Alcohol real drug problem—expert

Press, 2 September 1986, Page 6

Alcohol real drug problem—expert

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney Twice as many young Australians drink alcohol as a decade ago and alcohol is more of a problem than hard drugs, according to a drug education specialist, Mr Stephen Wallace. A drug education coordinator at Victoria College in Melbourne, he said teat while alcohol was tee real drug problem facing young people, it was being ignored by a community' obsessed with hard drugs. He said tee incidence of drinking was growing fastest among those under 18, and recent statistics

showed that twice as many children under 18 were drinking at least once a week than was the case in 1971. But parents and tee community were obsessed with hard* drugs such as heroin and had an “ostrich mentality” to tee problem of under-age drinking. "The evidence shows teat children are clearly tee growth market for alcohol in this country,” he said. “People over the age of 50 are drinking far less alcohol, while consumption patterns for those between 18 and 50 are fairly stable,” he said. Mr Wallace said under-

age drinking was shown by tee far lower average age of people attending alcohol rehabilitation and counselling agencies. “The average age of attendees at these agencies is some 10 to 15 years younger than a decade' ago,” the researcher said. “A further salutary reminder of the problem is the fact that Alcoholics Anonymous has a speciaj section for those aged 17 to the late 205,” he said. Mr Wallace said there were a number of reasons for the increasing incidence of under-age drinking. “Drinking is still a major part of the entertainment culture in this country,” he said. “Our media images portray tee notion that drinking goes hand in hand with social and general success — sporting heroes, who have obvious appeal to the young, are often featured in alcohol advertising.” Parents had to share much of the blame, because they often set a poor example. He said parents must also take greater care to keep alcohol away from children, as about onethird of 11 and 12-year-olds who were drinking heavily were getting their alcohol from their parents.