Adolescent Alcohol Use Is A Community Responsibility
Disturbing trends in alcohol use by young people, including widespread, regular binge drinking, have led to calls for the health and education sectors, parents, media, the alcohol industry, policy makers and government to accept their part in addressing the problem.
In the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, Dr Yvonne Bonomo, Physician in Adolescent and Addiction Medicine at St Vincent's Health in Melbourne, said there's a popular view that heavy drinking in young people is part of the rite of passage into adulthood.
But, Dr Bonomo said, because alcohol is such an integral part of our culture, we urgently need to manage teenage drinking appropriately and comprehensively and to guide young people to safe levels of adolescent drinking.
"A fifth of young people aged 16-24 years drink to intoxication most times that they drink, and 42 per cent of drinkers report memory loss after drinking," Dr Bonomo said.
"Further, between 20 per cent and 40 per cent of young people report alcohol-related violence and around 30 per cent report alcohol-related sexual risk taking.
Dr Bonomo said around 10 per cent of the population aged between 18 and 34 years have alcohol use disorders, and that people who drink frequently during adolescence are most at risk.
A genetic predisposition to alcohol problems, ineffective parenting, poor family relationships and the promotion of heavy alcohol consumption in the media, also contribute to alcohol misuse.
Dr Bonomo said the onus is on the adult community to educate young people about healthy levels of alcohol consumption and that messages must be credible.
Realistic, consistent information beyond National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines must also be available for parents, including how young is too young for alcohol consumption. Parents also need to understand their legal and ethical responsibilities regarding alcohol use by young people under adult supervision.
Dr Bonomo outlines strategies to help address the problem, including labelling of alcoholic drinks targeted at young people with credible messages about safe consumption.
The M edical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
CONTACT Dr Yvonne BONOMO 0425 732 283/ 03 9288 2627
Judith TOKLEY, AMA Public Affairs, 0408 824 306 / 02 6270 5471