Stop Aiming at the Wrong Target

While proponents of supervised underage drinking such as the Amethyst Initiative and Dr. Stanton Peele often point toward Europe as an example of how relatively lower age limits for drinking alcohol have been successful, new information is coming out that alcohol consumption by the young regardless of method will sharply increase the risk of alcohol dependency later in life may be swaying opinion in the opposite direction across the big pond.

A new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA suggests that any alcohol consumption by teenagers is a risk within itself regardless if it is properly supervised or culturally permissible. From the Timesonline, “We can see for the first time the association between an early ‘age of first drink’ and an increased risk of alcohol use disorders that persists into adulthood,” said Deborah Dawson, a research scientist at the NIAAA.

The study has many rethinking the policy of serving watered down wine to children in France and Southern Europe to teach responsible drinking. What good is this practice if it is jeapordizing a set percentage, those that will now be at a much higher risk of developing alcoholism? Over the last 20 years much of Europe has seen a spike in binge drinking and youth alcohol abuse fueled by unlimited media access and popular culture. This has been largely ignored by those in the US who often cite Europe as a model for moderate drinking.

So it seems to me that arguing over lowering the drinking age in the States for any reason is counterproductive. When it comes to young people and drinking we have been aiming at the wrong target; it shouldn’t be when, but why and how do we stop it?

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Howard Moss, associate director for clinical and translational research at the NIAAA, said the study showed that it was important to delay the onset of drinking behaviour as late as possible. “Early alcohol consumption itself, as a misguided choice, is driving the relationship between early drinking and risk for development of later alcohol problems,” he said.

Yeah I know there will be several e-mails tomorrow with the same tired-old justifications. If you’re of age to vote, join the military, or get married then you should darn well be able to buy a beer. Too bad. Or parents should let their kids drink in the house or under supervision so that they learn responsibility and moderation. Don’t care.

Nothing good ever comes out of mixing kids and alcohol, so armed with the knowledge of this study we should begin reframing the debate. Not when, but why. Why do kids think it is cool to drink? Why is drinking so much part of our culture? Why do we accept the horrific and often fatal repercussions of alcohol abuse as routine? And why would we ever let anyone under the age of twenty-one legally purchase or consume an addictive drug such as alcohol?