Stop The Sale Of Alcohol To Minors

By Richard Sherriff ~ Century Newspapers ~ Tuesday 9th August 2005

The battle against underage binge drinking can only be won if drastic action is taken against those selling alcohol to minors, UUP MLA Sam Gardiner has claimed. Calling for retailers found guilty of selling alcohol to underage drinkers to lose their business, he said it was time for the Government to take action.

Referring to the Government's figures for the UK, the Upper Bann MLA said they revealed a "thoroughly alarming" level of abuse that could not be tolerated. The figures show that up to 13 teenagers are admitted to hospital every day due to binge drinking, a rise of 11 per cent since the mid-1990s. Despite school and community-based alcohol education campaigns, Mr Gardiner said it was clear that urgent action was required. "Comparative European studies show that young people in this country are some of the heaviest teenage drinkers in Europe. "So it is hardly surprising that some of them will end up being admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problems or that we are seeing an 11 per cent rise in teenage admissions since this Government came to power in 1997," he said. "Since 1990 average alcohol consumption among adolescents who drink rose from five to 10 units a week. "It has taken eight years for Ministers to begin to wake up to this epidemic and ask the National Health Service (NHS) to draw up alcohol harm-reduction strategies."

The only answer he claimed was a " rigorous clampdown on the sale of alcohol to under-age children". "This should be regarded as a serious offence and retailers found doing it on more than one occasion should lose their right to sell alcohol altogether."

Gardiner's comments come just six months after the alcohol culture in Ireland was branded one of the most "influential and negative ingredients in the lives of young people," by Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames. Commenting on a Church report on teenage alcohol abuse, he said lives were being ruined by the habit. Stating that a review of the Province's licensing laws began last year, a spokesman for the Department for Social Development said a consultation paper containing proposals for change was due in November 2005. "It should be noted that, under the existing law, a licence may be suspended on conviction for selling alcohol to young people under the age of 18," he said. "However, under the terms of reference for the current review, the Department has been examining how enforcement measures and provisions on children can be improved."