Binge-Drinking Death
March 29, 2007
Doctors battled for more than a month to save the life of the 16-year-old, who was admitted to hospital after collapsing at a private party in a Berlin bar.
His death on Thurday came after several high profile cases of teenagers drinking themselves into oblivion at so-called flat-rate parties where alcohol is sold cheaply.
Some clubs and bars offer their young clientele drinks for one euro ($1.35), while others try to attract customers with all-you-can-drink offers for 10 euros or less.
Germany's federal drugs commissioner, Sabine Bätzing, said she was concerned about young people indulging in binge-drinking.
"In this area, we need to create a culture of not looking the other way," Bätzing said after a survey showed 20 percent of people aged 12 to 17 years had taken part in binge-drinking at least once.
Binge-drinking on the rise
"More and more young people are drinking to excess and ending in hospital with alcohol poisoning," said Maria Eichhorn, a specialist on alcohol abuse for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats.
In addition to clubs, bars and discos, teenagers also use parks, street corners and commuter train stations for their bouts of binge-drinking.
"Germany has an alcohol problem," said Rolf Huellinghorst, general manager of the German Headquarters for Dependency Issues. He pointed out that Europe's most populous nation has one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the industrialized world.
Germans consume an average of 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of pure alcohol each year, he said, adding that around 12 percent of the 82 million population was "at risk" because of their drinking habits.
A survey published earlier this month by the European Union showed that one in 10 Europeans confesses to regular binge-drinking, with the Irish leading the way, followed by Finns and Britons.
Germans up there with the Brits
Germany was lower down the list in the study published by the EU pollsters Eurobarometer, but another survey conducted by Britain's Datamonitor last year showed that Germans drink more on a night out than in any other western European country, except the United Kingdom.
In Germany, the legal age to drink beer, wine and champagne is 16, but for stronger drinks such as vodka, brandy and other spirits it is 18.
The government on Wednesday rejected calls to tighten laws governing the sale of alcohol in a bid to clamp down on binge-drinking.
A stricter application of the laws already in place would suffice, said Bätzing, pointing out that bar and club owners should be held accountable for serving under-age drinkers and those who are drunk.