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tackling the big issues.... underage drinking + australia's drinking culture...

katmeow

katmeow

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Underage drinking

Teens in mass binge-drinking arranged over the internet
Caroline Marcus and Angela Cuming
May 13, 2007

YOUNG girls are the new face of underage drinking, lured to hastily organised booze sessions in parks and beaches by internet sites such as MySpace.

Girls as young as 13 are presenting to hospital emergency wards in record numbers as late night "park parties" grow increasingly popular at Sydney's eastern suburbs' beaches, notably Bondi and Bronte.

Waverley Council held crisis talks last week with police, youth group and school representatives in a bid to curb the alarming trend.

Waverley crime manager Detective Inspector Jason Smith acknowledged that internet networking had made beaches and attached parkland a hot spot for young drinkers - and a honey pot for sexual predators.

"New technology, while useful, does create other avenues for young people to organise themselves into big gatherings for under-age drinking," he said.

"What is really worrying is who else is reading those messages. When teenagers have had excessive alcohol, they become very vulnerable to predators. I struggle to see how parents don't know where their kids are or what they're up to."

St Vincent's Hospital's emergency department director Gordian Fulde said record numbers of drunk under-age girls were being brought in. Under-age boys were also presenting.

The drink of choice was often spirits, especially vodka, he said. Wine and beer were less common. "Around 10pm, we get young people, particularly young girls, who are just blotto - and they are nicely dressed," he said. "I have seen a handful of underage girls who have got totally blotto on champagne."

He said there was another spike between midnight and 1am, when it was most common for teenage boys to come in.

"We see three or four [underage drinkers] a night who are wretchedly sick. When males come in, they are seriously, seriously drunk. They can't stand. They're totally out of it. Ten drinks would be nothing for a 16-year-old, 17-year-old person to have drunk.

"The girls can get into awful trouble sexually. The males act like idiots. They get into fights, jump in front of cars, they do dumb things. Young people have always been drinking, but now it's increased and it is young teenage girls. If they survive their adolescent drinking, they have set up the pattern that, throughout their lives, they are overdrinking."

A Waverley Council spokeswoman said a new project would work with police, schools and parent groups to target alcohol-related crime spurred by under-age drinking.

The Australian Drug Foundation's Geoff Munro said the danger of MySpace was it exposed teenagers to a large number of strangers.

"We know that when young people are drinking in the company of strangers, they are at risk, whether they are meeting via the internet or not," Mr Munro said. "Often they get drunk in those situations. They are at risk of accidents, falling over or of sexual assault."

Research showed young people were drinking more than those of previous generations, he said.

"We are seeing objective proof of this . . . more young people [are] going to emergency rooms or attending alcohol treatment centres for help. These are signs that for many young people their drinking is out of control.

"There is an issue that we have to face up to . . . we have educated young people that unless they're drinking, they're not having a good time. We need to re-evaluate the role of alcohol in our lives."
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Being involved quite seriously in sport up until the middle of year 12, I never really spent that much time pissing up at parties. I had the odd drink, but didn't really take up alcohol appreciation until after I turned 18 (then made up for lost time I spose :D). But from my recollection, although lots of my friends did drink, it never seemed to be hugely excessive. There were backyard parties some weekends, and nobody really seemed to drink outside of these. The odd person might pass out, but most seemed to learn their lesson pretty quickly. I don't really know of anyone within our area who would have drunk regularly before the age of about 15-16. I'm 26 now, so we're talking mid/late 90s (god that sounds so old ;)). I don't know whether this was a typical experience though.

I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about the apparent changes in drinking culture. Is it as bad as the media makes out, or just another moral panic? Does it worry you that it seems kids are taking up drinking at a younger age and doing it at such an excessive rate?

How old were you when you had your first drink? Did you drink much before the age of 18? Where did you do most of your drinking (i.e. at home/at parties/in public spaces)?

For those who are under 18 or recently have turned 18, what's your take on today's drinking culture for young people?

Is this just a symptom of a wider culture that over-indulges?
 
I grew up in Germany so alcohol was always around, and had my first drink young but I used to drink to get drunk around 15 onwards (I was living in Perth by this stage), plus take speed, heroin, lsd or whatever else was around. The drinking binges were fun times most of the time although some days I'd waking up feeling crap. Home/parties didn't mind drinking and cops used to make us tip our alcohol out in the park, it should be noted this was in the mid nineties and that sort of thing in public seemed to be a lot more common than now days, or so I would have thought anyway.
 
I first got drunk when I was 14. (2002) 4 Raspberry UDLs was all it took. Great fun. Danced under a light on a building with my pants around my ankles. Ahh the joys of legal highs hey? Come to think of it I could see myself doing this on mushies maybe, but that's another story.

I got drunk every few weekends from about 15-17. 16 was the year I hit it the most. Goon sacks, *shudder*. It was mostly in parties, although we did get drunk in parks, schools, etc.
 
