Research reveals underage drinking a concern

A research by a United States organisation in collaboration with the Education Ministry has shown that students as young as 14 years are consuming alcohol.

The Global School Based Student Health Survey which was carried out last year by the US Centre for Diseases Control and prevention, revealed that around 16% of children between the ages of 13 to 15 years had consumed alcohol.

The survey carried out last year amongst 1,673 participants involved students from Forms 2, 3 and 4, showing that while 16.4% had consumed alcohol once in their life, 12.7% or 213 students, majority of them boys had indulged excessively in alcohol and got drunk one or more times during their life.

Meanwhile, the issue Fijivillage is raising is the accessibility of young children to alcohol.

Police Spokesperson, Inspector Atunaisa Sokomuri said they have noticed that the main culprits were nightclubs and have started surveillance on night hot spots from Thursdays to Saturdays every week.

However, he added they have come down hard on nightclub owners and last week raided three nightclubs and booked one for allowing minors into the nightclub and selling those drinks.

Under the Liquor Act, minors or those under the age of 18 years are not allowed into clubs or to be served alcohol.


Story by: Paradise Tudrau