According to a recent study, the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland are two of the five Dutch provinces where the most residents admit to excess alcohol consumption.
The study, which was conducted by Afkickkliniekwijzer, an independent platform about addiction and rehab, defined excess drinking at 21 units of alcohol a week for men and 14 a week for women. Average alcohol consumption is either no alcohol or no more than one unit a day, and extreme consumption means drinking more than 6 (men) or 4 (women) units in one sitting per week.
North Holland (9%), Overijssel (8%), Drenthe (8%), Friesland (8%) and Utrecht (8%) formed the five provinces with the most respondents who admitted to excessive drinking, and roughly one in 11 Dutch citizens drinks to excess.
Omrop Fryslan reports that within Friesland, Ameland, Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog all had a significant number of heavy drinkers (12%), and RTV Drenthe writes that Emmen (11%) and Hoogeveen (10%) had the biggest percentages in Drenthe.
Coastal municipalities
There were no results reported for Terschelling, but the number of excess drinkers on the islands in general was higher than more inland areas: they were among the top 10 municipalities with above average alcohol consumption and the study found that most of the municipalities with a lot of heavy drinking were located along the coast.
Of the seven Dutch provinces, Groningen came in 7th place with 7% of residents reporting excess drinking. The municipality of Groningen itself (10%) had the highest number of heavy drinkers in the province.
The study relied on information from the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics and the Health Monitor from the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The website also includes an overview of rehab clinics across The Netherlands and information about a range of different kinds of addiction.