Ahhh shit. I edited the post above with a detailed reply Kat...then it came up with "invalid post"! Oh well. I've since had another glass of 27 year old Cabernet Hermitage, and am too fuzzy to reply again. I'll do it tommorow. :(
 
I started drinking at 13 cause one of my friends' older brother would buy us alcohol. all it took was like 6 udl's or a few cruisers and i was fucked off the planet. We'd usually do it with a few friends, cause my best friends' parents always fucked off to their holiday house on the weekend, leaving us with an empty house, woo! It really was me and my best friend who were the drinkers, our other friends kinda frowned upon it. then i developed a massive dislike for drinking, and only my best friend was left the drinker and did it for attention.

then at 15, i discovered drugs and fucked alcohol riiiiiight off until i was around 17 - 18.

The media probably is right. My cousin, a girl, who is 2 years younger than me drinks all the time when she goes to her friends places/parties. And from the stories i hear, its worrying. granted she is nearly 18, i still worry, she is a very small girl, and she tells me about all these sex stories and drinking binges, and weed smoking, im like wtf? (then again, who am i, i was doing worse at her age... only on drugs)

still *shrugs* thats my 2c anyway...
 
Go, I got drunk once when I was about 15, then did'nt touch a drop until about 21, maybe 22.

It seems to be so socially acceptable these days, parents letting their kids drink, kids seieng their parents having a few drinks, advertisments on tele, I'm not suprised at the age of kids fucking up and ending up in emergency.

Does anyone else find it ironic that alcohol is glamourised and advertised all the time yet smoking is'nt?

Smokers don't send up homeless, smokers don't end up bashing their loved ones, smokers won't die from withdrawls, smokers don't crash cars after having a few drags too many, I could go on.....
 
Hmm about 11 maybe 12 probably 11.:|


In the *good old/bad old daze*(insert whichever you feel appropriate) you could 'write a note' allegedly from your mam or dad and present it at the local shops. They would peer at you knowingly and say" this really is for your mam/dad isn't it" ?;)
You would respond with " Of course it is missus"!;)

The game was played with all parties involved fully in the know!


We were often advised to "walk home the back way" etc! :\

So many fabulous hours were spent swilling olde english cider, newcastle amber ale (fuck brown ale, it's vile!) and smoking embassy regal ! 8(

Paradise ! Not!:( But we thought it was! =D
 
I was 14 when i first got ridiculously drunk at a party, walked into the boat they had in the driveway and got a huge bump on my forehead, then threw up in the bathroom of the house. I had been skulling jim beam, jack daniels, southern comfort and zambouca STRAIGHT... how was i to know whatd happen?

I then continued getting really drunk with my friends at parks, at friends houses etc, learning the hard way what my limits are... mum almost took me to the hospital once.

I dont regret any of it though, you live you learn right, i had learnt my limits before the age of 18, so it wasnt exciting turning 18.
 
The Man with the Unpopular Opinion strikes again.

psycosynthesis said:
I've since had another glass of 27 year old Cabernet Hermitage, and am too fuzzy to reply again.
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(You seem like such an... enjoyable man.)

I used to drink a little when I was underage. When I was 16-17 I used to be served without a problem at the local. Occasionally I'd have a reasonably drunken night. I don't think it's a terrible thing if responsible teenagers have a quiet drink amongst themselves as long as they're safe and responsible.

However... if they want to get blind and give themselves alcohol poisoning, best of luck to them. Somebody needs to grow up to empty our bins and wash our car windows.
 
New Beginning said:
However... if they want to get blind and give themselves alcohol poisoning, best of luck to them. Somebody needs to grow up to empty our bins and wash our car windows.
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Do you realise how ridiculous and arrogant that makes you sound??? Not everyone who enjoyed a bit of partying in there teens end up growing up to 'empty our bins and wash our car windows'.

8)
 
Taliana said:
Do you realise how ridiculous and arrogant that makes you sound??? 8)
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That was a joke! (I thought that would be clear.) Apologies if you were offended.

I don't care if people (including those who are underage) want to drink. I don't care if they chose to do it in public either - as long as they aren't causing a problem I don't think it matters. Near where I work there is a group of locals who have been getting together to have a drink in the same spot in the same park for many years. A group of residents have started to complain and want them moved on. It was pointed out that if they are allowed to stay where they are both the police and local health workers can keep an eye on them and pay them a visit to make sure they're OK, which is a much better solution to harassing them so they move somewhere sight unseen.

Here's hoping that when the next round of alcohol consumption legislation is introduced it will address not only the issue of decriminalising public drunkenness but how we can help people who do have serious problems. (And more hopefully still the law with leave the rest of us well enough alone.)
 
