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June 17, 2015

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Survey shows alarming levels of alcohol consumption among young people in China

VIVIAN Zou is very proud of her drinking capacity. From beer to wine to whisky, the Shanghai University sophomore can easily drink some of her companions under the table.

Introduced to liquor by an uncle when she was about 10 years old, Zou thinks the whole thing is rather amusing.

But health officials aren’t laughing. Alcohol use among Chinese teens is on the rise. According to a new survey, Chinese adolescents as young as 12 frequently drink alcohol.

The survey was released last week by the National Institute for Nutrition and Health, which operates under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It surveyed 30,605 junior and senior high school students between the ages of 12 and 20 in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), Jinan (Shandong Province), Chengdu (Sichuan Province) and Harbin (Heilongjiang Province) over a two-year period.

It found that 51 percent of teens have tried alcohol, while 15 percent have admitted to being drunk. Of those who said they consume booze regularly, almost two-thirds said they often drink at parties, while about half said they often drink at family dinners.

A separate poll on underage drinking showed that a quarter of respondents admitted to trying alcohol before the age of 10. Thirty percent said drinking is merely a social nicety.

The same survey also found that teenage drinking is influenced by parents’ behavior toward alcohol and by social pressure from friends.

Zou comes from a big family. She lives with her grandparents and her uncle’s family. Every day at dinner, 10 of them sat around the table, and alcohol is served.

“My uncle is a very good drinker,” Zou says. “He can handle a bottle of wine and two bottles of beer at one time.”

Including Zou, three children in the family regularly drink beer with adults at dinner.

“It’s just become a family habit,” she says.

Also, teenage parties are a main venue for getting into the booze. There are often no adult chaperones, so minors simply do what they want.

“Most of us know how much we can drink,” says Zou, referring to hanging out with her friends to clubs and bars. “Having some beer or wine is just part of having fun.”

But that’s the crux of the problem. Alcohol can become a dangerous habit, leading to mental and physical health problems.

Last week’s report found that 11 percent of the middle school students said they feel uncomfortable, sick or out-of-control if they drink alcohol. Sixty-nine percent of them said they think China should ban liquor sales to minors.

The US and many other Western countries generally ban sales of alcohol to minors. In most US states, young people are required to show some identification before bars or stores can sell them liquor or serve them drinks. There are harsh penalties for violators.

By contrast, there’s no specific law or regulation in China that prohibits sales of alcohol to minors.

“I started to buy beer and other liquor from stores for my father when I was 8,” says Wang Zhongjiang, a 17-year-old Shanghai high school student. “No one has ever asked me to show my ID card or refused to sell alcohol to me.”

Wang says his alcohol consumption is limited only to big family reunions, like Spring Festival or birthday celebrations.

“Just a bit of beer or wine in the cup to toast with others,” Wang says. “I am not allowed to drink liquor without my parents. They say that would be a dangerous thing to do.”

Wang’s father says parents should set a good example for children where alcohol is concerned.

“China has a tradition of toasting at special dinners within the family,” he says. “But we parents have the responsibility of educating our children not to drink too much alcohol and not to drive after drinking.

Chinese authorities have been relatively lax about enforcing regulations banning underage drinking or alcohol purchases.

Ma Guansheng, a professor of public health at Peking University, says Chinese laws prohibiting sales of liquor to minors are difficult to enforce.

“The situation in China is worrying,” he says. “Society needs to focus on the underage drinking problem or there will be serious repercussions.”

Sociologists say the rise of underage drinking is due, in part, to the growing affluence of the middle class and to greater independence among young people, who spend their money in restaurants, bars and karaoke parlors. Many teenagers simply aren’t aware how addictive alcohol can become.

“Parents need to stay involved in their kids’ lives,” says Hu Xiaoqi, a director at the National Institute for Nutrition and Health. “They should talk to their children about their problems and be aware of any telltale signs of serious changes in behavior.”




 

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