Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

More than a third of pupils in the Western Cape are binge-drinking, with some as young as 10 classified as heavy drinkers.

That's according to some drug and alcohol abuse experts who say that while tik remains the drug of choice, drinking among children and adolescents is also cause for concern.

While figures had largely "stabilised", easy access to alcohol remained a factor when it came to children experimenting with liquor.

The regional director at the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca), David Fourie, said although alcohol abuse had been eclipsed by the use of tik and dagga in recent years, there was a "constant pattern of alcohol abuse" among pupils.

"Our concern is that they are young, which means while they may not display a dependency problem, it is a risky lifestyle.

"If children start the cycle earlier, they tend to develop a full dependency within two years. So, if they start at age 16, they could be fully dependant by 18."

Fourie said that people who started abusing alcohol after 18 took between five and seven years to become fully dependent on it.

Part of the problem was that pupils experimented with alcohol at parties over weekends, in the belief that ciders had a lower alcohol content than other drinks and were not harmful, he said.

"Kids don't realise that the alcohol content is just as high as in beer. It's like cool drink for them.

"You tend to find that they also experiment with hard liquors like tequila, shooters and strong alcohol.

"There needs to be a stronger force in place to prevent easy access to alcohol."

Paul Carey, an expert at the Medical Research Council's Anxiety and Stress Disorders Unit, said that while the scale of the problem was difficult to determine, indications were that it was "severe".

"From anecdotal evidence and experience with these children, those who are binge-drinking by age 12 to 14 have been doing so for at least two years suggesting they begin as young as 10 with heavy drinking."

Carey said there many factors that contributed to the problem, such as family history and the degree to which children were supervised outside school hours.

"Despite the comments on socio-economic status, it is important to note that this problem does not spare any particular culture, race or socio-economic level," he said.

The MRC was to launch a study looking at the impact of heavy alcohol use on children aged between 12 and 15 and how it affected brain function, Carey said.

"We are concerned about the potential long-term effects on cognitive function and also the vulnerability to developing even more drug use and the potential (that it may lead to) mental illness."

Cape Times