Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, has been charged with drawing up the new guidelines which are expected to be ready for publication in the spring, according to reports. The Government is also reviewing whether the current age at which it is legal to drink should remain at five. Current guidance on safe drinking levels exists only for those over 18. But health department officials say the gap between five and 18 is significant given the risks of drinking to health and development children are greater for children than for adults. The plan concludes: “Some parents believe drinking by their teenage children should be restricted to special occasions and in all cases to family settings yet others think that young people under the age of 18 should not drink at all.” New guidelines may refer to Australia’s policy which is adamant that no amount of alcohol can be said to be safe and therefore young people under the age of 18 should not drink to become intoxicated.
Margaret Morrissey, spokeswoman for the Parentsoutloud pressure group is quote as saying “There is no necessity for the guidelines because there should be no reason for children to be introduced to alcohol. For the Government to say you can drink is wrong. Okay, by age 16 you need to be realistic but before then it should be absolutely prohibited.” Government appear to say its okay for children to drink there will be those who do no have the ability to use the information sensibly. We have as a nation had a culture change on drinking in the home this began when supermarkets took over from off licences. Many families who would not have bought wine or other drink started to do so with the weekly shop the result being more drink being available in the home. Like all change it takes time and to work its way into sensible and acceptable use, the Continentals have it perfected and one day so will we. This does not mean it will be helped by Government spending time and money telling parents how bring up children when they could possibly be better employed trying to save a country who by this time next year has sunk to the depths of depression. Nor is this improved by broadcasters such as James Mates LBC radio and Steve Day comedian reviewing papers on Sky New taking comments out of context and when talking about me and Parentsoutloud saying “she must have had a few when she made that statement”. It is no virtue to say I personally do not drink despite I lived in a pub for 20 years so am not talking without knowledge of drink and its effect, I have raised two children neither of whom are binge drinkers or excessive drinkers. If the media and its presenters , journalists and editors take more care and supermarkets loose their licences and we revert to small controllable sales of alcohol we may start to resolve this issue