Objective

To raise awareness of the risks associated with underage alcohol consumption and the legislation applicable to it.

To raise awareness of the negative effects of underage drinking (under 18) among the public.

To provide parents and teachers with accurate information about the effects of underage drinking by making educational resources available, developed in collaboration with experts and endorsed by relevant authorities.

To ensure that adolescents receive accurate information to be able to make positive choices and opt for healthy activities.

To undertake actions with retailers so that they commit to a responsible approach regarding legal purchase age.

Description

Romania has a major public health issue with alcohol consumption, and underage drinking continues to be a widespread phenomenon throughout the country and a common practice with severe consequences for minors’ health.  The WHO (World Health Organization) says that Romanian adolescents are above the European average in terms of alcohol consumption and binge drinking.  Harm from the heavy consumption is reflected as alcohol is attributable to 20% of deaths among 15- to 19-year-olds and 25.5% deaths among 20- to 24-year-olds.  There are many reasons why children drink alcohol even before they turn 13, one of which is the habits observed at home.  Psychotherapists believe that, among other, the approval of parents and tutors to take “a sip” leads to consumption of alcohol from an early age.  Children often participate in family reunions where they observe the use of alcohol and, sometimes, the consequences.  The 2019 ESPAD showed that 82% of 16-year-old Romanian teenagers consumed alcohol at least once in their life.  In general, 36% of students reported alcohol use at age 13 or younger, with 45% of boys and 27% of girls.  This pattern is worrisome, since early onset of drinking and regular drinking as a teenager increases the chances of developing health risks or an addiction to alcohol later in life. 

Further, Romanian law stipulates that selling alcohol to people under 18 illegal, although there is no strict control over who sells and who buys.  According to the 2021 State of Health in the EU, two fifths of 15- and 16-year-olds in Romania reported at least one episode of heavy drinking during the preceding month in 2019.  The results from the last ESPAD report showed that 63% of students consider that alcoholic beverages are easy to obtain.  On average, students in Romania consumed alcohol on 5-5.9 occasions in the past month, the survey revealed. 

As part of their responsible consumption strategy, Spirits Romania is committed to raising awareness and contributing to better knowledge on the health and social consequences generated by underage drinking.  The “Suntem Multi” (“We are many”) education and information programme was launched in 2015 after a commissioned qualitative study showed that most Romanian teenagers don’t see a problem in drinking alcohol and have limited information of the consequences it has on their health.   

In 2023, Spirits Romania re-launched the programme by implementing a multichannel communication strategy based on digital media and traditional media relations, conducting new educational activities and partnering with new key public authorities, retailers, NGOs and endorsers. More focus is on the school’s role in educating teenagers to have a healthy lifestyle and make positive choices, by helping teachers to inform students on the effects of alcohol consumption, as well as engage with parents.  It was run from April to August 2023.  The approach involved:

• Integrated communication campaign: A Facebook posts campaign to provide information and recommendations for parents and teachers to encourage and help them discuss about alcohol consumption with children, experts’ opinions, facts and figures. An Instagram campaign complemented the Facebook one and was tailored for a younger audience.
• Guide for teachers: The “Stay in the game! Adolescence without alcohol”, that was developed in 2019 was distributed to schools.
• Online workshop for teachers: The online workshop was held by the psychologist who developed the guide and complements the guide. They were supported by the Ministry of Education.
• Student guide: Explains the effects of alcohol consumption and suggests healthy leisure activities.
• Student educational actions: Workshops in selected high schools in Bucharest, led by a psychiatrist and the National Anti-Drug Agency.
• Video competition on TikTok on “Adolescents and Alcohol”: Students aged 15-18 could form teams of up to three people to produce a short video for their TikTok account. The first three teams obtaining the most likes over two weeks could win a prize (a meeting with the campaign influencer with influencer Ines Stana and tickets to one of the most popular summer music festivals).
• Information materials displayed in the Kaufland hypermarket chain throughout the country to remind customers that underage alcohol consumption is harmful and for the sales staff to check whether a young customer has reached the appropriate age to buy alcoholic beverages.
• Informative video: The video places a stronger emphasis on promoting healthy activities among adolescents. It contrasts the effects of alcohol consumption with healthy choices.
• Other: Disseminating informative materials at events hosted by the National Pupils’ Council.

