The traditional virtues of moderate wine drinking can be used to stem Italy's rising problem of alcohol abuse by the young, Italian farmers said on Thursday.
Responding to the latest report on the nation's drinking habits, farmers' organisation Coldiretti said parents should educate children in the pleasures of winding down with wine rather than going off the rails with alcopops or beer.
Young Italian are abusing heavily marketed rum-laced or gin-boosted 'pops' to a worrying degree, national statistics bureau Istat said in its annual report on alcohol consumption.
They are also imitating their northern European cousins in drinking beer till they drop, Istat said.
Until recently public drunkenness was a major taboo in Italy but it is no longer rare to see young people rolling out of disco pubs, Istat said. However, family-imposed customs of sensible drinking seem to be holding up in the South, Istat said.
Education in wine drinking can stop the alarming new trends in their tracks, Coldiretti said.
"In modern society wine is an expression of balance and reflection to be used to combat abuse. It is still able to exert influence on youngsters and make sure they don't go too far," the organisation said.
Luckily, Coldiretti said, traditionally moderate wine use among young Italians also appears to be rising and there has been a surge of interest in becoming sommeliers (wine tasters or experts). Istat issued ten guidelines to help parents make sure
their kids aren't straying into dangerous alcohol use. They included alerting kids as early as possible to the perils of over-drinking, including them as much as possible in family events where wine is drunk in moderation, and organising alcohol-free parties to show teenagers they can have a good time without drinking to shed their inhibitions and be seen as more laid-back or 'cool'.
In its report, Istat also said the use of alcohol among Italian women was rising, particularly when they hit their 40s and take stock of an often disappointing lifestyle. More and more older Italian women are misusing or abusing alcohol, whether wine or stronger stuff, Istat said.
