WHO meeting in China's Hong Kong addresses teen drinking

Representatives from countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) are taking part in a three-day meeting in China's Hong Kong starting Tuesday to address the harmful use of alcohol by young people. The event, titled "World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Meeting on Addressing the Harmful Use of Alcohol by Young People", was jointly organized by the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) of the WHO and the Department of Health (DH) of China's Hong Kong. A total of 33 delegates from 17 countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region, together with 10 advisers and a number of local observers, are attending the meeting. The event serves as a follow-up to the meeting on "Non-communicable Diseases Prevention and Control through the Reduction of Alcohol-related Harm" held in Hong Kong last year. In his opening remarks, Director of Program Management of the WPRO Han Tieru highlighted the negative impact of alcohol on the youth population and underlined the importance of concerted efforts in deterring young people from the harmful use of alcohol. "Repeated use of alcohol has a long-term negative effect on memory and learning. Secondly, alcohol is a strong agent of disinhibition, in which young people leads to high-risk behavior," Han said, adding it was clear from research that the strongest predictor of alcohol dependence in adulthood was heavy drinking during adolescence. In view of the potential risks and problems with youth drinking in the Western Pacific Region, Han called on members to take key actions, such as increasing taxation and limiting alcohol marketing and access to alcohol through age restrictions, with the aim of reducing drinking and its negative consequences among young people and the general population. Addressing the audience at the welcome ceremony, Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said that Hong Kong also faced similar threats of harmful alcohol use and binge drinking among young people. The 2005 Child Health Survey commissioned by the DH showed that 5 percent of children aged 11 to 14 had used alcohol and 0.3 percent of them were current binge drinkers. Moreover, more than one-third those who had used alcohol among this group had their first drink before the age of 11. Ko said to cope with the challenge, the Working Group on Alcohol and Health was set up in 2009 to review scientific evidence, assess local circumstances and make recommendations on effective strategies and measures to reduce alcohol-related harm. In the course of the meeting, participants will review current national and regional situations regarding harmful alcohol use among young people, share evidence-based interventions and good practices, identify country-specific and region-wide critical challenges and prioritize actions, as well as developing collaborative strategic approaches to address the growing problem of alcohol use among young people. Ko was confident that the meeting would stimulate discussions and foster partnership for the effective control of alcohol problems affecting young people and the wider community