Spain
mulls fining parents of drunk teenagers
Spain's government is considering
a proposal to fine the parents of teenagers who are repeatedly found
intoxicated in the latest measure to clampdown on underage drinking.
The Telegraph
Parents of such drinkers who are
treated more than once in hospital emergency wards could face financial
penalties.
"Tolerating or assisting by
inaction the repeated excessive consumption of alcohol is a form of child abuse
because it affects their future abilities," said Francisco Babin, the
government delegate for the National Drugs Plan (PND), unveiling the proposal.
"We must not forget that
alcohol kills brain cells," he added.
Spain's ministry of health is
considering the inclusion of such penalties in its draft Prevention of the
Consumption of Alcoholic Drinks by Minors bill, announced in April.
The number of underage drinkers
treated in hospital casualty departments across Spain has more than doubled in
ten years, according to a recent report being studied by the Health Ministry.
"The age of those patients
is also decreasing, indicating that recreational drinking of alcohol is
starting at a younger age," wrote Dr Santiago Mintegi, the author of the
report.
"Before, it was rare to find
a case of alcohol poisoning among minors, but not now. Such cases arrive fairly
frequently on a Friday and Saturday night."
However, there was immediate
skepticism of the new proposal in medical circles. "I don't see how fining
the parents will reduce teenage drinking," said Juan Gonzalez Armengol,
president of Spain Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES).
"It is more likely to mean
that those suffering ill effects from alcohol are less likely to go to a
hospital for fear of the consequences."
Half of Spain's 17 regions have
already banned the "botellon" - a phenomenon that sees large groups
of young people gather in parks or plazas to share cheap shop-bought alcoholic
drinks and socialize through night.