Draft law on alcohol sale ban to minors welcomed

Philip Fenech, the president of the Hospitality and Leisure Division of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), has welcomed the presentation of a Bill in Parliament last week which aims to ban the sale of alcohol to minors and the campaign to highlight the dangerous effects of underage alcohol consumption.

Under the terms of the Bill anyone caught selling or procuring alcohol for under-16s will be liable to a Lm500 fine for a first offence and up to Lm1,000 for repeat offences. It will be debated in Parliament after the summer recess.

"This Bill, once enacted, will go a long way to harmonise local entertainment centres, like Paceville," Mr Fenech told The Sunday Times yesterday.

"It will also arm law-enforcing authorities with legal tools to curb abuse. The most important issue is that even consumption of alcohol by minors will become illegal.

It means that minors will not be able to consume alcohol in the streets, giving entertainment areas a bad reputation and an unsavoury ambience.

"It also means that finally even the distribution of alcohol to minors will become illegal, so older people will think twice before buying alcohol to give to minors."

Mr Fenech insisted that youngsters should not frequent entertainment areas that are designed for adult patrons, simply because it is not their place to be. The area has a diverse role, given the plethora of luxury hotels, entertainment establishments, bars, nightclubs and restaurants involving around Lm200 million in investment and thousands of jobs.

"Underage people hanging about in the streets drinking alcohol not only damage the industry in entertainment areas, but also throw a negative light on our culture," he remarked. "These young people are primarily their parents' responsibility - it is their parents who should identify more suitable means of entertainment for them."