Icelandic phenomenon: how mass sport saved teenagers from bad habits

In the mid-1990s, Iceland looked more like a social laboratory of failure. With a population of only about 300,000, the country topped European anti-rankings for teenage alcoholism and smoking.

One in two teenagers admitted to drinking regularly, and almost a quarter smoked. For a small community, this was a national threat: addiction to harmful substances has become part of youth culture.

Three decades have passed... and the numbers seem to have turned upside down. Today, Iceland is one of the healthiest countries in Europe. Only about 5% of young people regularly drink alcohol and 3% smoke .

How it became possible

Success began not with politics, but with science. Political decisions were preceded by large-scale sociological research. The Ministry of Education conducted a series of nationwide surveys of young people in 1992, 1995, and 1997. Based on their results, in 1998, a new sports policy was fully implemented, covering most Icelandic municipalities.

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