Vol. 575 No. 3
299 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the booklet entitled Binge Drinking: Causes, Consequences and Cures; and if he will make a statement on the content of the report. [28066/03]
The organisers of a recent conference on youth culture and binge drinking sent me a copy of the booklet. The author, Professor Adrian Furnham, University College, London, examined the factors that influence young people to use and abuse alcohol and reviewed recent research in the area. He concludes that there are important factors, including cultural, economic, legal, sociological and psychological factors, that lead to significantly different drinking patterns in different countries.
Professor Furnham considers that parents, teachers and other role models play an important role in determining the alcohol consumption patterns of young people. He also emphasised the importance of education in the prevention of binge drinking. The booklet is an interesting and useful contribution to the debate on the consumption of alcohol by young people.
