Legal action proposed against parents who let children drink alcohol at home

Jun 3 2008

The British Government is considering proposals which could include legal action against parents who allow their children to drink alcohol at home.

At present children as young as five can drink at home with parental supervision but a government review could see that limit raised.

The government's 'Youth Alcohol Action Plan' is aimed at curbing binge-drinking among teenagers and could also include a ban on all alcohol advertising on TV before 9pm.

While no age limit has as yet been proposed a plan for official guidance for parents has been outlined.

If the law is changed parents could be fined for giving their child a wine or a beer.

The review will consider what age is suitable for children to start drinking, how much they can safely drink and to what level the drinking should be supervised.

Britain has been battling an epidemic of teenage binge drinking and alcohol consumption has escalated across all age groups.

It is suspected that drink manufacturers and retailers will be forced to adopt a set of 'social responsibility standards', which will make it mandatory for them to promote responsible drinking and to ensure that no under-18s buy alcoholic drinks.

The Youth Alcohol Action Plan also includes compulsory courses and even prosecution for parents of children who refuse to stop abusing alcohol.

Court orders to address antisocial behaviour will be issued along with good behaviour contracts for teenagers repeatedly found with alcohol in public.

The police are also expected to introduce tougher measures to deal with gangs and crowds of youths congregating in public areas and a new offence covering the persistent possession of alcohol put in place - retailers caught selling alcohol to children will face a 'two strikes' rule.

Critics say current laws regarding alcohol are ineffectively enforced and much of the binge-drinking problem is a direct result of the relaxation of the licensing laws.

They claim the 24-hour drinking availability has led to a surge in drunken behaviour resulting in more violence on the streets late at night with hospital A&E departments left to deal with the situation.

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) and the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) in the UK also say a range of measures are needed to tackle the country's ever-worsening problem of alcohol misuse.

Both organisations are calling for firm action at both national and local level to address the problem.

They say 'Brits' are drinking twice as much as they did 40 years ago and the death rate from liver cirrhosis has more than quadrupled.

Alcohol is also a significant contributory factor in coronary heart disease, obesity and depression as well as several cancers and is also a factor in around half of all domestic violence and violent crime incidents.

Alcohol accounts for up to 70 per cent of peak time admissions to hospital A&E departments and the financial pressure on health services and the wider economy continues to soar.

Research indicates that the most effective ways to tackle alcohol misuse are those that combine measures aimed at the whole population, increasing price, reducing availability and targeting those vulnerable and disadvantage groups who may be at increased risk.

The FPH and the ADPH are calling on the government to take decisive action to tighten regulation on the marketing and promotion of alcohol, in particular the enormous discounts offered by supermarket chains and address the industry's promotion of alcohol as a glamorous and exciting product, particularly to the young.

They also want tax levers used to increase the price of alcohol, clear and consistent labelling on alcohol content, better education on alcohol issues, both in schools and for the public as a whole, and a reduction of the legal blood alcohol limit to cut the number of drink driving incidents.