The previous activations of the programme (2015-2019) mainly comprised of:

• A Parent's Guide which was created with a psychotherapist. It provides information about the effects of alcohol consumption at a young age and recommends ways for parents to discuss alcohol with their children.  It is available online and can be downloaded from the campaign's website.
• A teachers guide which was developed with a psychologist and was endorsed by the Ministry of Education. It provides a working tool to address this issue in the classroom, comprising both theoretical content and practical activities.  It is available online and can be downloaded from the campaign's website.  It is also used in the 2023 edition of the programme.
• A video, developed under the slogan “Stay in the Game! Adolescence Without Alcohol” which received public support from Mirel Rădoi, who was then the National Team Manager for the Under-21 Football Team. It features Rădoi, depicting the story of a group of adolescents who opt to say NO to alcohol to remain in the game.  As a widely recognized public figure among people of all ages in Romania, Rădoi bridged the generation gap, enabling the message to reach both parents and adolescents.
• Communications on the dedicated Facebook page, the dedicated website, in shops and articles for online news outlets.

Partners

2023 partners

• The Ministry of Education
• The National Anti-Drug Agency
• The National Pupils’ Council
• Kaufland Romania
• TikTok influencer Ines Stana
• Doctors and educational psychologists

Previous partners:

• Romanian Ministry of National Education (2019)
• Romanian Football Federation (2015-2019)
• Mega Image (2017-2019)
• National Consumer Protection Authority; Carrefour; Penny Market (all 2015)

Results

2023 :

• The Ministry of Education contributed to reaching teachers from both urban and rural areas in Romania, supported the workshops for teachers and used its available channels to distribute dedicated materials to schools in Romania. Over 600 teachers participated in the online workshops.
• The National Anti-Drug Agency participated with specialists in workshops organised in schools where it also provided special glasses simulating the effects of alcohol. It also distributed materials to pupils participating in their activities.  2,500 pupils were reached during the school workshops and received the materials.
• Kaufland Romania displayed shelf stoppers in 172 hypermarkets and recorded an audio spot played in all locations across the country. 15 million consumers were reached every month. 
• TikTok influencer Ines Stana participated in workshops in highschools and hosted a video contest on her page. 10,000 were reached on TikTok through this partnership.
• Over 1 million were reached on Facebook through the campaign’s, partners’ & supporters’ pages and 41.2,000 were reached on Instagram through the campaign’s, partners’ & supporters’ pages.
• The video had 21,000 views on Social Media.
• The website had 4.8,000 site visits: The most viewed page was Resources (comprising visual and educational materials).
• The National Pupils’ Council distributed the campaign materials to members across the country & to participants at their offline events.
• Doctors and educational psychologists participated in dedicated workshops for pupils and teachers in schools and online.

 

In 2019 the programme reached around 1,5 million people in total :

• The Ministry of Education publicly endorsed the campaign and assigned specialists with experience in awareness campaigns to provide feedback and input for the guide developed for teachers.
• The website had 4,592 pageviews and 3,610 unique pageviews during the campaign period.  More than 1,300 views and downloads of the Educational Guide took place over a month.
• 560 stoppers and 1680 wobblers were displayed in 280 supermarkets reaching 40 million customers.

• The Facebook page had 15,572 “likes” (50% increase).  846,115 people were reached on Facebook.

• The National Football Federation provided the 2019 campaign ambassador and publicly supported communication activities: participated as speaker in press conference; gave an interview for online article; joint press releases; posted on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.
• More than 11,800 people were reached on the SuntParinte.ro and Didactic.ro Facebook pages. There were more than 2,000 views of the online articles on Didactic.ro and SundParinte.ro. FRF’s YouTube video had more than 1,300 views.  The campaign appeared in more than 30 online news and 3 TV news.  More than 10 journalists from major media outlets attended the June campaign press conference.

Website

https://www.consuma-responsabil.ro/suntem-multi/

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