A “zero alcohol” campaign aimed at minors will involve the participation of 445 pharmacies in the Balearics.
At the launch of this campaign in Palma last week, the president of the College of Pharmacists, Antoni Real, said that the involvement of pharmacies in giving health advice is significant. Some 45,000 people go to pharmacies each day.
Bosco Torremocha, the director of the alcohol and society foundation, stressed the need for a solution to the problem of underage drinking. In this regard, pharmacies can act as information points in promoting zero alcohol for minors.
Raise a smile
Torremocha added that there has been an improvement in the figures regarding underage drinking; this has been because of parental concern.
The campaign, he explained, is designed to raise a smile.
This is because when a child is in class, the last thing he or she wants is a zero. Pharmacists want to say that drinking alcohol will mean a failed grade; it is also illegal.
Data from the national health ministry indicate that the age for starting to drink is fourteen, a “scandalous age”, Torremocha noted. “If a minor drinks alcohol, it is because an adult has allowed this.” Adults, he insisted, are there to protect children.
The director general for consumer affairs in the Balearics, Felix Alonso, stated that families must be involved in cooperating with organisations wanting to combat drinking by children.
Welfare
“We have to care for the welfare of children in the Balearics.”
Palma Local Police are also expected to play a role in the campaign by uncluding advice for children in the regular talks officers give to local schools about safety, security and drug use and abuse.