Norwegian youth drink less

Photo: SIRUS

On Aug. 12, The Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research (SIRUS) reported that Norwegian youth are consuming less alcohol than they did ten years ago. They are also smoking less and using less drugs, compared to the late 1990s.

SIRUS conducts and publishes research and compiles documentation on various aspects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco use and gambling; with a particular view to problem formulation in terms of the social sciences.

“The new survey can indicate changing attitudes among Norwegian youth, where drinking is not so common,” SIRUS research leader Atrid Skretting told Aftenposten.

The new tendency may result from more integration between Norwegians and people from cultures where drinking is not acceptable. Some think that youth have grown tired of traditional weekend and party drinking, others say that youth drink less just to be “different” from their parents, who drink more than ever before. It’s not “cool” to do the same as your parents. “It’s popular today to have friends that don’t drink,” says Adrian Farner Rogne (21), leader of Juvente, the Norwegian youth temperance organization founded in 1992.

Soource: Aftenposten.no / Sirus.no