Alcohol among the Youth (Essay Sample)

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Table of Contents
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Health needs and government policy  PAGEREF _Toc345488907 \h
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Intervention approaches  PAGEREF _Toc345488908 \h
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Alcohol as a public health issue  PAGEREF _Toc345488909 \h
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Behavioral Approach  PAGEREF _Toc345488910 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc345488911 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc345488912 \h
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Alcohol among the Youth
Health needs and government policy
In recent years, the impact of alcohol consumption in England has been profound. The English people have had alcohol consumption issues since mediaeval times. The concern at hand in the present case involves alcohol abuse among young people. A few years ago, relevant stakeholders commissioned studies to examine the extent of the effect of early predisposition toward alcohol (Rhew and Oesterle, 2011). The issue was to examine the effect of introducing children, specifically 13-year olds to the presence of alcohol. This study was conducted on the youth in secondary schools predominantly in Scotland. The youth chosen were aged fifteen years of age. From a group of thirteen year olds, nine hundred and ninety-two were observed for two years of whom five hundred and fifty-two were selected for interview. The data analysis centered on exposure to alcohol marketing and consumption. The research revealed that the majority of youth took up drinking and increased frequency resulting from the marketing. The most affected group was the part that started uptake of alcohol at an early age, as more than seventy percent of youth admitted that they took alcohol readily (Rhew and Oesterle, 2011).
According to the Health and Social Care Information Centre, cases of excessive alcohol intake among the youth recorded over the past few months in England were the highest in the European Union (HSCIC, 2012). Poor educational performance, teenage pregnancy, and risky sexual behavior ensue from these habits (Reboussin, Song & Wolfson, 2011). This has been a cause for marked concern in England and across other states in the UK. Several factors have been identified as risk factors in mitigation of this trend. The policy proposals have touched on several issues marked as potential risk factors in alcohol consumption among the youth.
The first issue identified is the pricing of alcohol. The government resorted to measures that would increase the price of alcohol in order to curb its consumption. The research noted that an increase in the price of alcohol by ten percent reduced consumption of the same by 4.5% depicting that the two have a negative relationship (Koordeman et al., 2011). Alcohol-related liver ailments decreased by a larger margin, than the drop in the price of alcohol. This indicates that habitual drinkers respond more to price changes than others do. In essence, this is the target group among the youth, which is informed by the fact that most people that start drinking in their youth end up developing health issues earlier than the rest.
Availability of alcohol is the next front on which the government aims to curtail the spread of alcohol intake among the youth. A study conducted on this issue showed that an increase in alcohol availability in grocery stores by 4.5% caused an increase in consumption among the youth by 15%. This indicates that decreasing the availability of alcohol would help in keeping the likelihood of consumption at manageable levels (Reavley, et al., 2011). A decrease in the availability of alcohol in grocery stores resulted in a marked decrease in its consumption. Decreased consumption of alcohol led to decreased mortality rates, dependence, youth suicide, accidents, and liver problems.
Minimum unit pricing changes by the government also take a significant portion of the overall policing issues on alcohol. The overall effect of pricing changes has been found to have a diluted effect if marketers are positioned to offset the rise in prices with high-end liquor (Foxcroft, Lowe & Breen, 2011). That way, they stabilize the prices of drinks targeted at the youth. The government aims at establishing a minimum pricing mechanism. Under this mechanism, the government will be able to set a blanket price minimum for each unit of alcohol sold. This will effectively make it impossible for a large number of young people to access alcohol.
Marketing of alcohol by the industry has been targeted by the government for purposes of regulation due to its role in alcohol uptake among the youth. Marketing plays a significant role because it is present in advertising, films, public places, and clothing. A survey indicated that most people among a group of thirteen thousand participants responded to marketing exposure at an age of ten years by the time they are twenty-one years old. The government intends to regulate the extent of advertising of alcohol to young people to prevent the recurrence of uptake scenarios. This could go a long way in curbing alcohol consumption by the youth (Rhew and Oesterle, 2011).
Finally, as a tool to prevent hazardous drinking, the government has embarked on a plan to implement fast alcohol screening tests. This led to reduced screening times than the former alcohol use and disorders identification test. It helps the government to be aware of the nature of alcohol consumption in order to establish corrective measures if necessary. This is touted to be an effective method because it is an early warning system (Rhew and Oesterle, 2011). It warns of potential problems that would arise in the future as a result of continued alcohol intake.
Intervention approaches
There is no standard guideline on the constitution for safe, sensible drinking. As such, there is a need to base efforts that curb drinking on an assessable platform. In that case, there is a need to delay the age at which the youth are exposed to alcohol as much as possible. At the same time, it is crucial to ensure that the amount of alcohol at the disposal of the youth is as little as practically possible (Kelly, Masterman & Young, 2011). This will serve to reduce the cases of alcohol related health complications arising from alcohol drinking. This can be achieved in several ways. One of the most crucial fronts of this effort includes schools. In schools, teachers and peer educators should handle the role of educating young people about the ills of consuming alcohol. In that scenario, there are ways in which teachers can prepare students for acceptable norms.
The first approach is the inclusion of alcohol education in the curriculum for personal and social studies. This means that students would receive information pertinent to alcohol while they are in class. The second approach is teaching students on how to handle the marketing of alcohol as done in the media and environment. This would reduce the likelihood of marketing-induced uptake. The third approach would be for teachers to address the issue of appropriate education (Giga et al, 2011). Teachers should ensure that the content of alcohol education is pertinent to the age group under scrutiny. The different age groups of students should be treated to different levels of education regarding alcohol. This enables the development of information that is relevant at each stage. As such, schools present the best platform to delay or eliminate the threat of risky exposure to alcohol. Teachers should invest valuable time on students to allow them access to crucial information regarding alcohol (Kelly, Masterman & Young, 2011).
The next effective inclusion policy is in the form of intervention. In cases where a given student is known to have a possible alcohol problem, teachers and counselors alike should make follow up advice on students. This makes them realize the urgency of the need to quit. In pursuit of the same, parents should only be involved where necessary (Kelly, Masterman & Young, 2011). It is particularly crucial to grant the protection, confidentiality, and best interest of the student primacy. This serves to encourage adherence and commitment to resolve to quit drinking. This follow up method could be effective if well managed within the school framework.
The last effective strategy in alcohol consumption reduction is a partnership approach. In this approach, students are actively involved in formulating and enforcing policies regarding awareness programs. Per se, students are aware of the ills of alcohol abuse. The initiative aims at crating clubs that would play the responsibility of monitoring youth activity among the youth. This reduces the likelihood of the user group engaging in drunkenness (Kelly, Masterman & Young, 2011). However, this approach must include youth activities that draw in parental experience and contribution to alleviate negative alcohol-induced habits. Partnerships are effective ways of instituting intervention on the issue.
Alcohol as a public health issue
There is marked concern about the effects and prevalence of drinking among the youth. Traditionally, the male youth have been known to be more susceptible to instances of binge drinking than female youth. The scenario is changing because female drinkers are catching on the habit at an alarming rate. Studies show that girls are beginning to warm up to the idea of being drunk almost at the same level as their male counterparts. This raises the question of approach toward alcohol mitigation strategies (Koordeman et al, 2011). It begs to establish whether the approach of alcohol education should be different for the different genders or adopted as a blanket effort. There is much concern regarding this issue i...