Chapter 1: The Issue

1.1 Introduction

Alcohol is created when grains, fruits or vegetables are fermented. When drank this beverage changes the usual behavior of an individual. Some of these changes could include loss of motor co-ordination, slurred speech, false judgments, blurry vision, stumbling when walking and may cause blackouts (passing out) when taken to the extreme.

Alcohol abuse has become very common among teenagers in Malaysia. Alcohol abuse is the re-occurring consumption of alcohol over short periods of time and usually in large quantities. This may also be called binge drinking. Binge drinking leads to a lot of problems in a young person’s life. Problems that are physical such as intentional or unintentional injuries, personal problems such as troubles with the family and and political problems such as going against the law. Even though young people are sometimes aware of the troubles brought on by alcohol they continue drinking in large numbers. According to a study carried out in Malaysia in 1988, 1 614 secondary school pupils from age 13 to age 15 found that the majority never drank alcohol, 1 per cent drank daily, 1.3 per cent drank weekly, and 9 per cent drank less than once a month (Hoo & Navaratnam 1988). Although this may seem like the numbers of those who drink are little, take consideration into their age, little 13 to 15 year olds should not drink at all.

Although in Malaysia alcohol is illegal for people under the age of 18, it is easily accessible to teenagers. Alcohol can be found anywhere and usually people who sell the alcohol are so business minded that they do not care who buys, they just need to sell. Besides the easy access, alcohol is cheap, a group of teenagers could easily put together a few ringgits and buy some.

Alcohol abuse among teenagers is not only a societal problem, it also goes against the religious beliefs of Malaysia. That is why more awareness has to be raised on this issue.

1.2 Problem Identification

More and more teenagers in Malaysia start drinking at an earlier age. A lot of parents under estimate the effects of alcohol because they think as long as their teens are drinking and not taken drugs, its better. Another factor is that Malaysia is a Muslim country, this means that drinking is forbidden no matter what age one is. Statistics show that 45% of Malaysian youths under the age of 18 consume alcohol regularly. Of all the legal and illegal drugs, alcohol is by far the most widely used by teenagers, and according to a national survey many are regularly drinking to excess (World health survey, 2003).

1.3 Signs of Alcohol Use

There is a few tell tale signs that can show that a teenager drinks. Although the signs may indicate something else other than alcohol intake parents and teachers should take it upon themselves to find out what is going on.

Physical

Constantly tired

Red, glazed eyes

Dilated pupils

Health complaints

Having alcohol on their breath

Emotional

Difficulty in maintaining or building interpersonal relationships

Mood swings

Secretive behavior

Personality change

Home

Spending a lot of time away from home and lying about where they were

Constantly running out of money and having nothing to show for it

Breaking house rules

Forgetting doing household chores they were supposed to do

School

Dropping grades

Missing school

Discipline problems

1.4 Types of Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol abuse comes in three different types, these types include:

Binge drinking

Alcohol dependency

Alcoholism

Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is where by one stays for days or even months without drinking, but when they drink again they go over their limits. They usual result of binge drinking is being very drunk and can lead to blackouts. Bingers can drink for days and will only stop once passed out.

Alcohol Dependency

Alcohol dependency is a chronic disease where by one has an uncontrollable urge to drink even though it causes all sorts of problems in their lives. One may start depending on alcohol to make them happy when they are happy or sad even though that may not be the reason why they first started drinking. One may also take alcohol more frequently to get them through their day to day activities and to give them more confidence to say or do things. Signs of alcohol dependence are, thoughts on where, when an how you are going to get your next drink, having a high tolerance of alcohol because your body is used to it and also having withdrawal symptoms when there is no alcohol. Withdrawal symptoms could include, shaking uncontrollably, vomiting and restlessness.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is not much different from alcohol dependency but it is a much worse stage of drinking. It is an addiction where by an individual simply cannot stay away from alcohol. They are unable to resist the urge to drink and the only way they can heal is when they seek professional help. Rehabilitation centers are there to help alcoholics beat their addiction by keeping them locked away from temptation of drinking. An alcoholic may take years to be completely free from the addiction.

