“I was worried about my 14-year-old brother, he started drinking with friends this summer and they were constantly making some parties and reruns of those parties …
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He told me to take vodka, whiskey, wine and beer, mix it all up and make it like a cocktail and then compete who will drink more at the ex, “Viktor V (26) told” Blic “. This is just one of an illustration of how young people start getting drunk earlier and more often, and what has now become quite popular is “alcohol bingeing”.
As he says, one evening the matter got out of control.
– I found them drunk one evening, and the 14-year-old girl was completely wet. When I asked them what happened, they told me that she “got drunk” and that they showered her with cold water so she could come to her senses – he recounts the desperate state in which he found the company, especially the girl.
Problems appear in that period, between the eighth grade and the transition to high school. This is the most critical period for changes in behavior and the very formation of identity that is characteristic of adolescence, doctors say. Every fifth person between the ages of 15 and 24 regularly drinks alcohol, according to research by the European Commission. Our doctors also testify that younger people are coming to get rid of alcoholism.
Another young man, SN, a patient of the Special Hospital for Addiction Diseases, spoke openly for “RTS” about the problem with alcohol.
Money for snacks used for alcohol
As they write, he started drinking in the seventh grade of elementary school. Fridays and Saturdays – three drinks. Much more in high school. He used the money for snacks for alcohol, first beer, and then spirits. Now S. N, though young, is in rehab for the second time.
– I started drowning, my family is avoiding me, I lost my job, I fell into the mud – he told “RTS”.
At the Special Hospital for Addiction Diseases, people older than 18 are treated. They notice that an increasing number of young people are appearing. At the Institute for Mental Illness, however, they say that children as young as 12 are also treated there.
Binge drinking
– Teenagers are between 15 and 19, and every sixth, at least once a month, excessively drinks alcohol. In foreign literature, the term “alcohol bingeing” has become established in our country, which means that on one occasion, they suddenly drink a large amount of alcohol – says Dr. Marija Dabetić, a psychiatrist from the Institute for Mental Illness.
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Adolescence is a challenge in itself, families must talk openly and recognize the problem.
– Problems occur in the interval between the eighth grade and the transition to high school, these are the most critical periods for changes in behavior and the very formation of identity that is characteristic of adolescence – Dr. Dusan Vojinovic, a clinical doctor from the Special Hospital for Addiction, told RTS.
Alcoholism has several stages, the last being an addictive pattern that is established after seven to ten years of intoxication. The latest data from experts is not encouraging.
– Everywhere in the world, even in our country, there has been increased abuse, higher alcohol consumption, it is legal and available – says Dr. Marija Dabetic.
Dr. Vojinović points out that it is important to have open communication, which is the most important thing to start with, to be a positive family model, to nurture zero tolerance towards alcoholism, at least when it comes to minors.
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Father: “Look what you are!”; Son: “Same as you!”
Doctors warn: a healthy family is the basis of everything. Open conversation, joint problem solving and personal example – we cannot ask our children to behave the way we do not.
This is exactly the argument of the interlocutor from the beginning of the story – when his father would tell him “look what you are like”, he would answer “the same as you”.
A slightly different tactic was applied by the father of DS when she was 15 years old and she expressed a desire to drink alcohol for the first time with the company.
– When I told him that my company had agreed to drink one evening, he told me well, but first you will drink with me. So we sat and drank, so that in the end I would feel really bad, I even vomited, and he just asked me “do you still want to drink alcohol” – recounts his experience DS
A survey on the prevalence of alcohol consumption on a sample of 200 juveniles attending high schools was conducted a couple of years ago by an informal group of Nis high school students called “NI.šta..teško” “.
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Survey results
– Young people start drinking alcohol at the age of 10 (5 percent), and most often they start drinking at the age of 13 (18 percent), at the age of 14 (23 percent) and at the age of 15 (20 percent). At the age of 15, 77 percent of young people have drunk alcohol so far, 66 percent of girls and 82 percent of boys. At the age of 17, 90 percent of young people drank alcohol (89 percent of boys and 91 percent of girls), according to the results of the survey and adding:
– Of those who drink, 40 percent of minors were drunk, and some of them had their first drunkenness at the age of 12. Most often, their first drunkenness happened at 15. Of those who are now 15 years old and drink, every third person has been drunk at least once so far.
When asked what type of alcohol they consume, the minors stated that they tried beer (57 percent), wine (44 percent), ciders (12 percent), liqueurs (15 percent) and spirits (30 percent).
When asked how often they drink, 57 percent of minors stated that they rarely drink, 22 percent state that they drink once a week, and 10 percent of them drink a couple of times a week.
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85% of parents of minors do not know that their children drink
– Parents of 85% of minors know that their children drink, and 71% of those who drink say that their parents allow them to drink. 78 percent of minors can talk openly with their parents about alcohol. So far, seven percent of those who drink have had certain health problems (poisoning, fainting, severe headaches, etc.) caused by alcohol, and only one percent had to go to the doctor because of that.
Alcohol is drunk mainly in society, but as many as 22 percent of minors said that they drink even when they are alone. Although the law prohibits the sale of alcohol to minors, as many as 80% of those who drink say that they can easily buy alcohol in a store or serve it in a cafe, according to the research. Minors stated that they drink alcohol mainly because they like it and because it relaxes them, as many as 65 percent of them.
Every other juvenile knows someone who has been violent because of alcohol
– Due to the influence of alcohol, about 11 percent of minors who drink have been violent so far, and every other juvenile says that there is someone among friends and acquaintances who was violent because of alcohol. If one of the friends has serious problems due to alcohol, 75% of young people would try to help him, and only 12% of them would contact that person’s parents. If it could influence the law, 20 percent of the surveyed minors would ban alcohol, 10 percent of them would allow alcohol to minors, and the largest number of them – 70 percent would leave as it is now – the research states.
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His grandfather gave him a taste of alcohol at a party
One of the respondents stated that he tried alcohol for the first time at the age of 10. Although the survey did not ask how he came into contact with alcohol for the first time, he wrote that “his grandfather gave him a taste of alcohol at a party”. The same respondent stated that he now, a few years later, regularly consumes alcohol.
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