Summer and holidays mean more alcohol.
At least for 40 percent – both in Sweden and Denmark.
– You have to remember to slow down, says Bjarne Stenger Elholm, head of the Alkolinjen, Alkohol & Samfund for Danish TV2.
Cheers and happy summer, says pensioner Kim Lagstrøm and raises the glass from the sun lounger.
– This is the first of the day, he says.
But he changes quickly.
– No, that’s not true. I took a small schnapps with my morning coffee.
Almost half drink more in the summer
40 percent of Danes drink more alcohol during the holidays. This is according to a survey carried out by Danish TV2. Novus got the same result when they asked Swedes about their alcohol habits last year.
The association Alkohol och Samfund, which works for moderate drinking, however, chooses to look positively at the numbers.
– So it’s six out of ten who don’t drink anymore on holiday. It is gratifying news, says Bjarne Stenger Elholm, head of Alkolinjen, Alkohol & Samfund.
“Must make sure it doesn’t become an addiction”
The big danger is if you can’t break the pattern, according to him.
– You have to remember to taper off, perhaps through some alternative to alcohol. You have to make sure that it doesn’t become an addiction and that it doesn’t continue after the holidays.
And for Kim Lagstrøm, it is no problem to change the routines when the holidays are over, he says.
– It’s the same as with my pipe. It’s only here for the holidays. On weekdays, it is gone.