Right: An American anti-alcopop advertisement, stressing the effects on healthArguments supporting the supply of alcohol to minors on private premises
1. The extent of the adolescent drinking problem has been exaggeratedThere are those who argue that the supposed problem of adolescent binge drinking has been significantly overstated. There are even those who have suggested that for some politicians and governments making statements about the dangers and prevalence of adolescent drinking is merely a means of distracting the electorate's attention from other more pressing issues.
John Wright in an article published in The Australian on March 28, 2008, stated, 'How satisfying for our PM to find something tangible to solve. Drumming up an instant issue to conceal less easily solved real ones (such as a possible recession) is an old trick. What is binge drinking anyway? ... Kevin Rudd is predictably vague about what he means by it. He knows that merely by spending $53 million on it will make most of us assume the problem exists and distract us from our anguish about the payments on our mortgage or our inability to afford one.'
John Wright went on to argue, 'In April 2007, Peter McCarthy of DrinkWise Australia quoted the WHO's 2004 Global Status Report on Alcohol as saying that "for the decade between 1996 and 2005, apparent consumption for the population aged 15-plus has remained stable at near to 10 litres per person a year. The proportion of daily drinkers increased with age: the peak for weekly drinkers was in the 40-49 years age group, and the peak for less-than-weekly drinkers was among teenagers." So, if anything, it's older adults getting into the grog, not younger ones...'
Jennifer Doggett is the online media analyst for the internet site Crikey. Jennifer Doggett has also stated, 'It's ... important to get binge drinking among young people in perspective. Although a high proportion of youth alcohol consumption is at risk levels, on average, young people drink much less than older people. According to National Health Survey data, less than 1% of teenagers and only 3% of people aged 20 to 29 consume alcohol daily, compared with 13% of those aged 50-59 and 17% of those aged over 60. Young drinkers are at increased risk of alcohol-related injuries, but most deaths caused through alcohol use occur in people aged over 50.'
Doggett has further suggested that many in the community have an exaggerated sense of the extent of adolescent drinking because many young people drink in public places where their alcohol consumption can be observed. She has noted, 'The issue is partly one of visibility. The 15-year-old quaffing Blueberry Breezers at the bus interchange is a much more visible problem than the 50-year-old who quietly downs a bottle of scotch at home every evening.'
2. It is intrusive for governments to attempt to regulate the private behaviour of young people and their families
It has been claimed that it is not appropriate for governments to attempt to control what adults and young people do within the privacy of their own homes.
Scott Stein, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, has stated, '"Nanny State" is the name given to government policies that treat adults like children and try to protect people from every possible harm or offence, especially from their own choices.'
Daryl McLure in an article published in the Geelong Advertiser on March 30, 2008, has stated, 'The self-appointed behavioural police, the gurus who lobby governments, want to add to the legislation protecting us from ourselves. Their solution to such problems is to cast their nets as widely as possible and restrict the freedoms of everyone who drinks and smokes rather than concentrate on those who actually offend.'
Numbers of parents have made comments which indicate that they believe government attempts to control behaviour within people's own homes are inappropriate.
Cassandra Jardine, a reporter for Britain's Guardian newspaper has stated that she 'wants her offspring to have a responsible attitude to alcohol, so she's not going to ban it, whatever the Government says.
I am writing the cheque now. It's for œ1,000, the fine that I may be liable for when I break the "parenting contract", which Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced for those who allow their underage teenagers to drink alcohol.'
Jardine has made it clear that regardless of what the law states, 'I prefer to normalise drinking as something you do with friends, family and conversation.'
3. Minors can be monitored by their parents and develop responsible drinking habits
A lot of people have kind of wanted to adopt the idea of this Mediterranean pattern of drinking and socialising our kids early as a preventative strategy.
In the 'Mediterranean' cultural model alcohol is regarded as an accompaniment to food, so drinking takes place with meals. Intoxication is not accepted. Children are sometimes given small amounts of wine, often diluted with water. Thus, it is believed, responsible drinking habits are encouraged.
The Canadian 'Drinking and You' Internet site contains the following justification of parents allowing their children to drink under parental supervision. The site states, 'Every parent must think through how best to introduce their children to the pleasures and pitfalls of alcohol consumption. It is important that children are given accurate and balanced advice about alcohol.
We are aware of the power of example, and it has been demonstrated that if children are introduced to alcohol in the company of family or friends at home, where it is enjoyed sensibly in a convivial atmosphere later problems can be avoided. The philosophy of such an approach, is that if your child is allowed a taste of wine (mixed with water), beer or cider the idea of "taboo" and alcohol being a forbidden fruit are removed and the child learns to enjoy the pleasures of drinking lightly, by example and without excess.'
