The solution to addressing alcohol addiction in Jersey may be the introduction of alcohol education in schools. This proposal was made by a charity leader who argues that an educated populace on the dangers of alcohol addiction would result in a decrease in numbers of addicts.
Jason Wyse, who runs addiction charity Silkworth Lodge has criticized the state’s approved government plan to increase prices of alcohol which had been proposed. Wyse argued that such a move, would not have addressed the alcohol addiction in the state even if it was passed. The focus on price would not have affected alcohol consumption.
Tackling addiction through education
Wyse continued by saying,
I think it doesn’t matter how much alcohol is. Alcoholics will find a way to access it, so pricing I don’t believe is the issue. We need to get away from focusing on the increase in pricing of alcohol and looking more to education as a way of solving the problem.
He argued that the price increases would have led to more people consuming alcohol from home which would have led to a lot of people being unmonitored during consumption making the process of preventing excessive drinking more difficult. Wyse said the solution was to provide more information in school about alcoholism. He also proposed a change in the school curriculum to include topics that address the Island drinking culture.
Wyse also said the problem with raising taxes is that people are not opting to buy alcohol from the supermarkets because it is cheaper. He said,
What I would love to see is a subject added to the curriculum in schools, call it, say, life skills, or social life skills.
The charity leader acknowledged that the implementation of such a move may never be implemented. He, however, said that it would be amazing if subjects about alcoholism and drug addiction existed in the curriculum. The lessons would go a long way in addressing the challenges in Jersey.
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