February 11, 2020

Dry February - a Czech campaign that aims to change drinking habits

topic:	Health and Sanitation
located:	Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova
editor:	Magdalena Rojo

14.4 liter per person. That is how much pure alcohol an adult Czech drinks yearly. Only in Lithuania and Moldova do people drink more within Europe.

The Czech Republic has been in the top five European countries in terms of alcohol consumption per capita for years. Approximately one million Czechs drink alcohol in amounts that are harmful to their health and that can influence their social and work life. Beer is their most favourite drink, Czechs are known for having good beer. However, it's not just beer, alcohol in general is a part of the local culture and is generally considered normal. The social costs of this excessive drinking are estimated at more than CZK 59 billion a year.

The League of Open Men is a Czech NGO that has been organizing a national campaign Dry February to point at the issue of alcohol consumption since the last eights years. Every year, the organization encourages people to stay away from alcohol for one month - February. Anybody can take a test to see if they have problems with alcohol use. The NGO prepared "A survival kit" for the courageous ones who want to join the campaign. Social media is used as a space where people share their experiences. Last year, about 6 percent of Czechs joined the campaign, which is about half a million of the overall population. When the NGO asked 300 participants after the campaign, 90 percent of them stayed away from alcohol throughout the whole month, and more than half of them even through May.

As much as these kind of campaigns are useful in rising awareness on the issue, new laws can also support the change in the drinking habits of Czechs. For example, in Lithuania, the European country where they drink the most alcohol per capita, a set of restrictive laws was passed by the government to reduce alcohol consumption in 2017. Increasing the drinking age to 20, cutting selling hours and raising excise taxes are among the new policies. Critics of the government were saying that people would find ways to buy cheaper alcohol from neighbouring countries anyways. And sure, there would always be such cases. However, the government approach is that the laws were put in place to reduce consumption on a social level and thus prevent having more alcoholics in 10 - 20 years.

In the Czech Republic, the law on higher excise tax on spirits was passed last November. However, draft beer should have lower VAT from this spring forward. Strict laws on alcohol could raise a wave of resistance. Just like it did in Lithuania.  

The Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic and the Government Office in cooperation with the General Health Insurance Company did a campaign "Not drinking is normal" last autumn. In three TV spots they pointed at the risks connected to drinking alcohol. The Ministry of Health and the Government Office also signed a Memorandum on cooperation with the NGO organizing this year's Dry February.

Image: Goumbik / Pixabay