Page 5 of a Sunday newspaper has the headline "Kids log on to grog on". Hoho, how witty I'm sure.
The article beneath reports how young girls (I am woman, hear me roar) have now become the new face of underage drinking. Through the all-powerful and far-reaching internet and phone text, kids are rounding up their peers to meet in parks and beaches, where they drink the night away.
Hospitals are reporting a significant increase in the amount of young girls presenting to emergency departments with the problems that come with over drinking.
It has become and ever more so, a huge problem for society. It is thought this underage drinking reaches a point where, in adulthood, the habit continues and is thus passed down to their kids, perpetuating the cycle.
THEN:
We turn to page 32/33 of the same paper and what do we see? A double page spread advertising all sorts of booze for very little money, some of which is clearly aimed at young people. (Passion pop. 3 for 10 bucks). It's not clear whether these kiddie labelled drinks are alcoholic or not but their very existence along side actual alcoholic drinks is reason enough to be mildly concerned.
And then on page 38 and 39, yet another double page ad for more booze, this time the hard stuff, whiskey and vodka. With more wine for an incredible 3 dollars. Three bucks! Is it any wonder there's an alcohol problem here?
Yep! The Australian drinking culture - gotta love it.
How you expect to curb underage drinking while agressively promoting the product almost as a right of passage is beyond me (and most others it would seem).
Monday, May 14, 2007
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