Teen drinking a risk to brains
Former Australian of the Year Fiona Wood is urging parents not to give alcohol to under-18s and will front a campaign ahead of leavers' week highlighting the harm alcohol does to developing brains.
The leading WA burns specialist said she was supporting the State Government campaign after seeing more young people with serious alcohol- related injuries.
"I see young potential, young lives changed so often and I think if only . . . if only someone had thought, 'As parents, let's ring each other and form a united front'," Dr Wood said.
"If only someone had thought to stand back from that barbecue, to stand back from that aerosol can. Then the lives I see changed in an instant would be happy lives without scarring and with the opportunity to reach their potential."
Mental Health Minister Helen Morton said the $300,000 TV, print and radio campaign was timed before school leavers' celebrations to warn parents against supplying teens with alcohol.
She hoped it would dispel myths, including the idea that teens allowed to drink at home or whose parents gave them alcohol would learn to drink responsibly.
"There is very clear evidence around the damage that can occur to developing brains and bodies by alcohol," Mrs Morton said. "We're here to represent the fact that for under-18s, no alcohol is the safest choice."
Steve Allsop, from the National Drug Research Institute, said if it were any other drug it would be easy to convince parents to take action.
"Every week thousands more young people end up in hospital because of violence, road accidents and other injuries, but what is not as well known is alcohol's impact on the developing brain," he said.
Professor Allsop said drinking from a young age could lead to problems with memory, mood and school performance and increase the risk of health problems later.
Professor Mike Daube, from the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, said more education about alcohol and the developing brain could be critical in reducing drinking in young people.
"No parent wants to think that their child's intellectual capacity could be affected for life," he said.
