EXCESSIVE drinking and disorderly behaviour are problems normally associated with the more notorious tourist haunts such as Ayia Napa and Limassol.
However, the first signs that British binge-drinking culture has caught on locally are on the horizon.
One irate parent, Shawn Jones, has blown the whistle on clubs that are allowing underage drinkers through the doors. Two months ago he took his 15 year old son to hospital after he staggered home from a heavy session in downtown Nicosia.
He claims that a waitress in a club near Makarios Avenue failed to check the age of his son or the rest of the underage group.
“She took the underage drinkers’ orders without questioning their age. Selling alcohol to under age people is bad enough, but the General Manager of the establishment then started to give them free shots. He came home completely drunk.”
Asked about their policy on underage drinkers, the owner of the aforementioned club said “We follow the law and do not allow underage people through the door. If anybody looks under 18 they must show ID.”
It is not unreasonable to think that Shawn Jones’ son appeared over 18. He had, after all, duped the doorman, waitress and the general manager and finished off a number of cocktails and shots before making his own way home. However, it is clear that many clubs are turning a blind eye to underage drinkers.
One Nicosia party-goer, Maria (17) told the Cyprus Mail, “I’ve been going out since I was 14 and I have never been asked for ID. I normally go to Bling, although I went to Tease once, and my friends have been to Club-D.”
On club manager confirmed that Cypriot kids do drink below the legal age.
“Many young people start drinking – and smoking – young. I began when I was 14, and it is the same today. Actually the young go out more than people in their twenties”
Asked if he thought this was due to a changing culture, he said, “I think the reason is not to do with culture, but instead money.
“Children are given pocket money and all they have to spend it on are clothes, products and alcohol. They do not have to pay rent or bills”
Cultural changes do seem to have changed people’s attitudes to drunkenness. One club owner says that compared to twenty years ago, girls now feel comfortable getting drunk. “Before, when women were not seen in such equal terms, this was more shameful.”
Maria explains that, while some girls do feel more comfortable about drinking in public, normally they are well behaved.
“Nobody wants to be drunk and embarrassing, although we’ve all done it at some point.”
The Cyprus Monitoring Centre for Drugs & Drug Addiction (EKTEPN) has published a report on the consumption of alcohol by young persons. It provides detailed statistics about the ages at which children begin drinking, and in what quantity.
The findings show that the average age for first time drunkenness is 16.5, however, 30 per cent of children will get drunk for the first time at only 15. So while Jones’ son is ahead of the average child, his experience is not out of the ordinary.
Neither is it unusual for this first experience of binge drinking to take place away from home and parental control. The report indicates that among 15-24 year olds, 63 per cent of binge-drinking occurs in bars, pubs and clubs. 12.6 per cent of these binge-drinking episodes entail consumption of more than six drinks.
Another enlightening report is the European school survey project of alcohol and other drugs (ESPAD) which shows trends and comparisons with other EU countries.
Parents in Cyprus will be pleased to note that Cypriot schoolchildren say they have experienced, on average, the second least number of incidents of drunkenness, after the Armenians.
Only 10 per cent of Cypriot school children admitted to having consumed alcohol in the last month, compared with an EU average of 30 per cent, and only one per cent had been drunk more than ten times in the last year, compared with four percent in Europe.
The most enthusiastic young drinkers are, predictably, the United Kingdom, who consistently out-drink all their European counterparts.
The ESPAD survey concludes that the main factors which influence the consumption of alcohol are:
i) frequent parties
ii) poor school performance
iii) truancy, and
iv) lack of support and supervision by parents.
