Drink damage: Teens still at high risk
Canterbury teens share their views on alcohol use in the wake of a revealing study on the drinking habits of young Kiwis.
When Kiwis drink, they often drink heavily. As it turns out, they supply heavily too. Some teenagers are drinking as much as two boxes of alcohol on one occasion.
A Massey University study has found Kiwi teens are still being supplied with ‘‘alarmingly high’’ quantities of alcohol, despite a change in legislation in 2013 which made it necessary for suppliers to have the express consent of the
under-18s’ parent or guardian. The law change also required supply to be done in a responsible manner, which could include supervision.
The study compared two general population surveys of drinkers in 2013 and 2015, before and after the law change, and found the reduction in social supply was negligible. In 2015, under-18s were supplied an average of 11 drinks by friends, compared with 13 drinks in 2013.
Dr Taisia Huckle, senior researcher at the university’s Shore and Wha¯ riki Research Centre, said alcohol was still too accessible for under-18s.
‘‘Six drinks is defined as heavy drinking by the WHO [World Health Organisation], and that’s what parents are giving their sons and daughters on average.’’
Asked what was a safe amount for teenagers to be drinking, Huckle said: ‘‘Put simply, the safest amount of alcohol for under18s to be drinking is none.’’
Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Dr Nicki Jackson agreed, adding that alcohol had severe effects on adolescent brains.
‘‘Particularly the female adolescent brain, and the damage is irreversible. This is a very vulnerable group, and we need to be looking after them.’’
Jackson said the study had some promising results, such as fewer frequencies of alcohol supply and more supervision of underage drinking, but the quantity of alcohol supplied was still far too high.
The study found the top 10 per cent of suppliers usually provided the equivalent of 20 stubbie beer bottles.
Those findings reflected the country’s heavy drinking culture, Jackson said.
‘‘Almost half of all alcohol in New Zealand is consumed in heavy-drinking situations. That is the norm.’’
Jackson called on the Government to protect young people by putting the price up and raising the purchase age.
‘‘We had an opportunity in 2001 to increase the purchase age back up to 20, and Parliament voted against that. What that meant was it had a trickle-down effect; 13 to 14-year-olds were being supplied alcohol.
‘‘We need to increase the price of alcohol so young people can’t buy as much for their friends.
‘‘We have found that the price of alcohol has decreased over time to the point now that an RTD (ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage) is $1.50 and a bottle of wine is
$5.99 – much more affordable than it has ever been.’’