A national youth organisation has called on the Government to formulate a comprehensive strategy to tackle drink and substance abuse following the publication of a tns/mrbi Youth Poll in today's Irish Times.
The poll examines the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use among young people. It finds that three out of five teenagers aged 15 to 17 drink alcohol and that the average number of drinks consumed by young drinkers on a night out is eight.
However, the poll also found that young people's use of illicit drugs is relatively low, with hard drugs being used by only a tiny minority.
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National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) president Mr Kevin Hickey said the body had been calling for a comprehensive national strategy to deal with the issue of legal and illegal drugs for a long time, but the Government "does not seem to be listening".
"The survey backs up what we've all known for a long time — and has been highlighted in other studies over the years — that young people smoke, drink and take drugs. But, in fact, the prevalence has not necessarily changed that much," Mr Hickey said.
"There is no easy way out, it will take considerable effort but it needs to be done. At the moment, measures to deal with alcohol, smoking and drugs are happening in piecemeal fashion with different Government departments essentially dealing with aspects of the same problem."
Mr Hickey called for health promotion among young people to be done in a "holistic" manner, taking lifestyle, family and economic circumstances into account, rather than using scare tactics, which evidence showed does not work.
Mr Pat Cahill, president of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) said the Irish Timestns/mrbi poll affirmed the union's concern that the abuse of alcohol amongst young people is far more widespread than other forms of drug abuse and has "enormous consequences for the well-being of society".
He said that that while second level schools have an important role to play in preventing alcohol abuse, teachers need support in tackling the issue.
"Alcohol abuse has enormous consequences for young people's health, education, and future life chances. Second level students have more disposable income than ever before and a growing number of them are spending their money on weekend entertainment that is centred around alcohol. The effects of this in the classroom are noticeable."
The Labour party's spokesman on Justice, Mr Joe Costello, called for "much improved enforcement of the law, matched with an increased education and awareness campaign on the dangers of alcohol abuse.
He said: "A large measure of culpability for this has to lie with pub and off licence owners who are forbidden under the law to sell beer, wine and spirits to minors. The sale of alcohol has to be more closely monitored and stricter penalties must be imposed on those who break the law."