I attended Junior Tynwald, the annual parliamentary sitting made up of students from the island’s sixth forms and various MHKs and MLCs, last month, writes

George Radcliffe.

My role was to be a member of the media for Manx Radio.

During the sitting one of the students raised a motion which I believe to be an important issue to people my age.

The motion was ’Junior Tynwald believes that more should be done to modify the drinks culture in the island.’

Students and politicians debated the matter for some time, resulting in the motion being passed unanimously without a call for division.

I believe that due to the fact the students and politicians were in such an agreement about the matter shows that change is needed as soon as possible.

At the moment both the Isle of Man and UK have a drinking age of 18 meaning that alcohol is hard to come by for underage teenagers.

So when teens do get their hands on alcohol, it encourages them to binge-drink.

A report published in 2009 found that 61% of teenagers in the island were drinking with the intention of getting drunk, making it the highest rate in Europe.

As a solution to this alarming statistic, I suggest that the Isle of Man should adopt a policy like that of Belgium or Italy.

There when you reach 16 you can drink beers and ciders however you have to wait until 18 to drink spirits.

This policy seems to have had some success in these countries as shown by a 2016 survey published by Vox.

The results showed the percentage of drunkenness among 15 to 16 year olds across Europe.

Fifteen to 16 years olds from the UK were found to have to have a drunkenness rate of 33%, the second highest score in Europe. Belgium had a score of just 10%.

To me this data suggests that a lower drinking age makes alcohol consumption less of a novelty for teenagers.

Furthermore, in the culture of countries such as Italy, which have a 12% rate of drunkenness amongst 15 to 16 year olds, having glasses of wine on tables from an early age develops a responsible attitude towards alcohol.

I believe this way of life links with the lower underage drinking rates shown in these continental countries.

With 16 year olds in the island having the right to vote and drive why can’t they enjoy a beer as well?

Some people may argue that lowering the drinking age to 16 could create more alcohol related diseases.

In 1997 the Journal of Substance Abuse showed that in the US, people who start to drink from the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin drinking at the age of 21.

Although this is a rather strong point in favour of not lowering the drinking age the data is from over 20 years ago.

Since then alcohol usage amongst teenagers has decreased significantly.

For example data taken from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children report on underage drinking in 2016 showed that there has been a 30% change in early alcohol use in the UK from 2006 to 2014 meaning that the risk of teens developing alcoholism will be less than in 1997.

In 2002 30% of 15 year olds drank on a weekly basis. Compared to 2014 when only 15% of European 15 year olds drink the data shows that the amount of teens consuming alcohol earlier has halved in that 12 year period.

So the way I see it, by adopting a more European attitude to alcohol the drinks culture could be changed for the better due to the greater sense of responsibility when it comes to alcohol.

â?¢ George is a Ramsey Grammar School student who completed work experience at Isle of Man Newspapers.