Study: 50% of adults feel powerless against underage drinking

NINE out of 10 adults agree that underage drinking is a problem in Ireland but half believe they can do nothing about it, recent research shows.

Just 15% of adults believe their own drinking habit influences young people.

And only 40% said they would drink less if they thought it would discourage young people from drinking.

The research, involving 900 adults and commissioned by the Health Service Executive shows eight out of 10 adults believe it is easy for under 18s to get alcohol from pubs and off licences.

The release of preliminary results was timed to coincide with the launch of the HSE’s latest alcohol awareness campaign to encourage adults to play a greater role in delaying the age at which young people start to drink.

The campaign features a single television advertisement, screened for the first time last night, urging adults to be more aware about the problem of underage drinking and the ease of access that young people have to alcohol.

It opens with a boy and his father at a local bottle bank with the boy thinking that his parents have not got a clue that he had started drinking alcohol and was getting adults to buy it for him.

In another scene, a young girl is standing outside a teenage disco saying that she and her friends have had vodka at home because security cannot smell it on their breath.

The advertisement urges adults to discuss alcohol before it becomes a problem.

Minister for Health Promotion and Food Safety Mary Wallace has vowed to tackle Ireland’s alcohol problem.

“In order to tackle the problems associated with alcohol misuse we need to take responsibility, both collectively and individually, on the need to protect children and young people from the harms caused by alcohol misuse,” she said.

Public health specialist Dr Joe Barry said many adults did not realise the impact their alcohol intake had on their children.

“Young people’s drinking behaviour is very often modelled on those observed in adults as it is particularly important that children and young people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to cope when faced with choices about alcohol,” he said.

The HSE has a number of alcohol booklets to support the campaign. The booklets have been produced to help parents discuss the issue of alcohol with their teenagers and to encourage adults to reflect on their own drinking habits.

Straight Talk, a guide for parents on teenage drinking and Less is More can be accessed at www.hse.ie or through the HSE’s information line at 1850 24 1850.