Adolescents and their parents targeted in National Alcohol Campaign

20/2/00

Teenagers will be confronted with the consequences of binge drinking in new hard-hitting television advertisements run as part of the National Alcohol Campaign, Health Minister John Day said today.
The campaign will use cinema, print and radio advertisements; websites; public relations activities; and printed resources to target both 15 to 17-year-olds and parents of teenagers.
Mr Day said the State Government had spent more than $200,000 to support and extend the reach and effectiveness of the National Alcohol Campaign in WA. He said the program was an important initiative as part of the Safer WA campaign.
"Recent research found that the majority of school-aged students experiment with alcohol and a significant proportion drink at potentially harmful levels," he said.
"The number of 16 to 17 year-olds who drink, and who drink more than the recommended amount has increased steadily since 1984.
"Many of these teenagers say the major underlying reason is they 'just want to get drunk'."
Mr Day said more than one in two (55%) 16 to 17-year-old students had drunk alcohol in the week prior to the survey. Nearly one in three (31%) had drunk more than the daily amount recommended for adults by the National Health and Medical Research Council at least once in that week.
"Not only are young people drinking at these undesirable levels, but a significant proportion are admitting to causing harm to others while under the influence of alcohol," he said.
"For example, one in ten 15 to 17-year-old drinkers recently admitted to physically abusing someone while under the influence of alcohol in the last 12 months, while a similar proportion reported having caused property damage to created a public nuisance."
Mr Day said that while many parents perceived underage drinking as a problem, they consistently under-estimated the extent of teenage drinking.
"Recent national research found that there is a reluctant but growing acceptance of adolescent alcohol use by parents,"
he said.
"While most (95%) parents accepted responsibility for teaching their children safe drinking habits, many expressed the need for support and information to help them positively enforce safe drinking behaviour among their teenage children.
"This is why the campaign not only targets young people to make them consider the consequences of their actions, but it helps to inform parents about how they can and do influence their children's drinking behaviour."
Mr Day said the $200,000 funding by the State Government would increase the duration of the campaign from four to eight weeks, boost television advertising in metropolitan and regional areas by 50 per cent, and fund supplementary radio advertisements, resources and merchandise.
The funding will also support two strategies designed to support parents:

• the Parent Drug Information Service - a phone information and referral service to help parents with issues to do with their children's drug use, which can be accessed by calling 9442 5050 or 1800 653 203; and -

• a printed resource that will give parents information about many of the issues raised by the Campaign (this is available by phoning the Parent Drug Information Service).

Media contact: Mark Thompson on 9213 6600