Combating alcohol and drug addiction in young people

28.2.2017

Question for written answer E-001320-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nicola Caputo (S&D)

Some Member States have experimented successfully with a programme to combat alcohol and drug abuse among youth that is based on the ‘Icelandic model’. This seeks to tackle the problem at its root through after-school activities, rules on alcohol intake and awareness-raising among families. Seventeen Member States have taken up the Icelandic model so far, applying it mainly in small urban areas.

Member States that have not adopted intensive recovery programmes complain of high management costs and a lack of funds to invest in after-school activities. In addition, the rules on alcohol intake have a strong impact on the different lifestyles of EU citizens, proving in some cases to be too rigid or difficult to implement.

— Does the Commission consider Member States should be encouraged to avail themselves of programmes that tackle young people’s addictions by going to the root of the problem?

— Does it plan to develop new programmes tackling addiction in young people that take account of how the lifestyle of citizens can vary in the different Member States?