Binge drinking among minors 'on the rise'

Around four per cent of deaths worldwide are alcohol-related - which means they can be prevented, according to George Grech, clinical director of Sedqa, the national agency against substance abuse.

This sobering statistic was divulged during a national conference on binge drinking organised jointly by Sedqa and the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity.

Dr Grech said young people tended to start binge drinking at about 13 years of age and the problem reached a peak during young adulthood, between 18 and 22 years of age. From then on it gradually decreased.

Young people who engage in binge drinking do not do so at random. Sedqa Alcohol Services Division coordinator Manuel Mangani said young people tended to take a "conscious, deliberate decision to become inebriated and lose control".

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina stressed the need to establish a minimum consumption age, an issue also highlighted by the chief executive office of the Foundation for Social Services, Joe Gerada.

He lamented the absence of a law that prohibited alcohol consumption by minors and noted that the sale of alcohol to minors was rampant.

He also challenged a number of "false perceptions", including that excessive drinking was part of Maltese culture. This perception, he said, led to alcohol being given to minors.

Referring to the widely held view that parents are to blame for their children's behaviour, Mr Gerada insisted they were not the only influence.

And he asked whether the theory that young people drink because of pressures that they faced should be accepted. Who had convinced them of this?

In Malta binge drinking was a recent phenomenon and was growing fast. Statistics of the past 10 years indicated that young Maltese people were now among the biggest consumers of alcohol in Europe, he said.

Speaking about the issue of enforcement, Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Cassar said not all owners were prudent enough to make sure minors did not enter places of entertainment or were not served alcohol. He pointed out that the punishment for those who breach the law left much to be desired.

He said it was imperative to educate the owners of entertainment establishments and barmen to the harmful effects of alcohol on minors.

The minister and Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro agreed that politicians needed to be more courageous and not afraid to take action on the issue.

Definitions of binge drinking

Sweden - one-half bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine on the same occasion, which is equal to 112 grams of alcohol.

US - five standard drinks for men and four for women per occasion, an average of 70 grams of alcohol in males and 56 grams for females.

Finland - six bottles of beer per session, equalling 72 grams of alcohol.

UK - eight units of alcohol for men and six for women per session, an average of 64 grams for men and 48 grams for women.

Drinkers at 15

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD), carried out in 2003 among fifth form students in 35 European countries, showed that:

¤ 50 per cent had had five drinks or more in a row - considered binge drinking - in the previous 30 days.

¤ 24 per cent had had five drinks or more in a row three times or more in the previous month.

¤ 32 per cent had purchased a drink from a disco on their last drinking occasion, while 21 per cent had had their last drink at home, 14 per cent at a bar or pub, seven per cent in a restaurant and five per cent on the street, in a park, beach or other open space.

¤ Only 12 per cent said they never consumed alcoholic beverages.

¤ Three per cent of respondents said they had engaged in sexual intercourse because of alcohol use, which they regretted the next day.