Belgian city buys partygoers drinks to help them avoid pre-drinking

Called ‘Sobercoins’, you can only get them if you do a breathalyzer test

This week, the so-called ‘Sobercoin’ pilot project of the Belgian city of Balen turns one year old and according to local authorities, it has been a success. Sobercoin is a local initiative aimed at tackling the phenomenon known as pre-drinking.

This includes the practice of getting drunk or tipsy before you go clubbing – commonplace among young people across the EU, pre-drinking is largely due to the fact that drinks in nightclubs tend to be extremely expensive.

Moreover, this could cause even more problems. According to the city, people who make it to the nightclubs and have pre-drinks are more likely to need medical aid or end up in fights. Sobercoin was aimed at mitigating this by offering partygoers three free drinks from the bar, on the municipality’s tab, if they come sober to the club.

One year of free drinks

The Sobercoin campaign in Balen offered citizens three free drinks per person, after they voluntarily submitted to a breathalyzer test to help determine their intoxication level as they entered the nightclubs.

Local officials claim that they have been able to distribute 1,328 Sobercoins (free drink vouchers) at 8 parties in the past year, as the VRT reports. Moreover, at parties in the latter half of the year, on-the-ground staff reported that many young people approached them in order to get the Sobercoins.

Additionally, depending on age, a Sobercoin could get you very different types of drinks. For people between 16 and 18, it was only beer and wine, while for those above 18, the whole menu was open. Despite the success of the pilot project, the City of Balen has yet to announce if the project would continue into the future.  

According to research from the Flemish Expertise Centre for Alcohol and Illegal Drugs, around 80% of young people pre-drink before going out. The free drinks tokens, dubbed “Sobercoins”, are intended to provide an alternative to that behaviour and ultimately counteract binge drinking.