About four out of 10 Belgians want to drink less alcohol, and just as many smokers want to smoke less, the Prevention Barometer of the Department of Health revealed on Thursday.
Alcohol, in particular, seems to be less popular than in the previous measurement in 2022.
The Prevention Barometer investigates healthy and unhealthy behaviour, what people know about it, what they want to do about it, and what prevents them from changing their behaviour.
Regarding alcohol consumption, it is notable that more people intend to drink less. Almost 38% of individuals who drank alcohol in the past year plan to drink less in the coming 12 months.
In 2022, this was only 24.4%. 4.3% indicate that they want to stop completely. Older age groups more frequently indicate that they want to reduce their alcohol consumption.
People also report experiencing less social pressure to drink alcohol. The percentage of individuals who find it difficult to refuse alcohol has decreased.
Nevertheless, alcohol use remains widespread. Almost 80% of adults drank alcohol in the past year. Around 41% do so at least weekly, but not daily.
Among smokers, too, the study indicates a strong intention to smoke less. However, the number of people who actually smoke remains stable. Almost 14% of Flemish adults smoke, of whom 8.1% smoke daily and 5.8% occasionally.
Almost 41% of current smokers want to cut down in the coming 12 months, and 35.6% of current smokers want to quit.
Smokers are also making attempts to do so: slightly less than four out of 10 smokers tried to cut down in the past 12 months, and slightly less than one out of three tried to quit.
It is striking that smokers who quit often did so without using a specific method. Of the ex-smokers, 75.6% quit without a specific method, only 9.1% used smoking cessation medication, and 4.4% used e-cigarettes with nicotine.
E-cigarette use in Flanders is generally low. In 2025, slightly more than 1 in 15 people aged 18 and over will use an e-cigarette.
Young adults (18-24 years) in particular use e-cigarettes (15.2%). More than half of the Flemish population considers the e-cigarette to be very harmful, and 16% think that e-cigarettes are less harmful than the tobacco cigarette.
