Alcohol, children and England’s Chief Medical Officer.

I must have been about 5 or 6 when I had my first taste of alcohol. It was red wine, a small sip, and my family were on holiday in France. I remember that we were staying in a flat near a beach and my parents had friends over for lunch, a full table, and my sister and I were the only children. I was given some wine to try and I remember feeling repulsed by the taste. Had I know what sour and rancid meant then I think I would have decided that the wine was exactly that.

Now I see that England’s chief medical officer has advised parents that “Children aged under 15 should never be given alcohol, even in small quantities”. If you look at the consultation document, page 13 onwards, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/29_01_09_consultationonchildren.pdf, you will see that alcohol has been linked to violence, skipping school, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, vomiting and drug use. Sir Liam Donaldson said childhood should be an “alcohol-free time”, as ministers prepare to publish guidance on the issue for the first time, and suggests that 15 and 16 year olds drink once a week and then in the company of their parents and limit intake to one glass of wine or the equivalent.

I don’t doubt that the negative effects of alcohol are many and serious, but given the social climate in Britain in 2009, how likely is this to work? Not one of the situations listed on page 13 onwards of the consultation report is something that your average teenager thinks will apply to them, certainly not unless they had a serious alcohol problem. It’s quite normal to try many different things when you are a kid, it seems part of growing up, but I don’t think that being told not to drink alcohol is going to work. Of course the powers that be are right to inform and advise us as they do, but is it practical?  

Alcohol is part of daily life in Britain, and even though I am now a non-drinker, I can appreciate the allure of a glass of rich red wine with roast lamb, or a cold beer on a hot day.

If only we stopped there.