NCSA backs minimum drinking age amid ‘widespread kid alcohol use’

Children as young as 12 admit to drinking liquor, a development that has prompted the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) to describe as positive Parliament’s move to raise the minimum drinking to age 18.

NCSA Deputy Manager Troy Wickham said its secondary school survey conducted in 2013 among children between ages 13 and 17 showed the mean age of the first taste of alcohol was approximately age 12, with less than three-quarters of them using alcohol at the same point in their lifetime.

He said three out of 10 of the students who participated in the survey were currently drinking, while 12 per cent of them indicated that they had gotten drunk within a month of the interview.

Wickham said: “That has shown a continued trend of adolescents using alcohol in Barbados. The Secondary School Survey actually also reported that at least 14 per cent of those students actually reported binge which for females [equates to] four or more drinks per unit … and five or more units on one occasion for boys. This is important for us to pay attention to because early consumption of alcohol can lead to problematic use in adulthood which is a major concern for us at NCSA.”

The House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a new Liquor Licences Bill to repeal and replace the 1957 Liquor Licence Act. Under the new legislation, anyone caught selling alcohol to those under 18 or encouraging them to become involved in the business of selling liquor to those under 18, can be charged and fined $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both.

Wickham said the draft law was timely considering that over the years, NCSA has seen an increase in adults requesting counselling for alcohol abuse. He said that over the years alcohol and marijuana remain the main substances Barbadians prefer to use.

Research has shown that legislation is needed to lead to a decline in adolescents’ use of these substances, Wickham said. He said that the NCSA plans to increase the level of drug prevention education in primary and secondary schools.

He said: “So we fully support the legislation and as it relates to our policies going forward, we plan to use more awareness programmes in the schools, the wider community, persons at bars, persons who actually sell drinks at parties.”

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)