The recent announcement by the Royal Anguilla Police Force that they will be clamping down on bars and vendors selling alcohol to people underage and reminding the operators of their responsibilities is timely. It is illegal to sell or give alcohol to anyone below the age of 18.
Age restrictions are put in place to protect our youth. There are a number of consequences of under-age drinking. These include but are not limited to the following:
i) Children are generally smaller than adults and a smaller body mass means they can become easily intoxicated leading to other associated problems such as risk taking behaviours and accidents.
ii) Alcohol is actually toxic to all the major organs in the body, and its impact is greater on the less developed brain and body of the adolescent. With regard to protecting the young developing brain, an age restriction of 25 would probably be more appropriate. Prior to this age, the brain is going through different periods of maturation and pruning for efficiency, which also makes it more vulnerable to alcohol’s toxic effects. Parts of the brain we use for new memory and mood regulation are still developing until the early to mid-twenties and the use of alcohol (or other drugs of abuse such as marijuana or cocaine) can effect this development. A young teenager who is drinking or using drugs frequently until their mid-twenties could show signs of poor short-term memory and a poor ability to regulate their mood by the time they reach adulthood.
iii) Research shows us that the younger someone starts drinking the more likely they are to experience problematic drinking in adulthood even leading to alcohol dependency.
In the UK, alcoholic liver cirrhosis used to be the domain of the middle age problematic drinker. Now they are finding liver cirrhosis in people in their mid-twenties, as young people are starting to drink at an earlier age.
So please do not give or sell alcohol to children, to do so is highly irresponsible and will create more harm than good.
Iain Bibby
Department of Education
