Spain's government is considering a proposal to fine the parents of teenagers who are repeatedly found intoxicated¹ in the latest measure to clampdown（压制） on underage drinking.

 

Parents of such drinkers who are treated more than once in hospital emergency wards² could face financial penalties.

 

"Tolerating or assisting by inaction the repeated excessive consumption of alcohol is a form of child abuse because it affects their future abilities," said Francisco Babin, the government delegate for the National Drugs Plan (PND), unveiling the proposal.

 

"We must not forget that alcohol kills brain cells," he added.

 

Spain's ministry³ of health is considering the inclusion of such penalties in its draft Prevention of the Consumption of Alcoholic⁴ Drinks by Minors⁵ bill, announced in April.

 

The number of underage drinkers treated in hospital casualty departments across Spain has more than doubled in ten years, according to a recent report being studied by the Health Ministry.

 

"The age of those patients is also decreasing, indicating that recreational drinking of alcohol is starting at a younger age," wrote Dr Santiago Mintegi, the author of the report.

 

"Before, it was rare to find a case of alcohol poisoning among minors, but not now. Such cases arrive fairly frequently on a Friday and Saturday night."

 

However, there was immediate⁶ skepticism of the new proposal in medical circles. "I don't see how fining the parents will reduce teenage drinking," said Juan Gonzalez Armengol, president of Spain Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES).

 

"It is more likely to mean that those suffering ill effects from alcohol are less likely to go to a hospital for fear of the consequences."

 

Half of Spain's 17 regions have already banned the "botellon" - a phenomenon that sees large groups of young people gather in parks or plazas⁷ to share cheap shop-bought alcoholic drinks and socialize through night.

点击收听单词发音