Lebanon’s underage drinking problem

ENAR

Younger and younger people are courting Lebanon’s hedonistic bent as they turn to the bottle for a good time. The lack of a coherent alcohol harm reduction policy means Lebanon’s youth are oftentimes ill-informed, exposed to ubiquitous alcohol advertising and able to access an abundant supply of cheap booze. Between 2005 and 2011 the number of alcohol drinkers between the ages of 13 and 15 in Lebanon rose almost 40 percent according to the Global School Health Study, a collaborative effort between national governments, the World Health Organisation and the Center for Disease Control in the United States of America. Now just under 30 percent of children between these ages are alcohol drinkers, the study found. The likelihood of students in this age range having been drunk increased one and a half times over the same period. “National alcohol harm reduction efforts are poorly defined and in almost all cases