With school behind us and summer parties stretching ahead, it's a good time to give parents a nudge about not providing their kids with access to alcohol.
Every year, area hospitals treat hundreds of teens for alcohol poisoning and accidents related to the effects of alcohol. The vast majority of those stats relate to alcohol poisoning.
Young brains are not fully formed until approximately the age of 20 or 21. Recent research suggests that young binge drinkers - and binge drinking is the typical pattern - can permanently damage that part of the brain that moderates behaviour in social situations. In other words: lose control at a young age and you dramatically increase the odds of always being at risk of losing control.
Knowing this, of course, our health authority and the police wish to limit societal damage. Dealing with it after the fact is expensive both in human and financial terms.
Nevertheless, we have to wonder why the authority claims 80 per cent of Vancouver area teenagers get alcohol from adults. This sensationalism lacks context. "Adults" are not always parents. Surely older brothers, sisters and friends are the more likely source of bootlegged liquor. We have trouble believing that the vast majority of parents are buying fruity vodka drinks for their underaged kids every Friday night. And has anyone heard of fake ID? It's an industry in high school.
Frankly, booze is readily available to any teen who wants it. Modelling how to handle it is as important as who you hand it to.
