Editorial

Trying to change certain habits or practices, call them what you will - some may even go as far as to term them social mores - is always likely to invoke a negative reaction. We all remember the arguments raised when it was first announced that smoking in public places should be curtailed. A similar - though not necessarily identical - situation is likely to prevail when the alcohol ban on minors, mentioned by Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina last week, starts taking shape.

But it is time to get the fun out of the bottle or, as Mrs Cristina herself put it in much better style, to clearly transmit the message that there is no need to consume alcohol to have fun.

Speaking at the launch of a Binge Drinking Awareness Campaign by Sedqa, Mrs Cristina let it be known that the Cabinet Social Policy Committee is studying a proposal to ban the consumption of alcohol by minors, that is those aged under 18.

There exists a lacuna in the law in that although the sale of alcohol to people under 18 is in itself illegal, it is perfectly in order, according to the statute book, that is, for underage people to drink spirits. And it is not only minors themselves who make the best of this legal loophole but, perhaps more so, owners of bars and other retail outlets authorised to sell alcohol.

The situation is not getting any better. "The fact that alcohol is easily acquired continues to worry those who have the future of the young generation at heart," Mrs Cristina rightly admitted. "I feel we can no longer remain passive," she added.

There is of course no need for statistics to show that drinking among the young is indeed a problem but the latest European School Survey Project On Alcohol And Other Drugs - notice the terminology: "alcohol and other drugs" - did put Malta in fifth place among 35 countries in terms of 16-year-old students who reported binge drinking three or more times a month.

The indications are, therefore, crystal clear: Alcohol abuse is omnipresent and must be addressed. The longer we take to address the problem the more difficult it will become to solve.

To do so effectively requires the concerted effort of many. As Mrs Cristina herself acknowledged, although laws are necessary, it is through education and through the example of parents, role models and society at large that the young people can better understand how they can avert the risk of becoming slaves of the bottle.

Legislating is perhaps the easier part of the equation. Enforcing the law and throwing the book at defaulters is where the going starts getting tougher. The message must be clear, similar to the one transmitted by the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, Joe Gerada, when he said that anyone caught selling alcohol to minors should have the licence suspended immediately.

He also spoke about the importance of giving the police the authority to carry out random breathalyser tests and to prohibit advertising addressed to minors.

However, it is when having to lead by example that the challenge really becomes a gargantuan task. In this regard, the "dangers" are many and varied. Sedqa's clinical director George Grech listed three main concerns: the excessive use of alcohol especially during village feasts; the large number of parties held especially in summer and the increasing rate of adolescent women who were binge drinking.

The challenge is indeed big but it is not an impossible task.