Simon Power
Opposition Youth Affairs Spokesman

Moderation 'cooler' than drunk

More teenagers need to get the message that it's not cool to get drunk, says Opposition Youth Affairs Spokesman Simon Power in response to the latest ALAC survey of the drinking habits of teenagers.

"I am really worried about the survey results. Too many teenagers think that getting drunk is fun, even though the consequences of heavy drinking are getting increasingly serious. We need to get the moderation message through and try and combat the peer pressure many teenagers feel to get drunk.

"The Government must build on the work National started last year both with education programmes in our schools and in supporting the work of agencies such as ALAC in promoting responsible use. It should be a priority when finalising budget initiatives this week.

"We have stricter identification requirements in place that should make it more difficult for young people to have access to alcohol but only one third of teenagers report always being asked for ID. This is not good enough and our retailers must take some responsibility to combat underage drinking.

"The attitudes of teenagers towards drinking won't be changed overnight. They will experiment with alcohol but we must do all we can to ensure that drinking is responsible and in moderation.

"ALAC's latest campaign is great - they provide some good tips to improve the way parents and teenagers communicate about alcohol. The Government should ensure that ALAC is able to continue to develop these sorts of initiatives," Mr Power said.

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