They start drinking at thirteen. Friday, Saturday. Sometimes on Sundays. For play, to socialize, to form a group, to feel part of. Someone vomits. Someone else loses consciousness to the point of ending up in an alcohol coma. Still others don’t remember anything the next day. The law does not allow it. And recently the mayor Vincenzo Napoli, with a specific ordinance, has imposed that all owners of public businesses, supermarkets and vending machines, display the appropriate signs which remind us of the existence of a regulation that has been ignored too many times, which just recently has led to the temporary closure of two businesses in the centre. For professionals, it is not correct to talk about addictions. But of abuse or immoderate or unconscious use, yes. Which causes risks ready to decline in multiple forms, starting from infringements of the Highway Code up to road accidents. All with the complicity of families who too often underestimate a problem capable, instead, of bringing with it important consequences. He knows it well Antonella Grandinetti, director of the SerD of Salerno.
Doctor, what is your perception of the phenomenon?
«We have very few cases that arrive on a voluntary basis. However, many reports originate from juvenile prosecutors’ offices or alarmed families. But the phenomenon, compared to that of the use of cannabinoids, is very different, also because when talking about alcohol and minors we must discuss in terms of abuse and not addiction, which is a phenomenon that develops progressively over time”.
How do you act in these cases?
«With prevention. Time ago the local health authority implements a series of targeted actions to make under-eighteens understand that alcohol must be prohibited, as required by law. Law enforcement agencies, Prefecture, Police Headquarters, Municipality, Confesercenti and many other entities involved in the emergency network, are essential for teaming up.”
How do families fare?
«It depends on the case. Among young people there is the idea that the weekend high is harmless, also because it is limited to a couple of evenings a week and this is often endorsed by parents to the extent that certain behaviors are normalized and not adequately addressed. Alcohol should not be experienced in that age group as a recreational moment, even if used only on Saturday evenings. Saying to yourself, ok but it’s just a cocktail, is the wrong attitude to begin with. And this is not only because you have to be aware that you are breaking a law, but because there are health problems. First of all, at that age the ability to metabolize certain enzymes is lacking. And the damage is not unique. Girls are more exposed because they have smaller builds, for example. Then there are other factors besides weight and sex, such as ethnicity, age, being fasting or having a full stomach. Furthermore there is the serious risk of running into road accidents which not surprisingly occur at dawn. Once the exciting effect of alcohol is nullified, the depressive effect which is the cause of these accidents takes over. For this reason we always advise adults to never drive after drinking. Among other things, few know that anyone who has held a driving license for less than three years must be completely teetotal behind the wheel. The Highway Code provides for this.”
Are there psychologically pathological consequences in alcohol abuse?
«Social media invites very young people to turn to spirits to be more uninhibited. Many irresponsible managers sell chupiti for one euro. The result is that in an age group in which skills aimed at understanding the dynamics of the group and laying the foundations for building one’s own identity should be developed, one ends up adhering to the logic of the pack.”
So what do we do?
«We work on those age groups with all the subjects who can make their contribution. I believe that among the most worthy initiatives is certainly the project “Don’t be drunk, life waits!”, which started in mid-April in the city’s high schools. The last appointment is scheduled for Saturday at the Severi scientific high school.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
The morning
