Owners of the Island?s pubs were warned yesterday to do their part in preventing under-age binge drinking by the National Drug Commission (NDC) and the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (CADA)

The organisations joined Health Minister Patrice Minors and the Police Service at the launch of a new public awareness campaign. CADA executive director Tawana Tannock said staff in pubs need to be better trained so that students aren?t sold alcohol.

?The purpose of the campaign is to curtail the use of alcohol by minors with the focus on children from nine to 17 years old,? Mrs. Minors said.

?The American Thanksgiving kick-off date was selected because it is often seen as the beginning of seasonal celebrations when alcohol consumption increases.?

The Bermuda Student Survey of 2000 revealed that Bermudian children start drinking before they are 11. ?And based on the 2003 survey, the overall current use was 27 percent, or about one in every four students,? Mrs. Minors said.

NDC prevention officer Kimberley Jackson explained what the awareness campaign is designed to help parents identify potential drinking problems. ?The campaign will focus on the consequences of bad directions. It will use language crafted to fit the students and consequences to which they can relate,? Ms Jackson said. Topics covered will include:

How underage drinking can lead to brain damage.

Teens who begin drinking are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who waits until adulthood to use alcohol.

How alcohol use is associated with risk behaviours, including other drug use and delinquency, weapon carrying and fighting and perpetrating or being the victim of date rape.