Alcohol ad ban needed to stop harmful drinking in young people

A new report shows that teenagers often consume alcohol at harmful levels. AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that this is further evidence that targeted marketing of alcohol to young people should be banned to prevent them from taking up drinking at a young age.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2010 shows that 38.4 per cent of 12-17-year-olds had recently consumed alcohol.

The survey found that almost two-thirds of males aged 18-19 years had placed themselves at risk of an alcohol-related injury at least once a month.

“These latest figures show that young people who are barely in their teens have already started drinking alcohol, and those who are older are drinking at harmful levels,” Dr Hambleton said.

“A rare positive finding is a decline in daily drinking among those aged 14 years and older, but clearly there is still a long way to go to reduce harmful alcohol use among young people.

“The first step is a stronger focus on the things that influence people to take up alcohol use at a young age.

“One of the biggest contributors to teenage drinking is the marketing tactics used by the alcohol industry to promote alcoholic products as glamorous and exciting, and this makes them very attractive to young people.

“These marketing tactics put the health and lives of young Australians at greater risk.

“The younger that people start drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become problematic drinkers later in life.

“Every effort should be made to discourage young people from taking up drinking.

“The AMA urges the Government to ban the marketing of alcohol to young people and ban sponsorship of sport and youth cultural events by the alcohol industry.

“Other measures are also needed, including educating young people about the harmful effects of alcohol and making alcoholic drinks more expensive,” Dr Hambleton said.

(Source: Australian Medical Association (AMA): The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2010)

More information

For more information on drinking alcohol, including drinking disorders and alcohol’s effect on the body, as well as some useful tools, see Alcohol and Drinking.