You're out for dinner, at a party, or at a reunion with friends. The atmosphere is jovial and the beverage of your choice flowing as freely as the Moselle river. Perhaps you have one too many. The occasional drink is not necessarily a bad thing but in excess and regularity lies the problem that the new campaign hopes to tackle. Two Luxembourgish municipalities therefore participated in the Europe-wide "Localize it" campaign to raise awareness among adolescents.
What are the pitfalls of excessive drinking and how can you drink responsibly? These were some of the questions that adolescents from Dudelange's youth centre tackled in various workshops. They for example mixed alcohol-free cocktails and printed the recipes on beer coasters that will be distributed to bars and cafes.
The campaign mainly revolves around binge drinking, which refers to a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/d in a short period of time.
As the French say, prévenir vaut mieux que guérir. Prevention remains key, above all for younger people who come in contact with alcohol for the first time. The campaign does not promote a repressive approach to drinking - prohibition often results in the opposite effect. It's crucial to teach young people about the risks of alcohol, a spokesperson for Luxembourg's addiction prevention centre (Centre de Prévention des Toxicomanies) explained.
Apart from Dudelange's youth centre, Lycée Nic Biver and Mondorf's youth centre also participated in the campaign. The "Localize it!" project lasted two years and is now coming to an end.
