Published: Thursday, 25th June, 2009 11:32am
Shocking truth of West Fife's teeny tipplers
by Matt Meade
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THE Press has obtained a snapshot of the shocking extent of teen drinking culture prevalent in West Fife according to one youth support worker.
Mary Jones, of Dunfermline-based West Fife Community Drugs Team, revealed the Friday night binge-drinking habits of children that include:
Kids as young as 12 and 13 drinking 'to excess'.
Spirits such as vodka taking over from alco-pops as the drink of choice.
Drunk teens engaging in risky sexual behaviour.
She also told the Press that she believes she is the only worker in the area providing support specifically available to the thousands of under-16s in West Fife and that more funding must be made available to help tackle the drink problem.
Mrs Jones, who has worked in her current position for four years, said, 'I would definitely say they are starting to go out on a Friday night much, much younger.
'Young people come to me and say "I was really scared at the weekend".
"They can end up losing their friends and wandering around under the influence of alcohol, frightened to go home because of their parents. So they wander about until they are sober, which is very dangerous.
'There are quite risky things they are doing, like their sexual behaviour. That"s down to the loss of inhibitions through having too much to drink – the bravado.
'And they end up going into school on a Monday morning thinking "God, I got into a really frightening situation there".'
Mrs Jones added, 'There"s been a wee bit of a turn around with the young ones – for some reason they are able to afford vodka. It"s no longer the Buckfast with them.
'They club together to get vodka which is worrying because it"s a spirit a lot stronger than the other stuff kids used to dabble in, like Frosty Jacks or cider.
'Binge drinking is what I"m dealing with. It"s the going out on a Friday night with the sole purpose of seeing how drunk you can get.'
Her responsibilities at West Fife Community Drugs Team include outreach work at high schools, youth clubs and other agencies to talk about drug misuse and sexual health, as well as the dangers of alcohol.
She now believes that increased funding is necessary to help reduce the growing problem.
'As far as I"m aware we are the only designated drugs and alcohol service for under-16s. It"s just me,' she said.
'I would be saying that for West Fife there is not enough people whose remits are to work with young people and alcohol and substance misuse.
"It"s a case you work so many hours and do what you can but if we had more funding for this agency we could build up a youth team to work in the West Fife area and the villages.'
Ian Paterson, community inspector for Dunfermline, said police continue to target the problem of under-age drinking through a number of initiatives.
He added, 'There are a number of intelligence-led operations to help combat under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour to help improve our communities and we are still targeting shops selling drink to minors as well as the people who buy it.
'We also work with a number of partnership agencies to educate children about the dangers of excessive drinking and the harm it does.
"If there are any emerging issues we will listen and act upon them to provide a better public service.
'I would also remind parents of their responsibility of checking where their kids are and to check if they have been drinking.'
According to the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) published this week, 52 per cent of 13 year-olds have had at least one alcoholic drink. That figure rockets to 82 per cent for 15-year-olds.
Now the British Medical Association has called for an end to the 'ridiculous pricing' which makes it easier for youths to afford drink.
Dr Peter Terry, Chairman of British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland said, 'When alcohol is cheaper than bottled water, we have to worry about what message we are sending our children.
'Alcohol costs our economy around £1 billion every year but the human cost is much higher – one death every six hours in Scotland is caused by alcohol.'
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Mark Svaasand
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Jun 25 09 12:04
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Its hardly surprising and nothing new to be honest...just when Weatherspoons are wanting to open another pub in Dunfermline! A few questions-Where are they getting alcohol and what are their parents doing about this,what are the alternatives for the youngsters?
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The Dude
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Jun 25 09 12:38
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Erm what has Witherspoons got to do with teeny tipplers...can't say I've ever seen a 13 year old in the Seven Kings or any other Dunfernline pub!
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Mark Svaasand
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Jun 25 09 13:27
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the culture of drinking is endemic in this area and another pub wont help matters!!
What so you never went into a pub untill your 18!!
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Robert
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Jun 25 09 21:04
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The pubs aren't toblame - it's the idiotic parents letting their kids go out and come in steaming. If I came in steaming at that age I'd be grounded for weeks with no pocket money.
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FinsburyPark
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Jun 26 09 08:51
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The pubs may not be directly to blame, but it would be just another depressingly vacant venue plying cheap booze to morons. If kids see their Mum or Dad falling out of a Whetherspoons or rolling home legless on a Friday night they become desensitised to that kind of behaviour and will most probably come to the conclusion that, if adults do it then they too will be entitled to behave that way when they are older. The 'grown-ups' in Dunfermline need to look at the kind of society they have chosen to create for their children before bemoaning the action of these kids. It's the culture of ignorance towards excessive drinking in front of children that is endemic in the area. Given the freedom, all they are doing is imitating those around them prematurely.
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Emma-Kelly
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Jun 26 09 08:51
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If The council had more for us teens to do, we wouldn't sit drinkin out in the streets or try to get in pubs all the time! i'm 17, and my mates and i get that bored that all we do is get alcohol and sit about the streets. don't blame us teens for the council having nothing for us to do!
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Kcaswab
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Jun 26 09 15:58
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The excuses given for teens' drinking habits is a bit lame. I don't recall there being that much to do when I was a teenager, but it didn't mean I was roaming the streets, out of my head on drink or drugs!
I agree it has a lot to do with their upbringing, and the parents must be held responsible for their kids' actions. A lack of discipline in school is also a factor that must be considered, but then again, we banned the belt, didn't we?!
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Skweeky
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Jul 2 09 18:57
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What do you mean "The council should give us something to do"? Do you want every aspect of your life taken care of for you? Spoken like a true soc*alist!
I hear parents say "What are we to do? they want to go out. We can hardly keep them in?"
Rubbish! My 17 y.o. son "goes out" but it is always to go somewhere, e.g to a friends house, or to his sports, cinema etc - never just to walk the streets. I never did it and he doesn't get to - or want to, either.
The only people who really influence a childs behaviour are it's parents, and as the poster above suggested, these days it seems to be a case of monkey see monkey do, and that someone else (see the council comment) is always to blame.
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FinsburyPark
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Jul 3 09 12:44
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I agree, it's not the Council's job to come up with things for teenagers to do. I think there's a lack of imagination at work there. What is within their remit, however, is providing facilities that are adequate for purpose and there are very few of those in Dunfermline. Bruce Street Hall was fairly haggard when we used to hire it out. Scotland as a whole is frankly lacklustre and amateurish when it comes to having systems and facilities in place to allow youngsters to participate in different activities out of school. Ultimately it's up to parents and the individuals how they choose to spend their time, but there should be government backed organisation and structure to extracurricular activities to allow teenagers to find a purpose in what are difficult years of their lives. If you look at countries in Europe with a similar climate to ours, they have don't seem to have half the problems we have!
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