Alcohol Abuse Advice

Alcohol the Global Issue

The extreme consumption of alcohol is becoming a dilemma on a universal scale, resulting in countless social problems touching all walks of life. In northern Ireland the Chief Medical Officer – Dr Michael McBride has identified the common use of alcohol amongst the younger generation. In Northern Ireland children as young as 11 are consuming alcohol and by the age of 16 it is thought four out of five teenagers will have had an alcoholic drink in some form or other. Dr McBride suggests that the basis behind so many young people are turning to drink in Northern Ireland is to progress their social and sexual confidence and called on more awareness of the harm that alcohol can do.

Sadly excessive drinking among teenagers is having a adverse effect on communities across Northern Ireland principally within urban areas. In 2 years child crime has gone up by approximately 20% mainly fueled by alcoholic consumption among children as young as seven. In contrast, burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage have seen modest rises while alcohol-related offences have shot up by as much as a third.

In Northern Ireland The Garda youth diversion programme has been put in place to reduce this anti social behavior with some positive results. Children suspected of crimes under this system are given the opportunity to redeem themselves by compensating or apologizing 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 across the world countries are taking their own steps 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. Sales in of alcoholic beverages have shot up and these companies have invested a lot in projects to try and stem the sometimes negative impact. Advertising, warnings on bottle labels and bartender training are just some of the steps that have been put into action.

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

Other countries are using other techniques in their fight to control alcohol abuse. Australia has initiated restrictions in its Northern Territory, and in some towns photo identification must be shown when obtaining alcoholic drinks. These new procedures have not gone down well with everyone and some publicans have been subjected to abuse, but on the whole the general consensus amongst retailers is that this is a positive move in the fight against the growing social problems linked to alcohol.

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