Oh no: The Netherlands drinks its way into the top 10 of the ‘most frequently drunk’
If you’ve been trying to ignore the misery with the help of rum and Cokes, whiskey sours and Dark ’n’ Stormys since the first wave of coronavirus, you may already have sensed this: as Dutch people, we climbed a dubious list over the past year…
In the annual Global Drug Survey (in which, yes, alcohol is also considered a drug), 32,000 people from 22 different countries were asked about their alcohol and drug use. And the fact that our little country ranks tenth among the countries where people are drunk most often is certainly something to think about. The year before (at the end of 2020), the Netherlands ranked nineteenth among the countries where people were drunk most often; that rise (or fall, considering that ‘slipping’) is truly significant.
A lot and often
And we drink often, too! An average of 112 days a year, to be precise. Of the countries whose residents were surveyed, only France and New Zealand are ahead of us, with 132 and 120 days. The AD reports this, adding that it ‘actually only’ amounts to about two days a week. Yes, that makes our situation as little drunks sound slightly less serious, but still.
Bring on the guilt
We also rank tenth when it comes to our national guilt about drinking: of those 112 times, we regret it 24 times. That’s when we feel we’ve really gone too far. No, the Danes and Finns have it better! They let regret get the better of them least often. Seventeen times a year—but then things must really have gotten out of hand with the akvavit and koskenkorva….
Do you say yes or no?
Does this line up at all with your own experiences, we wonder? Following in the footsteps of our columnist Adeline, have we really turned into a bunch of lushes because of coronavirus? Or are you reading this while sipping a hot chocolate without rum, or an alcohol-free gin and tonic? In that case, hats off to you! You may well be helping bring our national average down a little.
Read also:
- Proof delivered: bubbles make you drunk faster
- Instant happy vibes with this tropical addition to your rum
- How to make the bartender your best friend
Source: AD
