Current Affairs Amendment could introduce tougher fine for sale of alcohol to minors
The World Health Organisation recently released the results of a study revealing the consumption of alcohol among under-aged youths in the Czech Republic was all too commonplace. According to the survey, Czech teenagers now rank among the heaviest "teen drinkers" in Europe. 1 out of 3 Czech fifteen-year-olds consumes alcohol at least once a week, and even younger teens have taken to drinking on a regular basis. Not surprisingly, given the increase in under-aged drinking, many health officials as well as lawmakers, say the situation must be changed.
Going to pubs, for Czech teens, is nothing all that unusual and it is not
really uncommon to spot small groups of sixteen-year-olds heading for
"shadier" drinking establishments at the end of the "school
day". Most admit to rarely being carded and that, say specialists, is
the crux of the problem: too many establishments are all too willing to
serve beer or even spirits to minors. But that could soon change: some
lawmakers, led by Civic Democrat MP Boris Stastny, are pushing for tougher
sanctions against establishments caught selling alcohol to those under
eighteen. A little earlier I spoke to the MP by phone:
Boris Stastny
"We've been looking into an amendment on tobacco and alcohol
legislation together with a special work group at the health ministry, and
one of the changes we've been following is the idea of greater sanctions.
It concerns both alcohol and tobacco products. Sanctions for their sale to
minors currently involve fines of up to 50,000 crowns but the full fine is
rarely handed down. Fines can be as low as 1,000 crowns. That means that
some establishments don't really worry about breaking the law. In our
proposal, we are aiming for a stiffer penalty of 500,000 crowns for
establishments. We want the amount of the fine to be set."
Such a large fine, says Boris Statsny, would make anyone think twice about serving minors, and in his view would help bring down the numbers of teens now abusing alcohol on a fairly regular basis. But not everyone agrees tougher sanctions are the right step. Ivan Douda is a psychologist and supervisor at Prague's Drop-In Centre, which deals with substance abuse:
Ivan Douda
"I think this initiative is well-intended but I have to say I am
sceptical that the benefits will be overwhelmingly positive. I worry that a
bill introducing very high fines could be abused and that pubs or bars
could themselves be subject to blackmail. My feeling is that such stiff
fines should really be applied only in cases where establishments have
repeatedly flaunted the law."
And says Ivan Douda, there is also the risk that if sanctions prove too tough, this could have an inadvertent effect:
"If something is too available it isn't good, but too many sanctions can lead young people to feel even more inclined to try 'forbidden fruit'."
The amendment is likely to be presented for debate in the lower house next month and of course nothing is set in stone yet.