New Beginning said:
That was a joke! (I thought that would be clear.) Apologies if you were offended.
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Fair enough. And just so ya know, i wasnt offended in any way, i just thought you sounded like a bit of a dick, thats all ;)
 
How tragic, i first got langered at a friends mothers second wedding, i was all of 11 years old. All i can now remember is the music was playing ,so obviously the speeches and all the that boring stuff was over, and there just happened to be a trolley with a few bottles of sparkling paint stripper over to one side. My friend an i decided that we should purloin one, and duck outside of the reception house and down our ill gotten booty as fast as we could, before anyone noticed we were gone. Fast forward 20 mins and there's is my mate collapsed in corner of the dancefloor, i can hardly stand up, my head is spinning and i can't decide wether to fall over and join him in unconsciousness, or if i should just give into the overhauling urge to paint the floor hint of spumante. In the end i decided to meet myself halfway and staggered into the bridal table almost falling over where i then decided to spew up a 3 course meal and half a bottle for bubbly! The journey home consisted of me sitting in the back of an e.k holden with my head inside a cardboard box spewing my guts out, my friend fortunately was able remain unconscious throughout!

I took me all of 5 years to get over that and i was drinking every weekend from the time i was about 15 /16. An apprentice tradesman at 16 and the whole drinking thing, to me, just seems to go along with the territory.

As for the culture of drinking, and the ages of those starting out getting younger and younger i'm not surprised to be honest. When i was 13/14 i don't even think tropicana was on the market. Now you have ready made selection of tasteless acoholic beverages lined up for you. UDL's were big back when i was 14/15 but you had to be a millionaire to afford them and i hated beer. So i guess the intent might have always been there from young on for me as it still is in teens today, but the means and ways to get a hold of something you could actually enjoy drinking to any extent was another story.
 
I was never a big drinker. You could probably count on two hands how many times I got drunk before I was 21 (legal USA age). I went a little wild after for about six months. Now I hardly drink. Probably because I am a bartender and constantly smell of liquor and beer. Just not as pleasant as it use to be.

It scares me to think of what the research is showing for this newest generation. I hope to have kids one day and I don't even want to think about what it it going to be like! They always say you get a kid worse then you. (I don't know how my parents lucked out because their wild asses got a pretty damn good kid!) So does that mean my kid will just be a little bad?! I think I can deal!

sorry for the random tangent!
 
My first drunken experience was when i was 13. :\ I (stupidly) raided my parents bar when a friend stayed over, we mixed beer and tequila in the same glass and ate the Mezcal worm. We also hit the "Bob Hawke" scotch whiskey. I was so sick, and of course my parents found out, and i was grounded for 6 months.

I didn't touch drink for a very long time after that...during my senior year/s at school, alcohol was at pretty much every party i attended, but to be honest, i enjoyed smoking pot more.

I dont' have much first hand experience with kids and alcohol nowadays (my nephew is 14, but is a pretty straight-laced kid), but from what i've observed over the years, the general age that kids start to play up is getting younger. Having said that, i knew a couple of girls who lost their virginity at 12-13, it scared the shit out of me, i wasn't interested in boys at all. Alot of kids i knew started playing up in general at quite a young age, but i have noticed that girls seem to want to grow up alot quicker today. After all, there was no way in HELL that you would have caught me dead in a g-banger as a "tween"... :\ I seem to have gone on a bit of a tangent, away from drinking, but i really believe that all these adult behaviours are linked to kids wanting to be adult alot sooner.

Naughtiest Maximus: I agree on your sentiments regarding the types of alcohol being available nowadays... when i was 13, there was no such thing as bacardi breezers, west coast coolers had just come on the market... goon was the drink of the day - "Fruity Lexia" anyone? ;) Beverage companies are making alchohol alot easier to drink nowadays.
 
Most of my points that I raised in the lost post have been covered, oh well. :(

One thing I would like to raise is that alcohol companies do directly target teens. Cheap mixed drinks i.e cruisers, breezers and the like seem like lemonade to little Betty until suddenly that dody-lookin fella in the damani dada pants and fubu jacket looks like a prize catch...the low cost of them makes them easily available to teenagers too.

Binge-drinking on the weekends when I was a teen was the norm. It's funny, when I was younger I used to hate it...hated the whole culture of getting smashed and doing silly things that you would regret in the morning, until suddenly I was hitting up the goon sack every weekend and more often than not using it for a pillow. ;)
 
How will you feel... how will you feel tomorrow?
About what you did... what you did last night?
Don't want to face... don't want to face tomorrow...
Don't want to face... don't want to face last night...

=D
 
psycosynthesis said:
One thing I would like to raise is that alcohol companies do directly target teens. Cheap mixed drinks i.e cruisers, breezers and the like seem like lemonade to little Betty etc etc blah blah
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by that reasoning, kahlua and milk is being marketed to pre-schoolers
 
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