1.5 Causes of Alcohol Abuse In Teenagers

Intake of alcohol in teenagers does not really come out of the blue, there are a few factors that lead to this bad habit. Some of these factors are listed below:

Peer group/Individual

Influence from peers who drink

Lack of motivation in life

Low self esteem

Stress and depression

Family

Families or relatives who drink

Bad parental attitudes

Problems at home

Absence of parents

Having no one to look to for advice

Community

Easy accessibility of alcohol

Low community values

School

Not doing well in school

No career prospects

No enthusiasm about the future

1.6 Effects of Alcohol

We all know that alcohol brings a lot of problems within the community. Some of these problems include:

Road accidents

Poor performance in school

Violence towards others

Unprotected sexual intercourse

Prevention

It is a common belief that prevention is better than cure, so in order to save our young generation we could try doing the following:

Counseling for teenagers at risk of alcohol abuse

Strict regulations when it comes to alcohol advertising

Making teenagers aware of the consequences of alcohol

Limiting the accessibility of alcohol

Educating and informing teens of social norms

1.7 Alcohol Abuse by Teenagers Awareness

Awareness on teenage drinking is at a rise. This is shown by the Malaysia Hindu Sangam which engaged in efforts to fight this epidemic. The member who is also a youth leader, Arun Doraisamy, suggested that said under-aged drinking should be an offence punishable by two days in the lock-up and the legal drinking age should raised from 18 to 21. He also suggested that a tier-based tax must be enforced based on alcohol content, instead of the standard 10% now. He called for the setting up of a centre to handle prevention, research and rehabilitation. Parents, teenagers and teachers should all be approached on dealing with alcohol in their daily lives.

1.8 Alcohol Abuse by Teenagers Awareness Life Cycle

As can be seen in the above graph, alcohol abuse awareness among teenagers is at a late stage of introduction. This is because the population is more concerned about teenagers doing drugs and smoking than drinking alcohol. Most of the campaigns are titled drug abuse among teenagers or substance abuse among teenagers. Although they consider alcohol to be in the same spectrum as drugs, it is never really addressed in detail as other drugs like cocaine, heroine, ecstasy and marijuana. The awareness level can be improved by doing more campaigns about alcohol and vigorously promoting them.

1.9 Competitor's Analysis

1.9.1 Direct Competitors

Anti-smoking campaigns

Most of the focus on teenage drinking is clouded by anti-smoking campaigns because there is a common belief that smoking is more risky health wise as compared to drinking. An example is that on the packaging of cigarettes, there are disturbing images of damaged lungs, deformed babies, damaged throats and so on to show people the dangers of smoking but on alcohol packaging, there is nothing that lets you know that drinking could harm you. So anti smoking campaigns are getting more coverage as compared to alcohol abuse campaigns.

Drug abuse campaigns

The issue of teenagers taking drugs is considered more dangerous compared to teenagers drinking alcohol. Because of this, the society spends more time on drug abuse campaigns and forgets about the most common and accessible drug which is alcohol. Such campaigns get more air from television and radio and have world wide attention.

1.9.2 Indirect competitors

Teenage suicide campaigns

Teenage suicide are usually the result of teenage drinking, but the society ignores the cause of this problem and put more focus on the problem happening but not on how to stop it, which is stopping alcohol provision to teenagers.

Teenage pregnancy campaigns

Teenagers have unprotected sex when they are under the influence of alcohol. Although alcohol is the problem behind the problem, more focus is put into pregnant teenagers and not how to keep them from drinking alcohol which usually leads them into making wrong decisions of having unprotected sexual intercourse.

1.10 SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Teenagers will live healthier lives

Teenagers will do better at school without the distraction of alcohol

Inspire people to quit drinking as the campaign could help them realise its dangers

Help teenagers to make sound decisions in their every day lives without the effects of alcohol

Help teachers and parents relate better with students

To improve awareness

Weaknesses

The campaigns are small

Poor strategies

Lack of exposure

Insufficient funds

Opportunities

Awareness is increasing

Less competition because of few campaigns

Threats

Insufficient funds

Ignorance from teenagers as they take drinking lightly

Lack of interest because teenagers consider drinking "cool"