Site Navigation




Drinking epidemic among the young

"Alcohol use among young people is approaching the status of an international epidemic," says David Jernigan in his Global Status Report: Alcohol and Young People, published recently by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Dr Jernigan, quoting the Global Burden of Disease Study, in 1990 five per cent of all deaths among young people and children aged from five to twenty-nine were caused by the use of alcohol. Evidence gathered from around the world indicates that, among young people, the practice of binge drinking is continuing to grow. What was once a phenomenon of the developed has now spread to developing countries. This situation is exacerbated by the proliferation and sophistication of marketing techniques which far outstrip the availability or development of prevention techniques.

The Global Status Report draws attention to the fact that the producers of alcoholic beverages have "intensified their targeting of young drinkers in recent years, introducing an array of inexpensive new products". Alcopops, alcoholic so-called energy drinks, and pre-mixed cocktails are examples of the sort of product which is now available worldwide. Their flavours and packaging are designed to meet the tastes of young people. In addition to this, youthful consumption of inexpensive products such as beer and cider is increasing, at least in those developing countries where evidence is available.

As far as harms are concerned, David Jernigan reports that globally young people are starting to drink earlier. For some time, longitudinal studies have indicated that the sooner young people start drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to suffer dependence and other negative effects later in life. "There is no evidence," says Jernigan, "that alcohol use has any health benefits for young people."

Furthermore, the way young people in developed countries drink often leads to consequences such as alcohol related car crashes, homicides, suicides, and drownings. As these patterns of drinking spread to developing countries, it is likely that they will have an effect on youth mortality and morbidity "of equivalent or greater magnitude as a result of the relative lack of health care services and other mitigating or protective factors".

The way the drink industry promotes its products has played a considerable part in the increasing similarity between the patterns of drinking around the world. Aiming its marketing directly at youth, the industry uses competitions, games, and cartoons on web pages, popular music, alcohol-branded CDs, and the sponsorship of sporting events. Jernigan emphasises that these activities are now prevalent in parts of the world "with few of the health and safety protections available in developed countries".

The report shows that boys are more likely than girls to drink and to drink heavily.

The exceptions are several European countries where there has been a sharp rise in the level of drinking among young females. Although evidence from research into youth drinking in many developing countries is "relatively rare", where it exists, for example in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, there has been an increase, especially among young women. Educational approaches, which might have been expected to be most effective among this group, have not met with success. On the other hand, studies have shown that "policy approaches, including minimum drinking age, higher taxes, and regulation of marketing, can be effective".

The findings set out in the Global Status Report should provide strong encouragement for action. "It is critical," says Jernigan, "that countries begin to monitor alcohol use and consequences among young people." Nevertheless, he cautions that "monitoring a ship that is sinking will not save the lives of those on boardThe global alcohol market is dominated by a few multinationals, whose concentrated resources fuel the world-wide expansion of alcohol marketing."

Since the problem is international, so must be any solution, says the report.

Measures need to be taken by the drink industry itself, by governments, by public health policy makers, and by international and non-governmental organisations. If the high level of alcohol-related harm among young people in developed countries is not to be matched in the rest of the world, the specific action is required. The Global Status Report sets out four main recommendations:

  • Use of alcoholic beverages should not be promoted in any way among young people. This includes the creation of products oriented to young drinkers; the appropriation of activities, images and language such as games, cartoon characters and slang to promote alcoholic beverages; and the packaging of alcohol in amounts and at prices oriented to the limited financial resources of most young people.

  • National governments should employ a culturally appropriate mix of policies to support the above, including restrictions on the content and placement of alcohol advertising and marketing materials, the promotion and implementation of health-oriented taxation policies, and limits on the availability of alcohol to young people such as minimum age drinking laws.

  • International organisations should follow the lead of WHO and the World Bank, which has already adopted a policy requiring the public health situation to be considered in approving any new investments in alcohol production. Alcohol is and should be recognised as a special product. International trade agreements must allow exceptions in order to restrain trade in alcohol, when such exceptions are taken to support the health of the public.

  • WHO should commit itself to the identification, documentation, publicising and building of capacity for the implementation of effective strategies; and to working with national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations to ensure the creation and preservation of alcohol controls that will prevent alcohol related morbidity and mortality among young people and the population at large.