Sunday May 12, 2013

Statistics show many youths under 18 consumed alcohol

KUCHING: About 8.5% of Malaysian youths under the age of 18 have consumed alcohol in the last year, latest statistics show.

A Health Ministry study estimated that 6.9% of Malaysians aged between 15 and 19 were “current drinkers” and that 1.6% of youngsters aged between 13 and 14 had consumed alcohol.

The ministry defines “current drinkers” as people who have had any alcohol or ethanol-based drink in the last 12 months.

“Scientific studies tell us alcohol can have a negative impact on brain development until a person is 21 years old or even as old as 26 years old. Children and teenagers who are growing up should really never drink,” said Dr Rozanim Kamaruddin, principal assistant director at the Health Ministry’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Unit.

Speaking at a community event on anti-alcohol abuse here yesterday, Dr Rozanim said Sarawak ranked second highest in terms of prevalence of drinkers in Malaysia, after Kuala Lumpur.

It was estimated, nationwide, that there were 2.5 million current drinkers, she said, which is about 12% of the population.

The highest prevalence rate is in Kuala Lumpur (19.3%), Sarawak (17.8%), Sabah and Labuan (16.4%), and Penang (14.2%). The areas of Putrajaya, Kelatan and Terengganu had, statistically, the lowest rate.

However, Dr Rozanim said the estimates for those areas were likely inaccurate, at less than 1% of the people polled.

Of those surveyed, Dr Rozanim said those between 20 and 24 years old consumed the most.

Among current drinkers, 50.2% were binge drinkers, with higher rates in rural compared to urban areas, and alcohol abuse is higher among men than women.

Statistics she presented showed that the highest rate of binge drinkers was actually among Muslims, at 62.9%, and that they tended to be those aged between 30 and 34.

Almost 20% of drinkers in rural areas admitted that among the adverse effects of drinking were feelings of remorse and guilt, whereas in the urban areas, the percentage was lower at just over 10%.

Dr Rozanim said between 5.5% and 6.7% of Malaysians were ex-drinkers.

“The mean age most start to drink is, nationally, 20.7 years old, with urban people starting at 20.8 while rural drinkers tended to be a little younger at 20.4,” she said.

“Most Malaysian drinkers are beer drinkers. Beer constitutes about 60% of all the alcohol consumed. Wine is at 17%, followed by Shandy at 13% and various types of spirits at 10%.”

The Health Ministry statistics seem to indicate that although alcohol abuse is a problem among a significant number of Malaysians, the number of abusers seem to be quite consistent despite the growing population.

In 2000, for instance, 613 cases of hospital discharge were reported at public hospitals due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

In 2003, the number rose to 752, but in 2008, it reduced to 685 cases.

Dr Rozanim said the ministry’s efforts were on responsible drinking, rather than outright alcohol abstinence.

“We focus on messages like low risk drinking. Measures like never drink on an empty stomach, ‘no’ to daily drinks, things like that help,” she said, adding a good and supportive family environment played a part in moderation as well.

“Also, one of the most effective ways to avoid alcohol abuse is to have alcohol-free days or weeks.”

Looking at the larger picture, Dr Rozanim said policies on marketing and pricing of alcohol played a huge factor in alcohol abuse, alongside other measures like enforcement on drink-driving and the informally produced alcohol industry.

Malaysian Health Promotion Board (MySihat) chief executive Datuk Dr Yahya Baba said about 20% of drinkers in Malaysian ended up as alcohol abusers.

“In terms of percentage, it’s not a big problem. We are targeting specific communities. In Peninsular Malaysia, we are focusing on raising awareness among the Orang Asli, for instance. High rates of drinking are also found among the Malays in places like Shah Alam. If we don’t try to reduce alcohol abuse now, we’ll see a lot of social impact later on,” Dr Yahya said.

The community event was a collaboration between MySihat and the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA).

News

Sunday May 12, 2013

Statistics show many youths under 18 consumed alcohol