Alcohol for young people: Brewer Association demands the end of accompanied drinking!

Alcohol for young people: Brewer Association demands the end of accompanied drinking!

In the current debate about alcohol consumption among young people, there is a growing concern about the health risks associated with early drinking. Holger Eichele, general manager of the German Brewer Association, clearly speaks out for a legal ban on accompanied drinking for young people aged 14 and over. This requirement is supported by Daniel Grein, the Federal Managing Director of the Child Protection Association, who emphasizes how important it is to protect children under the age of 16 from the dangers of alcohol consumption. This reports News today.

The health ministries of the federal states agree with this opinion and call for a change from the Youth Protection Act at their annual conference in Weimar. The current legal text allows young people to consume beer and wine accompanied by parents, which is socially accepted. However, the ministers have recognized that this regulation from 1952 is overtaken and no longer meets the modern challenges. On the initiative of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the accompanied drink for young people is to be abolished and the age limit is to be maintained at 16 years, as the chairwoman of the Health Ministers' Conference, Katharina Schenk (SPD), argues. Your appeal: Changes are necessary, because a pure talk will not remove the problem of abuse, as can be read at [Tagetchau] (https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/ alcohol consumption-minderejaehrige-gesundminister-100.html).

Health risks for young people

An alarming study by the Federal Center for Health Education shows that 6.9 % of girls and 12.4 % of boys aged 12 to 17 drink alcohol regularly - and often at the age of 14 or earlier. Alcohol has significant health consequences for young people whose brain and organs are still under development. In order to counteract the noise drinking, the Federal Government Commissioner for Addictive and Drug Questions, Burkhard Blienert, has warned and urges the need for increased clarification to clarify alcohol consumption. For this purpose, measures are available on the part of the BZGA that enlightened the dangers and gives tips on how to deal with alcohol, as can be found on the website of the Federal Drug Commissioner.

Another aspect that fuels the current discussion is the increase in drinking into the noise among young people. According to the drug affinity study of 2023, 17.1 % of the male and 13.1 % of female young people have experienced intoxication drinks in the past 30 days. This shows a worrying trend that indicates social changes and the possible trivialization of alcohol consumption.

It remains to be seen how political decisions develop and what measures will be taken in the coming months to better protect young people. The initiative for a legal ban on accompanied drinking could prove as a decisive step to improve children and adolescents.