Life style; personal characteristics

Table explanation

Description topics

Alcohol consumption, 12 years or older

The questions on consuming alcohol are asked to all persons aged 12 years or older.

Guideline alcohol use, 12 plus

The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older that meet the guideline on alcohol use. Since 2014, the guideline for persons aged 12 to 18 years is: do not drink until you are 18 years old. Since 2015, the guideline for adults is: do not drink or at most 1 glass per day. This guideline originates from the Guidelines for Good Nutrition (in Dutch: Richtlijnen Goede Voeding) of the Dutch Health Council.

Drug use, 12 years or older

The questions about drug use are asked to all persons aged 12 or older. The following drug types are asked whether they have ever been used and, if so, when was the last time:
• Cannabis (hashish, weed, marijuana)
• Amphetamine (such as pep and speed)
• XTC (ecstasy, MDMA)
• LSD
• Magic mushrooms (hallucinogenic mushrooms)
• Cocaine (also crack, basecoke, freebase)
• Heroine (horse, smack or brown)
• GHB or GBL
• Methadone (included in the questionnaire up to and including 2022)
• 4-Fluoroamphetamine (4-FA, 4-FMP or Flux) (included in the questionnaire from 2018 up to and including 2022)
• Ketamine (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• 3-MMC (Poes or 3M) (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• Laughing gas (figures in the table from reporting year 2023 onwards)
• Other drugs
The answer categories for each type of drug are:
• Yes, in the last 30 days
• Yes, in the last 12 months, but not in the last 30 days
• Yes, more than 12 months ago
• No, never used

Use of cannabis

Based on the question about the use of cannabis (hashish, weed, marijuana)

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of drugs, excluding cannabis

Drug use other than cannabis. Based on the questions about the use of:
• Amphetamine (such as pep and speed)
• XTC (ecstasy, MDMA)
• Cocaine (also crack, basecoke, freebase)
• LSD
• Magic mushrooms (hallucinogenic mushrooms)
• Heroine (horse, smack or brown)
• GHB or GBL
• Ketamine (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• 3-MMC (Poes or 3M) (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• Laughing gas
• Other drugs
It involves the use of 1 or more of these types of drugs. When using several of these types of drugs, the most recently used type of drug is seen as determining the distribution across the categories 'last month', 'last year' and 'ever'.
• Last month
• Last year
• Ever

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of amphetamine

Based on the question about the use of amphetamine (such as pep and speed)

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of ecstasy

Based on the question about the use of XTC (ecstasy, MDMA)

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of cocaine

Based on the question about the use of cocaine (including crack, basecoke, freebase)

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of laughing gas

Based on the question on the use of laughing gas.

Last month

Last year

Ever

Use of drugs, total

Based on the questions about the use of:
• Cannabis (hashish, weed, marijuana)
• Amphetamine (such as pep and speed)
• XTC (ecstasy, MDMA)
• LSD
• Magic mushrooms (hallucinogenic mushrooms)
• Cocaine (also crack, basecoke, freebase)
• Heroine (horse, smack or brown)
• GHB or GBL
• Ketamine (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• 3-MMC (Poes or 3M) (included in the questionnaire from 2023)
• Laughing gas
• Other drugs
It involves the use of 1 or more of these types of drugs. When using multiple types of drugs, the most recently used type of drug is seen as determining the distribution across the categories 'last month', 'last year' and 'ever'.
• Last month
• Last year
• Ever

Last month

Last year

Ever

Sexual health, 16 years or older

The questions on sexual health are asked to persons aged 16 years or older.

Use of contraception (pill incl.)16-49

The percentage of the sexually active women aged 16 to 49 years who use contraceptives, such as the contraception pill, condom, IUD, or sterilization. A woman is considered to be sexually active, if she has had sex, with a man, in the last 12 months. As of 2021, the question about contraceptive methods, other than the contraceptive pill, has changed. Where previously it was asked “Do you currently use another method of contraception, for example condoms, a IUD or sterilization?”, with the answer options 'yes', 'no' and 'no answer', from 2021 you will be asked “Do you currently use (any) other contraception?”, with the answer options 'no', 'yes condoms', 'yes, a copper IUD', 'yes, a hormone IUD', 'yes, you have been sterilized', 'yes your partner has been sterilized', 'yes another method' and 'no answer'. Explicitly naming the different methods as an answer option may have resulted in a higher number of yes answers. It is therefore not easy to compare figures on contraceptive use from 2020 and earlier with figures from 2021 and later. From 2023 onwards, questions about sexual activity indicate more clearly that it concerns sex with a man. This makes it clearer that women who have sex with women should answer 'no' to this question. This must be taken into account when interpreting the comparison of the 2023 figures on contraceptive use with previous figures.

Use of contraceptive pill, 16-49 years

For the years 2014-2016 and since 2020: the percentage of women aged 16 to 49 years who use the contraceptive pill. For the years 2017-2019: the percentage of sexually active women aged 16 to 49 years who use the contraceptive pill. Women are sexually active if they have had sex in the last 12 months.

The percentages since 2020 are therefore comparable to the percentages of 2014-2016, but not to those for 2017-2019.