When Are We Going To Address Underage Drinking?
May 30th 2008 02:18
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my opinion on binge drinking in the Warrnambool community. Many of our local binge drinkers are underage teenagers out to uphold their reputation. Every weekend teenagers are getting drunk and our community is doing nothing about it. Sure, we have tried awareness programs, counselling and providing youth services but nothing seems to be working. Doctors, Police and Ambulance officers must be sick and tired of dealing with drunk, unruly teenagers every weekend. When teenagers have been binge drinking they often make silly mistakes that they will regret in the future. Binge drinking has also been the cause of unwanted pregnancies, car crashes and many fights in the Warrnambool area in recent years.
Events such as Wunta and Hardwire are local events that underage teenagers attend and publicly get drunk at. These events are supposed to be either alcohol free or alcohol supplied to over eighteens only, but in many cases this doesn’t happen. If teenagers can’t drink at these events, they get drunk at their friends and families houses before the event. Teenagers need to be supervised by an adult when they are having parties. Without appropriate supervision teenagers can trash houses, behave stupidly and end up drunk behind the wheel of a car when they leave. A prime example of this is 16 year old Corey Worthington, (the party boy known for his bleached blonde hair and yellow sunglasses), who decided to hold a party while his parents were on holiday. Because there were no parents to supervise, his party ended up getting gate crashed by hundreds of party goers and eventually the police were called.
Local police need to be commended on their decision to close the streets of Port Fairy after 8pm at night during the Port Fairy Folk Festival. Their efforts helped prevent drunken teenagers taking over the streets and picking fights with people. In recent years teenagers have converged on the streets of Port Fairy after dark to have fun with their mates. In many instances the youths are drunk and disorderly; some of them were even involved in dangerous fights.
Many students come to school and brag about how they were drunk on the weekend and behaved stupidly. I often wonder what damage the excessive alcohol is doing to their undeveloped brain. Is it really worth damaging your health just to look popular amongst your peers? Excessive amounts of alcohol in the long term can cause heart disease, liver damage and brain damage and increase the chances of getting mouth and liver cancer. Obviously many teenagers don’t think of this before it’s too late.
As a community when are we going to address this problem?
Yours truly,
Freya Parrotte
I am writing to express my opinion on binge drinking in the Warrnambool community. Many of our local binge drinkers are underage teenagers out to uphold their reputation. Every weekend teenagers are getting drunk and our community is doing nothing about it. Sure, we have tried awareness programs, counselling and providing youth services but nothing seems to be working. Doctors, Police and Ambulance officers must be sick and tired of dealing with drunk, unruly teenagers every weekend. When teenagers have been binge drinking they often make silly mistakes that they will regret in the future. Binge drinking has also been the cause of unwanted pregnancies, car crashes and many fights in the Warrnambool area in recent years.
Events such as Wunta and Hardwire are local events that underage teenagers attend and publicly get drunk at. These events are supposed to be either alcohol free or alcohol supplied to over eighteens only, but in many cases this doesn’t happen. If teenagers can’t drink at these events, they get drunk at their friends and families houses before the event. Teenagers need to be supervised by an adult when they are having parties. Without appropriate supervision teenagers can trash houses, behave stupidly and end up drunk behind the wheel of a car when they leave. A prime example of this is 16 year old Corey Worthington, (the party boy known for his bleached blonde hair and yellow sunglasses), who decided to hold a party while his parents were on holiday. Because there were no parents to supervise, his party ended up getting gate crashed by hundreds of party goers and eventually the police were called.
Local police need to be commended on their decision to close the streets of Port Fairy after 8pm at night during the Port Fairy Folk Festival. Their efforts helped prevent drunken teenagers taking over the streets and picking fights with people. In recent years teenagers have converged on the streets of Port Fairy after dark to have fun with their mates. In many instances the youths are drunk and disorderly; some of them were even involved in dangerous fights.
Many students come to school and brag about how they were drunk on the weekend and behaved stupidly. I often wonder what damage the excessive alcohol is doing to their undeveloped brain. Is it really worth damaging your health just to look popular amongst your peers? Excessive amounts of alcohol in the long term can cause heart disease, liver damage and brain damage and increase the chances of getting mouth and liver cancer. Obviously many teenagers don’t think of this before it’s too late.
As a community when are we going to address this problem?
Yours truly,
Freya Parrotte
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