Stop Scapegoating Young People

Press release from Dr Sue Bagshaw

Stop Scapegoating Young People

The Cabinet appears to be considering changing the age for purchasing alcohol according to John Key. The Government needs to be really clear that unless the recommendations of the Law Commission are implemented in total there will be no change in the statistics around alcohol and the damage excess use causes.

"It is no use scapegoating young people", says Sue Bagshaw Youth Health Professional in Primary Care. "Young people need to stop drinking as heavily as they do, but merely targeting laws against them will not work". Public Health guidelines known as the Ottowa Charter, that have been implemented internationally for the last 25 years, show that unless the whole community is targeted very little change occurs in behaviour. Getting drunk and smoking cigarettes are seen as a hallmark of adult behaviour. Adults are smoking less because of our excellent public health laws and education in this area. If we want young people to decrease their alcohol use then adults have to do the same. Children and young people learn from the examples given to them by adults.

The Law Commission recommends that if we are to control the damage caused by excess alcohol drinking then we need to make it less available by curtailing when and where it is sold, and by increasing the price. We need to decrease the advertising of it, control the limit for driving and ensure that young people have less access whilst they are still developing. In addition if we are going to stop the demand for alcohol then we must pay attention to providing much more accessible treatment services for those who are having problems with the amount they drink and can no longer control it.

We hear much about "whole of Government" approaches. Let's take a "whole of Community" approach to the binge drinking culture we have developed in New Zealand today, and make New Zealand a healthier place to live.

ends