Santander se une a la red contra el consumo de alcohol por menores de edad
The Santander City Council has joined the network of cities against underage alcohol consumption promoted by the Spanish Federation of Spirit Drinks (Espirituosos España) and the Ministry of Health, which includes the campaign ‘Minors not a drop. More than 100 reasons for a minor not to drink alcohol.’
This was reported in a press release by the Health Councillor, Zulema Gancedo, who highlighted that the latest data published by the Ministry, through the survey on drug use in secondary education in Spain 2023 (ESTUDES), although «showing a clear improvement,» still indicates «the need to work on prevention.»
Gancedo expressed her concern about minors consuming alcohol, seeing it as a product whose consumption «does not entail risks» and is «highly» accessible to them.
This report, which the Ministry of Health has been conducting for almost three decades –first in 1994–, is based on a sample of more than 40,000 students and measures trends in substance use among students aged 14 to 18 attending Secondary Education.
Through these results, since the campaign was launched in 2013, a decrease in alcohol consumption in minors has been observed (from 83.9% in 2012 to 75.9% in 2023).
The percentage of minors reporting alcohol consumption in the last 12 months has also decreased (83.8% in 2012 to 73.6% in 2023) as well as in the last 30 days (68.1% in 2012 to 56.6% in 2023). Additionally, the number of episodes of drunkenness (30.8% in 2012 to 20.8% in 2023) and binge drinking (41.8% in 2012 to 28.2% in 2023) has also decreased.
Regarding the age at which alcohol consumption begins, they report their first consumption at 13.9 years, while the average age of weekly alcohol consumption initiation remains at 15.
CAMPAIGN
As detailed by Gancedo, the campaign aims to prevent alcohol consumption in minors from a preventive and educational perspective by providing reasons why the only valid consumption in minors is zero consumption.
In this sense, the goal of the campaign is to inform and sensitize society to prevent alcohol consumption in minors, trying to delay the age of onset of consumption and increase the perception of the risks that this premature consumption poses to the health and development of minors.
To achieve the best possible result, the campaign’s actions are aimed at society at large, with a special focus on families and minors themselves.
In addition to the campaign, the Ministry allowed public and private institutions to join and participate. Thus, the ‘Minors Not a Drop’ network was created, which the Santander City Council has already joined.
Regarding the commitment made by the Council, the councillor explained that specific actions will be developed to combat alcohol consumption by minors, which may include communication actions through municipal channels and platforms such as the website or social media.
Furthermore, the ‘Minors Not a Drop’ campaign will be disseminated among federated municipalities, inviting them to actively engage by joining the network and carrying out actions aimed at preventing underage alcohol consumption.
COLLABORATION WITH HOSTS AND FAMILIES
Among the actions to be carried out will be promoting initiatives through collaboration with the Hospitality Association under the slogan ‘I do not sell alcohol to minors’ and training in responsible alcohol beverage service.
Likewise, the Council will promote the maximum dissemination of the various actions that will be implemented throughout the campaign, such as family meetings, through its various communication channels or any support or medium deemed appropriate.
Moreover, the actions will focus mainly on disseminating materials aimed at parents so that they have the necessary tools to combat alcohol consumption by their underage children. These materials will be provided by Espirituosos España and can be disseminated through municipal youth information centers, parent schools, or workshops or activities aimed at parents to address alcohol consumption in minors.
FUENTE
