by David Harris

    JERUSALEM, Nov.16 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government has pledged to tackle what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed on Sunday as the "epidemic" of adolescents drinking alcohol.

    Figures he presented at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem suggest that a third of Israeli teenagers between 12-18 have been intoxicated on at least one occasion in the past year. Some 20 percent of all sixth graders claim to have drunk alcohol at least once.

    "I think that we face a turning point on this subject. Other countries took action and were successful. We should learn from them. The most important thing is to act, to act aggressively, and immediately, and this is what the government will do," Netanyahu told his cabinet colleagues.

    ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

    The problem government experts should first tackle is where to begin.

    Nightclubs, schools, youth centers are all involved in the issue, but it is family that is at the heart of the problem, in the opinion of Eitan Sela, who directs Beit Or Aviva, a therapeutic community that deals with drug and alcohol addiction.

    While Sela's center treats adults only, many of his clients became alcoholics as children. Furthermore, of the alcoholics, at least 70 percent came from families in which one or both parents also had problems of drinking or drug abuse.

    One of the key difficulties that Netanyahu's anti-alcohol drive will face is that drinks are available everywhere. Supermarkets and convenience stores sell a full range of wines and beers and in many cases do not ask too many questions of those making the purchase.

    "The fact that it's available in every shop and kiosk is intolerable," said Sela.

    This availability must be checked, agreed Omri Frisch, director of Kfar Izun, a treatment and rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol addicts aged over 18.

    "The harder it is to obtain the more the phenomenon is reduced," said Frisch.

    True, he added, there are debates to be held about the social and philosophical rights and wrongs of restricting availability of alcohol, but at the treatment level it is clear that the less drink that is available the easier it is to deal with addicts.

    TACKLING YOUNG DRINKERS

    Netanyahu announced a government plan on Sunday for dealing with the issue. Among the measures that will be introduced is legislation that aims at restricting the sale of alcohol to minors, expanding the ban on alcohol use and increasing the penalties for those who break the law. Fewer places will be permitted to sell alcohols.

    The government is also launching a campaign aimed at creating greater awareness of the problem. It has allocated some 8 million U.S. dollars for education and publicity on the topic.

    At a later stage the government is reportedly expected to create rehabilitation centers to wean youths off alcohol.

    The national police force and Education Ministry will also be charged with playing a role as "the police on the streets."

    One of the key problems in dealing with alcoholism is that it is often not recognized in individuals for as much as four or five years from when they began drinking. With heroin, addicts can be detected after they have taken the drug just five times, said Frisch.

    Another element the authorities will have to take into account is in dealing with the violence associated with addiction to alcohol, Frisch added. The trouble with alcohol is that it "releases handbrakes," he said.

    IMPROVING RESULTS

    Safed is a quiet town nestled in green mountains in northern Israel, which is renowned for its artists colony. Yet even here professionals are seeing an increase in alcoholism and drug abuse amongst young people.

    Ilana Ferbstein, director of a child and youth clinic in Safed that deals with psychiatric issues, says many of the young people referred to her unit have problems with alcohol. She said her organization does not currently have rehabilitation facilities butis looking to develop mechanisms for treating with young alcoholics.

    People like Ferbstein, Frisch and Sela are dealing with the results of alcoholism. While, Netanyahu hopes his new campaign will prevent people from needing detoxification and rehab programs. Already critics say his plan may not work.

    Pumping millions of shekels into a PR campaign is likely to have minimal impact, said Sela.

    In his opinion the way to get results is by better enforcement of the law. He also believes it is high time that the courts hand out tougher punishments for alcohol-related crimes, particularly for road-traffic accidents.

    However, he also believes that where alcoholism is at the root of legal cases, the courts must instruct entire families to attend rehabilitation programs for at least 12 months and that the families be forced to pay the associated costs.

    In order to prevent the need for such measures, the government will have to find ways to tackle one of the oldest societal customs of drinking. While some have the ability to drink one glass of alcohol and enjoy the experience, others, often because of peer pressure, do not leave it there.

    For the Netanyahu government, to succeed in stopping teenage and child drinking is going to take a major investment in time and money, and the results of the campaign, if any, are unlikely to be seen any time soon.