A glass of wine or a beer after work, after training, during meal preparation… for many, alcohol is part of the routine, sometimes daily. But this regular, sometimes excessive consumption is not devoid of impacts:
- In Belgium, alcohol consumption is more than 9 liters of pure alcohol/year/inhabitant.
- The harmful use of alcohol causes 10.5% of deaths in Belgium (about 10,000 deaths/year).
- Alcohol is the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29.
- Alcohol is the second leading cause of preventable death just behind tobacco.
In 2017, the Foundation against Cancer launched the first Mineral Tour®. The idea? Encourage Belgians to go without alcohol for a month. The enthusiasm was enormous: more than 120,000 people signed up for the action in the first year. The reasons for their participation are multiple: to ensure better health, to overcome a personal challenge or with friends, to discover the benefits of a break… After several editions, the Tournée Minérale ® has become a habit for many people, and nearly 1.5 million Belgians have declared taking the Tournée Minérale®. Colossal!
There are plenty of good reasons to give up alcohol. And these are not empty promises: a survey conducted by UGent following the previous edition revealed that 9 out of 10 participants felt at least one of the positive effects of a month without alcohol.
Faced with this resounding success, Tournée Minérale® could only continue. Since 2021, however, a few changes have taken place: the Cancer Foundation has decided to hand over the reins, and it is now two Belgian prevention associations that are leading Tournée Minérale®.
In Flanders, VAD/De Druglijn is taking over the project. In French-speaking Belgium, it is the non-profit organization Univers santé that now accompanies you for your Tournée Minérale®. We hope you’ll be there, whether it’s your first time or not.
A month without alcohol only brings benefits… It’s up to you to see!
Follow the campaign on social networks
Ready to take up the challenge? Go to the Facebook page “Tournée Minérale Belgique” and the Instagram account @tourneemineralebefr. Video capsules, reflections, rewards… Throughout the month without alcohol, we accompany you there to motivate you and give you advice. You will be able to exchange with the other participants!
You can also choose to participate by clicking the button below.
A Mineral Tour® is even easier for many people! Do you want to motivate your family or colleagues? We have ready-to-use material and lots of tips for you. You can use our visuals as a cover image on social networks, as an email signature, or even update your profile picture decor on Facebook.
Do you work in the health sector, the catering sector, in the administration, you have a sports club, for example, and you wish to involve your structure in Tournée Minérale®? Many have already done so in previous years and are forming real teams of participants within their organization! We have therefore developed tools and advice specifically intended for certain professional sectors.
