Alcohol The International Dilemma

By: Helen Stevens

The excessive use of alcohol is becoming a dilemma on a universal scale, resulting in a variety of social problems touching all walks of life. In northern Ireland the Chief Medical Officer – Dr Michael McBride has identified the extensive use of alcohol amongst the younger generation. In Northern Ireland children as young as 11 are drinking and by the age of 16 it is thought four out of five teenagers will have had an alcoholic drink of some type. Dr McBride believes that the reason so many young people are turning to drink in Northern Ireland is to boost their social and sexual confidence and called on more awareness of the harm that alcohol can do.

Sadly extreme consumption of alcohol among teenagers is having a adverse effect on communities across Northern Ireland particularly in urban areas. Within 2 years child crime has increased by nearly 20% mainly fueled by alcoholic consumption amid children as young as seven. In contrast, burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage have seen modest rises whereas alcohol-related offences have grown by as much as a third.

In Northern Ireland The Garda youth diversion programme has been put in place to try and curb this anti social behavior with some positive results. Children suspected of crimes under this system are given the option to redeem themselves by compensating or saying sorry to victims. Around 60-70% of the children have not re-offended within the first year after being submitted into this venture.

Obviously these problems are not limited to Northern Ireland and around the globe countries are taking their own measures to reduce the social impact of alcohol-related incidents.

In recent years millions have been invested on an annual basis by drink manufacturers in Kenya on measures to combat alcohol abuse, underage drinking and drink driving. Purchases of alcoholic beverages have increased rapidly and these companies have invested a lot in projects to try and decrease the sometimes negative effect. Advertising, warnings on bottle labels and bartender training are just some of the methods that have been applied.

The National Alcohol Beverages Association of Kenya (Nabak) working with The Pubs Entertainment Restaurants Association of Kenya (Perak) have been guiding the drinking habits of Kenyans by encouraging alcohol selling outlets to promote sensible drinking. The results have been very positive resulting in a marked downward trend in underage drinking following recent campaigns.

Other countries are using other schemes in their battle to control alcohol abuse. Australia has brought in restrictions in its Northern Territory, and in some towns photo identification must be shown when obtaining alcoholic drinks. These new procedures have not pleased everyone and some publicans have been subject to abuse, but generally the consensus amongst retailers is that this is a positive move in the battle against the growing social problems connected to alcohol.

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Lucy is a freelance journalist writing about The Drink Shop at eComparison.

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