The same site continues, 'If you drink alcohol at home, your children are bound to ask questions at an early age about what you are drinking and what it tastes like. It is tempting to say "wait until you are older", but it is worth explaining to your child that little bodies can't digest alcohol, which is "strong". Hence they should only have a very occasional sip at times of celebration such as Birthdays and Christmas.
If your child shows an interest, you could consider letting them have a small amount of wine mixed with water or beer at meal times, perhaps at weekends. This is the Mediterranean way, and has proved to make alcohol be seen as more of a "food" to be enjoyed at meal times than in Northern Europe and North America where it is more associated with a rite of passage, "taboo" and breaking rules.
Research shows that teenagers experiment with alcohol and often [jn the company] friends, but if their parents have been good and open role models and [they] are "well socialized" they are unlikely to develop bad habits with respect to alcohol.'
4. Minors should be able to participate in family celebrations
The argument has been put that the ability to drink in moderation as part of family celebrations may be a crucial step in actually preventing the development of binge drinking behaviour.
Medscape Today suggests that there are fundamental differences between an adult drinking pattern of the type that occurs later in life and adolescent binge drinking.
Adult drinking is typified as being 'Often in socially approved situations; often with meals; often associated with family celebrations (weddings, confirmations, funerals); often in moderation; while when intoxication happens, it is usually through drinking that isn't intended to result in intoxication.'
In contrast, adolescent drinking is typically 'illegal, and not socially approved; rarely with meals; not usually associated with family celebrations; usually involves rapid drinking, "gulping" drinks and large amounts (binge drinking) and intoxication is often the goal vs an "accident"'.
It has been argued that openly permitting young people to drink in moderation as part of family celebrations may be a further way of normalising their drinking behaviour and a disincentive to experiment with the style of drinking usually described as adolescent.
It has further been suggested that though sipping at family celebration appears to be the way that most young people are introduced to alcohol there is no evidence to suggest that this type of exposure leads to socially undesirable behaviour.
A number of politicians have made a clear distinction between those who allow their children to drink as part of family celebrations and those who support irresponsible binge drinking. The first, they claim, is acceptable, the second is not.
Queensland's premier, Anna Bligh, has indicated that irresponsible parents and other adults who supplied underage teenagers with alcohol would be fined. However, the Premier has stressed, 'This is not aimed at teenagers whose parents give them a sip of wine during a special occasion. But when mum or dad buys a ute full of beer for teenagers, they need clearer guidelines on what's acceptable.'
5. Laws prohibiting minors drinking on private premises would be very difficult to enforce
It has been claimed that there are major difficulties in any planned legal intervention which seeks to control how people behave within their own homes. Further, it has been claimed, those parents who believe it is appropriate to supply their under-age children with alcohol are likely to continue to do so irrespective of laws that might attempt to prevent them.
Australian Hotels Association Tasmanian manager Steve Old has said only 30 per cent of alcohol was consumed in licensed premises such as pubs and clubs. Most drinking, he claims, goes on within private homes and that includes much of the drinking that involves young people.
'It's a society thing, parents letting their kids drink alcohol,' Mr Old has said. Mr Old has further argued that drinking within family homes cannot be prevented by law enforcement agencies as it is simply beyond their reach and observation. Mr Old has asked, 'If parents are serving alcohol to kids at home, who is going to monitor it? Are police going to knock on doors?'
In an editorial published in The Australian on March 26, 2008, it was stated, 'Sensible rules, already in place, should be enforced effectively. Zero-tolerance for learner and P-plate drivers, like drink-driving laws in general, are important deterrents. And if pubs, clubs and bottle shops are selling alcohol to those under 18, or trading out of hours, the states should crack down. Consistent rules between states, if they can be achieved, would be sensible.
But if the Rudd Government thinks it can control foolish parents who ply their children with excessive alcohol, as opposed to teaching them to drink responsibly, it should think again. No government has found a way to legislate for common sense, or to make those who need warnings heed them.'
Similar views have been expressed in Great Britain where suggestions that parents should be prohibited from supplying alcohol to their 11 to 13 year-old children have met with the criticism that such laws would be impossible to enforce.
Britain's Public Health Minister, Caroline Flint, has indicated that she did not think the proposals would be enforceable. Ms Flint has claimed, 'I don't think passing a law to ban alcohol for those under 15 would be enforceable or necessarily effective.'