychological illnesses and obesity.

Fags to booze
In its fight to change habits, the Commission is hoping engender a change in attitudes to alcohol similar to that which Danes have seen in relation to cigarettes in recent years.

“10-15 years ago people smoked in sitting rooms where children were playing or in cars with passengers. Smoking has now on the retreat. Alcohol has already gone from most workplaces, but overall consumption has not been reduced. This attitude must change so that people realise how much they drink,” says Wier.

Minister
Minister of Health and Prevention Jakob Axel Nielsen (Cons) agrees.

“Danish attitudes to alcohol are much more liberal that I care to see. This doesn’t mean that the government is preparing a ban on red wine, but we want to work on Danish attitudes to alcohol – not least in relation to our young people. In other countries around us, young people have a different attitude to drink,” Nielsen says.

National Institute for Public Health Research Director Morten Grønbæk says that while tobacco remains Public Enemy Number One, alcohol is Number Two.

“Young Danes drink too much and politicians should take this seriously,” says Grønbæk.

The Prevention Commission has particularly targeted its recommendations at children and young people, because bad habits are much more difficult to change when people have reached 17 or 18 years of age.

Nurses
As a result, the Commission says that the obligatory doctor’s examination of three-year-olds should be changed to a home visit by a nurse to determine whether there is a negative alcohol culture in the family. If so, information and help can be offered to reduce consumption.

Another proposal is to make all schools develop an alcohol policy for pupils.

“Many parents are unsure about defining limits because they know that alcohol is a central part of their own daily and party culture,” says Assistant Professor Jakob Demant at the Centre for Drug and Alcohol Research at Aarhus University.