ORGANISERS OF a town hall disco in north Cork have defended their decision to breathalyse teenagers attending the event, insisting the measure is being introduced in a bid to combat anti-social behaviour.
Teenagers aged between 13 and 17 who plan to attend a disco at the town hall in Mitchelstown next month will be breathalysed if the organisers suspect they have drink taken.
The measure is being implemented after it was revealed one in 10 children who tried to gain access to the event in the past were under the influence of alcohol.
Organiser Justin Finn said alcohol consumption had caused a lot of hassle at previous events and the decision to breathalyse was being taken to curb underage drinking.
“They drink, for example, vodka before they go in. We can’t tell that because there is barely any smell from vodka.
“When they actually get in to the hall, about 10-15 minutes in to it we realise they are under the influence of alcohol then. They can hurt other people.
“Some of them come up before the disco and we stop them at the gate and they would be in a critical state. Some of them have to be taken away by the guards.”
Meanwhile, teenagers across Europe are using cannabis less but are more likely to binge drink, according to latest data from drug addiction monitoring experts.
The latest figures from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs found that an increase in binge drinking among girls was a particular concern.
This trend is reflected in Ireland, with teenage drinking statistics published earlier this year by the Youth ID report indicating that one in four 16- to 17-year-olds nationwide claim to drink alcohol at least once a week.
The locations for underage drinking for this age group tend to be at a friend’s house (31 per cent), at home (30 per cent) or outdoors (22 per cent).
Despite the recession, the majority of 18- to 29-year-olds drink at least once a week, though some probably wish they didn’t as one in four claims to have called someone (eg an ‘ex’) something they shouldn’t have while drunk.
Youth ID is a syndicated research programme led by OMD, Cawley Nea/TBWA and Amárach Research and involving over 10 of Ireland’s leading marketers.
Launched in 2008, ID is a three-year project that aims to exploring the full spectrum of Irish youth lifestyles and behaviour.