MPs agree on need to fight underage drinking

Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said in Parliament yesterday that a new law on underage drinking was just the start of a campaign to rein in the growing problem of drink among children.

She also defended the government's decision to establish the minimum drinking age at 16 although she admitted that it should, ideally, be 18.

Mrs Cristina was speaking at the end of a five-sitting debate on a Bill which amends the Code of Police Laws.

Earlier in the sitting, Nationalist MP Mario Galea said that he feared that a Bill would not achieve its aims unless the causes which led children to drink were addressed.

Mr Galea said that there was no argument on the harm which binge drinking caused, but he would have liked to see an effective education campaign against drinking before legislation was introduced.

Several surveys had underscored the seriousness of underage drinking, he said and what was needed most to address it was a change of mentality.

For, he said, alcohol was present everywhere in Malta. It was a socially-accepted habit. Moreover, the media are bombarding youths with the message that it was cool to drink. Children resorted to drink to show that they had grown up.

Mr Galea asked if this legislation meant that young people would be dragged to court if caught with a bottle of beer in their hand. One must exercise common sense and the House needed to lay down safeguards so that the law would not be abused and so as not to drive youths underground to drink in private.

Had a stage been reached where it was not possible to control those who were selling alcohol to children and therefore responsibility was being shifted to the children?

Mr Galea also insisted that parents should not abdicate their responsibilities and depend on the state to control their children. Labour MP Helena Dalli complained about a lack of effective law enforcement in Paceville and, especially, in Marsascala.

She said supermarkets were staying open late in both localities and young people bought alcoholic drinks from there. Thankfully the law was being tightened and no one would be able to sell alcohol to children aged under 16. But would enforcement be stepped up?

It was very worrying, she said, that according to a recent survey one out of every five students aged 15 consumed alcohol every three days, 35 per cent of Maltese students drank more than three times a week and 43 per cent drink more than three times a month. Binge drinking in Malta was becoming more serious than in Nordic states.

Mrs Dalli said she agreed with Sedqa about the need to abolish open bars as such bars encouraged excessive drinking, with the problems which that caused.

She also agreed with calls made for curfews on children aged under 16 in entertainment localities.

Parents had a role to play in imposing discipline on their children, she said, but discipline should also come from the authorities.

Mrs Dalli said the Health Promotion Unit's campaign against smoking was being successful and similar campaigns against alcohol and other addictions should be held.

Jason Azzopardi (PN) observed that the European Commission had launched a strategy to fight alcohol abuse and highlighted five areas which member states and the industry should tackle together.

These included the protection of young people and the unborn, the reduction of alcohol-related occupational and road accidents, the reduction of alcohol-related harm among adults, and the development of a database on awareness.

Unfortunately, binge drinking by Maltese children in the past few years had increased dramatically. The country had a crisis of children who got drunk. The country was slowly losing its social fibre and the government had to take tough measures because they were necessary. The battle would not be won just with this Bill but the House would have taken the necessary measures to fight this phenomenon. There had to be zero tolerance because there was no room for complacency.

He said he did not agree that the Bill was proposing the arraignment of children. If legislators did not come up with a carrot and stick approach they would not be successful. Legislation had to have teeth to be effective. But the fines laid down in the Bill were mainly addressed at sellers and not at the children. The fines which young people would be liable for were between Lm3 and Lm25 while sellers could be fined hundreds of liri. Minors could be ordered to perform community service, such as spending a day in a children's home or a home for the elderly.

Indeed, Dr Azzopardi said, he felt that establishments who sold alcohol should be liable to lose their licence.

One should, in future, also consider raising the drinking age from 16 to 18, the Nationalist MP said.

Winding up, Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina explained that this was the first time that Malta would have a minimum drinking age, which was being set at 16, and this was the first time that all establishments, whatever their nature, could not sell or serve alcohol to children.

She agreed that ideally the drinking age should be over 18. However, the age of 16 at this crucial point was better for several reasons including the local culture of free access to alcohol. The culture would be gradually changed with educational campaigns and legislation for more effective law enforcement. This new law, she said, was just the beginning of efforts to bring about such a culture change. It was meant to serve as a deterrent to underage drinking and it would therefore not make sense not to fine children or send them to court.

Another reason for opting for age 16 instead of 18 was enforcement. The Bill would be placing a heavier burden on the authorities, the police in particular, and the process therefore had to be gradual.

The third reason was structure. Young people found guilty of breaching the law would be taken to the juvenile court and could be fined up to Lm25. If the judge saw a problem, he could also address the youngster to rehabilitation.

The Bill, she said, had been drawn up by experts and had also been welcomed by the leisure industry. The country could not have a growing problem and do nothing about it.

She was sure the legislation would have a beneficial effect if it was properly applied but she insisted that parents could not, by law, abdicate their responsibility.

She said the government would shortly also issue a draft alcohol policy which stemmed from the European Commission's strategy on the subject..

Mrs Cristina said she agree that alternative entertainment should be introduced for young people. But why should it be the government to introduce it? This should be the responsibility of the community, parents, schools, the Church and local associations.

Mrs Cristina said the fines provided for in the Bill appeared to be adequate but in future, one would consider the suggestion that suppliers who repeatedly broke the law would have their licence withdrawn.

The Bill was then unanimously given a second reading.