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MT
campaign
Growing
pains
Joseph
Chetcuti knows how fragile a teenager's life can be – he nearly
lost a son when the car he was in crashed as a group of friends
drove back from Paceville. Here the president of the ‘Assocjazzjoni
Genituri Nharsu lill-Uliedna' tells MIRIAM DUNN about what still
needs to be done in the battle against underage and excessive drinking
among youngsters.
The dangers of drink
It is every parent's nightmare scenario; your teenager is out on
the town with his friends and, instead of the reassuring sound of
his key turning in the lock, signalling his safe return home, you
get a phone call from the hospital.
This was exactly what happened to Joseph Chetcuti.
The teacher still remembers the night when the telephone rang.
"My son was 22 and he and some of his friends were out celebrating
their graduation," he recalls. "Next thing we knew there
was a call from the hospital. There had been a car crash as they
were coming home."
Mr Chetcuti's son and the other passengers escaped with head injuries,
but the driver – their friend - died instantly.
The incident was to trigger the launch of Mr Chetcuti's campaign
to raise awareness among youngsters of the dangers of alcohol, especially
drinking and driving.
"Straight after the accident we were obviously upset, but those
feelings soon turned to anger," he explains. "I wrote
some letters to the newspapers about the issue and found that others
felt the same."
The response eventually led to the setting up of the ‘Assocjazzjoni
Genituri Nharsu lill-Uliedna', of which Mr Chetcuti is the president.
He explains that at first, the group worked to raise awareness of
the dangers of alcohol among 18 and 19 year olds, but they soon
realised that there was a need to aim their campaign at younger
age brackets.
"We found out just how easy it was for youngsters to get served
with alcohol in Paceville," he says. "It was evident that
we needed to start getting a message across to 12 and 13 year olds
throughout the schools, so that the awareness would start earlier."
Although the association has launched a number of large-scale campaigns,
with good results, the issue of just how early on in their lives
youngsters are obtaining alcohol gives Mr Chetcuti great concern.
"In fact, we are unhappy with the whole Paceville set-up, where
there are these two shifts, so to speak," he asserts. "We
think this trend encourages older teenagers and youths to go out
very late, while we believe the youngsters who are there earlier
would do better not to be in Paceville at all. We would like to
see a revision of the opening hours to help deal with this problem."
The association is also worried about the pattern of Sunday afternoon
parties, which have become very popular in winter, and is very sceptical
about promotions such as happy hours, open bars or two-for-the-price-of-one
offers.
"In fact, many other European countries are now moving away
from these kind of promotions," he points out.
The association would like to see regulations in place that make
the showing of ID cards obligatory for purchasing alcohol, while
it is also campaigning for the age limit for drinking to be raised
from 16 to 18.
"We are by no means advocating a police state, but there must
be better laws in place, together with better enforcement,"
he says.
On the issue of enforcement, Mr Chetcuti said the association was
pleased when the breathalyser was introduced, having lobbied hard
for this cause, although he still believes it could be put to better
use.
"For example, we would like to see more statistics made available
of how many apprehensions are made and the outcome of these,"
he says.
Another legal issue that gives the association cause for concern
is the anomaly in the current laws relating to the purchase of alcohol.
"At present, youngsters cannot buy alcohol in a licensed premises
under the legal age, but can buy it at any age from a supermarket,
for example," he explains. "This loophole needs rectifying,
and should be accompanied by harsh punishments for offending proprietors."
The bottom line, Mr Chetcuti believes, is that youngsters are impressionable
and it is therefore essential that they are made aware of the dangers
alcohol can pose when misused.
In line with this philosophy, the association is lobbying hard to
have alcohol adverts, along with tobacco, banned from sports promotions
and sponsorships.
"We are not preaching abstention," he stresses, "just
that there must be enough educational campaigns in place to get
the right message across.
“In years to come, as adults, they can make their own choices,
but while they are young and naïve, we must not let youngsters
be easy prey for people to exploit for commercial purposes."
Next
week: focus on children with special needs
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