Binge drinking is far from being either a new or an exclusively Maltese phenomenon. What worries me, however, is that binge drinking is on the rise in Malta and is climbing fastest among the 15 to 24-year-olds (males and females).

We have, really, a health problem that in some ways could become epidemic in proportion.

Caritas envisaged this situation in 1991. In fact, the Caritas National Survey which targeted students at all secondary and post-secondary level, aged between 11 and 17, revealed why drug and alcohol abuse first appear in 11-year-olds and escalate in 15- to 17-year- olds.

This is what several young people, aged 16 to 24 years, had to say about their experience of binge drinking:

i. “You don’t have to know the reason for binge drinking. You just do it anyway. Everybody does it. It is the way the world is...”

ii. “We are a culture that goes out and gets drunk. We don’t go out to drink. We go out to get drunk.”

iii. “If the definition of bingeing is to consume large amounts of mixed spirits and liqueurs over a short period of time with the sole intention of getting hammered, then yes, it is a regular occurrence in an adolescent’s Saturday night out.”

iv. “New Year’s Eve for a teenager and adolescent is a great excuse to get absolutely sloshed. It may sound ridiculous for adults who seem to have forgotten what fun it may have been. Why do you think young people spend so much money on open bar parties? They do it because intoxification is fun... to a certain extent.”

v. “The majority of young people just get drunk to have fun, to feel happy, to remove inhibitions but the after-effect of binge drinking is quite disgusting.”

Stated motives for binge drinking and getting drunk include:

i. being an integral part of the young people social scene;

ii. having fun;

iii. conforming to peer group norms;

iv. escaping boredom and frustrations of a stressful life;

v finding the self-confidence to deal with social situations.

Individual factors

Because binge drinking has become part of the leisure routines of young people in general, there is no specific profile of binge drinkers as a distinct group.

However, some common features that recur in the research literature in Europe are:

i. Peer pressure;

ii. Family history of substance abuse, in some cases;

iii. Impulsive personality traits;

iv. Depression, anxiety or boredom;

v. Positive expectancies about the effects of alcohol.

What do parents and young people think about heavy drinking?

I keep hearing contrasting comments from parents, professionals and young people about the drinking habits of teenagers, such as:

i. “The drinking age law just increases the desire for the forbidden fruit.” (parent)

ii. “Don’t kill fun! It’s fun to drink heavily on occasions.” (female 17)

iii. “Upgrade the drinking age to 18”. (parent)

iv. “Control the leisure industry. Young people are being exploited by enticing them to open bars.” (educator)

v. “Paceville is not the place for teenagers. Keep them off the streets. Individual parents are helpless on this.” (parent)

vi. “Show young people that binge drinking causes rapid damage to the brain. Throughout adolescence, the brain undergoes major remodelling and alcohol and cigarettes may have an especially damaging effect on those developing brains.” (doctor)

vii. “Binge drinking disinhibits and may lead to a spectrum of anti-social behaviour.” (police)

viii. “There is a clear link between the booze culture and violent crime”. (lawyer)

ix. “Excessive drinking can be a contributing factor to some big killers and increases the risks of sexually transmitted disease and early pregnancy”. (social worker)

x. Is there a benefit in upgrading the drinking age?” (teenager)

xi. “Alcohol is a gateway drug leading people to illicit drug use.” (facilitator)

How should we tackle the situation?

First of all, we have to admit that we have a great social life in Malta. After a stressful week, most young people want to let off steam in the weekend.

Clubbing is becoming central to their social life. But things have become so bad that seeing 14/15-year olds in Paceville or Marsascala at midnight or early morning is not uncommon.

We are not “joy killers” but we have to tackle urgently the “booze culture”.

We are risking losing

an entire generation to alcohol and other illicit substances.

I am worried because the diminished responsibility of young people to face life’s challenges, their confused notions of pleasure and happiness, the lack of fundamental values, and the wide availability of “cheap” all inclusive offers to “happy hours”, which are now a major leisure marketing tool in Malta, is behind the frightening rise in binge-drinking.

We know that more work needs

to be done but do we have the measures in place and the will to send the correct messages to young

people?

There are very few influential voices that are informing them of the good things they should and can do with their lives.

I do not believe that we can reach young people by over-regulating their lives, but it is our duty to mobilise the energies of the young people to be more creative, more innovative, more responsible and more caring.

This is what educating young people should be all about.

To educate is much more than to campaign against excessive drinking and to disseminate literature about the effects of heavy drinking in schools.

To educate is to help young people, from their early age, to make the right choices and to resolve their own problems rather than escaping them; and to empower parents to be in control of the situation rather than feeling helpless, watching a whole generation of youngsters ruining their health.

Some measures should be taken to control the present situation.

The government, and particularly the health and social policy Institutions and the Police, are being put under increasing pressure to tackle heavy drinking habits among the 16-year- olds and under, and to enforce the law.

In my opinion, legislation should be urgently revised in order

i. to upgrade the drinking age from 16 to 18 years;

ii. to give harsher penalties to those who sell alcoholic drinks to youths under 18 years and to penalise also the “under 18” customers. Youngsters must learn to have fun without imposing their antics on others who want to share the streets with them;

iii. to empower the police to close premises which are not abiding to regulations, (Revise the Licensing Act);

iv. to agree to a “booze truce” between managers of leisure marketing and the police in order to put a stop to the cheap alcohol promotion which eventually can lead to binge drinking.

v. The courts should support the police fully when young people and owners of entertainment establishments break the law, and sentences should reflect the damage to society.

vi. A final suggestion is to set up a commission composed of representatives from Parliament, the Judiciary, Parents’ Associations and NGOs in order to revisit legislation on Alcohol Consumption and Leisure Marketing.

Caritas firmly believes in the need for an efficient and effective coordinated effort by all those who have the younger generation at heart so that we could meet their needs and offer them a better future.

Mgr Victor Grech is Caritas Director