The basis for this is an article from De Volkskrant dated 2 July 2017, with the telling title ‘How Icelandic teenagers swapped alcohol and cigarettes for sport’.
History
The article outlines how, in 1998, Icelandic teenagers were heavy users of alcohol and soft drugs. It also describes how sociologist Ingá Dóra Sigfúsdóttir, who has been working as a researcher into alcohol and drug use among young people at the University of Reykjavík since the 1990s, played a key role in the transformation. Sigfúsdóttir felt that things could not continue this way and began speaking—with no concrete plan—with politicians, policymakers, parents and teachers. Little by little, this created a kind of social movement, says Sigfúsdóttir. “It sounds strange, but identifying the problem, recognising it, was perhaps the most important step.”
Inspired by American professor of psychology and addiction care Harvey Milkman, who argues that excessive substance use can be broken by offering people alternative activities, Sigfúsdóttir came up with the idea of offering these alternative activities not only to a group that already has a problem, but also preventively to the group that does not yet use substances.
This led to people from all kinds of professional fields (mayors, care providers, scientists, teachers, sports coaches and parents) signing an agreement in 1999 under the name ‘Youth of Iceland’.
Combination
The new Icelandic approach is a combination of legislation, social awareness and the provision of alternatives. New laws were introduced concerning sales (tobacco from the age of 18 and alcohol from the age of 20) and advertising (none at all for alcohol and tobacco).
The alternatives were shaped, among other things, through the frístundskortíd, an activity card for every child, worth more than 300 euros, which can be used at any sports club, drama society or music school.
Through information evenings at school, parents received all kinds of advice. For example: spend more time with your child. According to Sigfúsdóttir, young teenagers in particular need this, even if they pretend they do not. “And know where your child is, who they are with, and who their friends are.”
The Icelandic approach is bearing fruit, as became clear in 2016. Whereas in 1998 almost half of all 15- and 16-year-olds had been drunk at some point during the preceding month, by 2016 this figure had fallen to just 5 percent in that age group. Cannabis use fell from 17 to 7 percent, and the percentage of young people aged 14 to 16 who smoked daily fell from 23 to 3 percent.
Read the full article in De Volkskrant here.