Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Drinking life away
Underage drinking has become one of most dreaded issues threatening the younger generation. How does it happen? Who is responsible? Marisa de Silva and Smriti Daniel take a closer look

They stagger out into the street, just in time to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. Disoriented and bleary eyed, they have more than being drunk in common - they’re underage.

Young kids all over the city have discovered that they are no longer confined to the local ice cream parlours; instead, the doors of Colombo’s many nightclubs and pubs are open to them and they are literally going to town.

“My liver, my life, my money. Who are all of you to say what I should do with it all?” More and more young people today seem to adopt this reckless attitude, using it to justify a very unhealthy lifestyle. What they are conveniently blind to is that it’s not just ‘their life’ that is ultimately disrupted or even destroyed as a result of this careless attitude, but the lives of all those around them - such as their families, friends or even the occasional stranger in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So what exactly is wrong with underage drinking? What differentiates it from ‘overage’ drinking, which in society’s eyes is deemed acceptable?
While it is one thing to sit back with an occasional drink at 25, it’s a completely different story when the context involves teenagers who can’t get their homework done owing to a night of unlimited alcohol consumption. And most minors find themselves completely unprepared - financially, physically or emotionally, as the case may be - to deal with the consequences of any rash behaviour; after all, it’s quite easy to be short-sighted when you have no inhibitions to hold you back. The rush you get out of gorging yourself on the forbidden fruit is unfortunately rather short-lived when reality bites. You’re not ready for it - not in any way - and it’s not fun anymore.

For many teenagers most of the appeal of drinking lies in the thrill of flouting the rules. It goes hand in hand with projecting the illusion of being ‘cool’ and ‘with it,’ especially amongst those who have plenty of money to throw around, as ‘living the life’ is not the cheapest of affairs.

“I am 16 and have experienced many Friday nights, for the past few years, drunk. I’ve stopped drinking now, but my friends still drink excessively and I pity them. They should realise when to grow up. I think for things to change, teenagers need more places to go and things to do,” says Jamie*.

They may be under 18 and still in school, but the nightclubs are not out of bounds; in fact the majority of these clubs are patronised largely by underage kids. According to the law, serving underage kids alcohol is considered illegal. Why then aren’t the clubs taking more stringent action to prevent minors from entering their premises? “Well, if most clubs kept us out, then they would lose most of their clientele,” says Dinesh* (17) breezily. Can these youngsters actually hold owners of popular hangouts to ransom?

Some of the most frequented clubs in the city deny knowledge of any underage drinking on their premises, and are satisfied with their monitoring procedures. These ‘monitoring procedures’ consist largely of ‘random checks’ carried out entirely at the discretion of the management. The supposed criteria for a spot check is if the individual in question ‘looks’ under 18. It’s a premise that is questionable, given the disturbing reality that once in their glad rags most 18-year-olds today look much older, and the only people these checks are going to keep out are the 10-year-olds. Ironically, all these clubs place a lot of emphasis on dress codes. However, while they do not hesitate to turn away men wearing sandals, they have no compunction in allowing minors admittance, as long as they are decked to the nines.

Take for instance the Blue Elephant, one of the more popular nightclubs in town. Known for painstakingly body-searching all male patrons and inspecting every single handbag that goes into the club, the Blue finds it impractical to check for IDs.

One of the hotel’s managers said they have a higher minimum age limit (21 and above) than most other clubs. For a night haunt that prides itself on being an exclusively ‘members only club’ (that lets in the occasional couple), the Blue plays host to a surprisingly high number of the city’s young ‘party-goers.’ “I love to hang out at the Blue, because it’s a great place to party. They’ve always let me in without a question,” says Sonali* (16). How did a 16-year-old stay out so late at night? How did she make it into a club without any questions asked? How has it become a habit? Certainly, some food for thought.

A lot of the younger crowd also flock to other night spots such as the Nawam Mawatha ‘hotspot,’ the White Horse. The manager of the pub frankly expresses his view that these teenagers’ parents must shoulder some of the responsibility by keeping their offspring in check. “Colombo society has become increasingly westernised,” he says, adding that “clubbing” has become quite a regular feature on the agenda. When questioned about the Department of Excise regulations, he says that although still in use, the regulations haven’t been updated since 1938. This leads one to question the effectiveness of a law, which seems to exist only on paper.

