Video warning against rising ‘Nordic-style’ drinking culture shocks Spain

The new anti-alcohol-abuse ad has caused shockwaves around Spain

A dramatic new Spanish commercial showing a heavily inebriated 20-something vomiting up the body of his girlfriend has hit the airwaves in Spain – to a shocked response.

The 20-second ad has been created by Spain’s anti-drug and alcohol abuse group, Fundación de Ayuda Contra la Drogadicción (FAD), with critics claiming that it is too graphic in content…

During the video, an obviously worse-for-wear young man lolls from side to side before vomiting up his girlfriend. The narrative follows: “Every time you get drunk, you push away the people that matter to you, like your girlfriend.” A previous FAD commercial showed a young woman vomiting up the body of her father.

The commercial was created in response to widespread concerns that Spanish youngsters are eschewing the traditional Mediterranean drinking culture – sociable but steady – for a more hedonistic, ‘Nordic-style’ culture of binge drinking, particularly over the past 25 years.

Ignacio González, the head of the FAD, has defended the commercial, telling Spanish media that alcohol abuse among young Spaniards has reached ‘disgusting’ levels, adding: “Science Fiction cinematography is something young people recognise instantly.”

González explained that a combination of longer opening hours in bars and clubs, the ongoing economic crisis, and a slight shift in culture where “being drunk is no longer frowned upon” were the reasons why so many young Spaniards are routinely getting riotously drunk. “We have enthroned drunkenness,” he added. “It’s almost funny.”

The FAD has also reported that young women, rather than young men, were more likely to abuse alcohol, based – claims González – on a warped view of perceived equality in Spanish society. Peer pressure and lower levels of tolerance to alcohol were also cited as the reasons behind women’s increased levels of alcohol abuse.

Figures from the FAD have shown that 36 per cent of Spaniards aged 14-18 have admitted to being drunk in the past month – up from 25 per cent in 2006. Recent studies have also shown that there is a bar for every 132 people in Spain.