Yet again we are debating the pros and cons of increasing the minimum legal drinking age. The controversy in the media is heating up with various statements bandied about by various readers consequent to the brave declaration by Minister Dolores Cristina to push her proposal to Cabinet to raise the legal drinking age to 18.

I wish to put my little bit in and in so doing I quote facts relating to scientific evidence from the United States (legal age for drinking currently 21), where the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has exposed the dangers of underage drinking to public health and how important it is to try to look a bit further than the tip of our noses when we discuss this topic.

Fact 1 - Drinking and driving:

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 20 (Traffic Safety Facts 2000, Young Drivers, 2001). Adolescents are at increased risk through their relative lack of driving experience and drivers younger than 21 are more susceptible than older drivers to the alcohol-induced impairment of driving skills. The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older.

Fact 2 - Alcohol's effects on the developing brain: Adolescence is the transition between childhood and adulthood. During this time, significant changes occur in the body, including rapid hormonal alterations and the formation of new networks in the brain (Spear L, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002).

Adolescence is also a time of trying new experiences and activities that emphasise socialising with peers and conforming to peer group standards (Cloninger C R, Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 1988 and Baumrind D, Adolescent Social Behaviour and Health, 1987).

These new activities may place young people at particular risk for initiating and continuing alcohol consumption. Exposing the brain to alcohol during this period may interrupt key processes of brain development, possibly leading to mild cognitive impairment as well as to further escalation of drinking (Spear L - as above).

Fact 3 - The link between early alcohol use and alcohol dependence: Early alcohol use may have long-lasting consequences. People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared to those who have their first drink at age 20 or older (Grant B F, Journal of Substance Abuse, 1997).

It is not clear whether starting to drink at an early age causes alcoholism or whether it simply indicates an existing vulnerability to alcohol use disorders (Dawson D A, Journal of Studies on Alcoholism, 2000).

For example, both early drinking and alcoholism have been linked to personality characteristics such as strong tendencies to act impulsively and to seek out new experiences and sensations (Rose R J, Alcohol Health and Research World, 1998).

Environmental factors may also be involved, especially in alcoholic families, where children may start drinking earlier because of easy access to alcohol in the home, family acceptance of drinking and lack of parental monitoring (Dawson and Rose as above).

Fact 4 - Policy and community strategies: Another important factor in underage drinking is availability, that is, the degree of effort required to obtain alcohol, as determined by geographic, economic and social factors (D'Amico E J, Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 2002). Consequently, interventions aimed at the individual must be supplemented by policy changes to help reduce youth access to alcohol and decrease the harmful consequences of established drinking (Komro K A, Alcohol Research and Health, 2002).

For example, raising the minimum legal drinking age in all states to 21 saved an estimated 20,000 lives between 1975 and 2000 (Traffic Safety Facts, 2000). In addition, all states now have zero-tolerance laws, which set the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers younger than age 21 at 0.00 or 0.02 per cent. This policy has been associated with a 20 per cent decline in the proportion of single-vehicle, night time fatal crashes among drivers younger than age 21.

To conclude, the raising of the legal age for consumption of alcohol as being proposed by Minister Cristina will not solve our serious binge drinking problem but it will go a long way in:

¤ protecting the more vulnerable in our society;

¤ deterring children from experimenting with alcohol at a tender age and to respect it for what it is - a mind altering drug;

¤ educating parents on the long-term consequences of habitual drinking in the home;

¤ curbing the near total disregard to the damage being done to our social fibre as a result of nurturing a psychologically and possibly physically alcohol dependent generation.