How much are alcopops to blame?
It’s clear from CHOICE’S test that the use of sweet flavours reduces the natural resistance many teenagers have to the strong and (to many of them) unpleasant taste of alcohol. In fact it’s long been argued that alcopops entice youngsters to begin drinking at an earlier age and that they’re associated with more frequent drinking and binge drinking in young people. And the way these products are marketed hardly deters young drinkers from aspiring to drink them. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the growth of this product category in the Australian market has been fast. Between 2004 and 2006 there was a 21% increase in the availability of alcopops, and estimated consumption of alcopops by people aged 15 and over increased by around 16%. Some studies have found alcopops to be partially responsible for the observed increase in total alcohol consumption in adolescents. Contrary to this, though, a recent review of the published literature on the impact of alcopops o
