Non-alcoholic drinks more popular in Norway

In the last six months, Vinmonopolet sold about 20 per cent more non-alcoholic beverages compared to the same period last year. In the last five years, the number of non-alcoholic drinks has even doubled, Kristin Welle-Strand, communication manager of Vinmonopolet, says to Dagen. And even though the sale of these drinks is still low compared to alcoholic beverages, she expects that people will drink more than 1 million litres of the former in total this year.

Sugar

People are especially switching from red wine, spirits and fortified wine to drinks without or with a low level of alcohol. Welle-Strand suspects that this is because people want to live healthier, which fits within the current trend of eating and drinking lightly with low consumption of alcohol, sugar and calories.

Vinmonopolet wants to play into this trend as well, she says. “This is in line with our social mission to limit the harmful effects of alcohol. For several years, we have worked consciously to develop the selection of non-alcoholic products, and more and more people are discovering that there is a good selection of non-alcoholic drinks that suit various dishes and occasions.”

Health

In the Netherlands, there are also worries about the health effects of alcohol. But the greatest concern is that people do not realise this, says Johan van de Gronden, board member of the Dutch association against cancer (KWF).

More than half of the people believe that one glass of alcohol a week is healthy, the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad wrote. “Only a minority has a good overview of the health effects of alcohol”, Van de Gronden points out. “Many people find it a matter of course to consume alcohol. As a result, Dutch minors start drinking early and consume much. Many have their first glass already when they are 13 years old.”

To increase awareness, KWF and the Maag Lever Darm Stichting (Stomach, Liver, Intestines Association) have started a campaign this month.