My Kind Of Place (MKOP) restricts their clientele to ‘18 and above’ with a ‘couples only’ policy. They too subscribe to the ‘random checks’ method based on the same criteria as the Blue Elephant. Rehana (15) says that she has been to many of the popular night spots in town, including MKOP, and has never had any problems getting in. “Anyway when I’m all dressed up, no one can tell I’m underage. As for drinking inside the club, I don’t usually go get it myself, but the few times I have, I’ve managed to get it over the counter.” Perhaps the need of the moment is being more alert all round.

This dangerous trend of underage drinking by no means implies that the rest of society has accepted it as the norm, resigning themselves to the inevitable fate of today’s youth. Far from it actually. Many are those that are quite vocal in their opposition to underage drinking, particularly as they are not just a hazard to the individual, but also to the society they live in.
The most effective way to explain the ills of underage drinking is through the ‘monkey with the blade’ theory, says Hanz (31) explaining, when you give someone who is unaware of how to use something properly, he/she will end up abusing it rather than using it.

“One of the primary reasons why underage drinking occurs in our country is because parents and the elders of society have created a taboo around talking about such habits,” says Hanz. If parents were more open and receptive to their children, and explained the adverse effects of drinking to them, half of the battle would be won. Rather than forbidding them from drinking, which only leads to heightening their curiosity, they should discuss how it’s better to wait till they’re old enough before they start experimenting with alcohol. And, he adds, even when they are old enough, they should always consume liquor within reasonable limits, so as to not be a burden on others. By parents adopting a more approachable stance, they would also be more aware of their children’s lifestyle and be better equipped to guide them accordingly.

Mario’s (24) insight on the topic leans more towards the teenage mindset, especially as they are made to face many difficult and possibly life-altering decisions at a relatively young and impressionable age. He explains that most teen problems are caused by wrong or spontaneous decisions on their part, and that the consumption of alcohol could only result in clouding their already hazy minds further. Therefore, drinking can only make a bad situation worse, he says. However, most teens tend to follow the bandwagon, as it seems to be the ‘hype’ and ‘happening’ thing to do.

The moment tragedy strikes though, the entire community comes alive by openly voicing their sorrow or horror at the incident, and after some time it inevitably dies down and is forgotten. “There’s no point in crying over spilt milk,” says Mario adding that, “we must do everything we can for those whom we can before it’s too late.”

As a mother of three Mrs. Fernando (47)* says that she’s totally against unsupervised underage drinking. Her objection stems from the premise that minors may not be fully able to know when to draw the line, and thus get themselves into a lot of trouble. Also, addictions to drinking too can also be a result of drinking from an early age.

Due to the huge generation gap parents nowadays are faced with, they should try their best to bridge this gap by being closer to their children, and getting to know who they really are and what they have to face in everyday life.
With whom does the responsibility lie?

The parents - for not taking enough interest in their children’s lives? The clubs - for turning a blind eye to their obviously underage clientele? The Department of Excise - for not updating, implementing and monitoring their laws? The State - for not dealing with this rapidly growing issue and not finding alternative means of entertainment for teens?

Or is it the teens themselves, for not being able to draw the fine line between fun and danger? Maybe it’s a combination of all of the above factors, and maybe the only way we can make a change is if we all take a stand and maybe it’s time we did.
(* Names have been changed)

The law enforcers say…
The Excise Commissioner, Parakrama B. Ekanayake, states that the current excise law prohibits all those below the age of 18 from being served liquor in any authorised establishment. This is inclusive of nightclubs, pubs, bars, karaoke lounges, etc., who are holders of legitimate liquor licences.

The Department personnel are instructed to visit all clubs at least once every three months. Such visits are meant to ascertain whether the laws are being observed by the aforementioned establishments. Each group of staff has a set number of places to visit by the end of the year. Authorised establishment found violating the laws will be subject to fines (which will be determined by the department), while unauthorised ones will be raided and taken action against.

When questioned regarding the procedures that clubs should adopt to deal with the problem of underage drinking, he says that there is no set procedure to follow. Furthermore, the methods are left to the discretion of each respective club, to do as they see fit. “Thus far, we have not come across any such violations or received any complaints regarding this problem,” he emphasises.

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