Long lines at the markets, impatient children waiting to pay for their groceries and go on their way - it's a common sight, especially during holiday concerts by music stars in the capital.
However, a group of teenagers that a "Vijesti" reporter recently encountered just before a similar music event in a market in the center of Podgorica were carrying several bottles of alcohol in their baskets.
The cashiers didn't even care that they were selling alcohol to minors, and after a warning, they told the journalist that they "don't even want to deal with that anymore."
The question is how much the inspections are dealing with this, because neither Tržišna nor Turistička editorial office received an answer as to whether they control the sale of alcohol to minors in supermarkets, or whether they punish serving alcohol in bars, and how many such establishments have they sanctioned...
Mihailović: Few people are in charge
"That's nothing unusual," the executive director of the Parents' Association told "Vijesti". Kristina Mihailović.
When we talk about supermarkets and stores, he points out, few people ask minors their age.
"This is what happens in reality. It all comes down to a variant of the internal need to check. Although it says that the sale of alcohol to minors is prohibited, when we talk about shops, few people are authorized to control, let alone punish," said Mihailović.
According to research by the Forum for Youth and Non-Formal Education (Forum MNE), the majority of Montenegrin students believe that alcohol is available to them "only if they have money", and as many as 96 percent of the establishments visited sold it to minors.
The research was conducted in four Montenegrin municipalities (Kotor, Berane, Mojkovac and Danilovgrad) on a sample of 100 retail outlets and showed that students were asked about their age in "only five percent of stores."
"In no case did the sellers ask for an ID card or other identification document to confirm the age of underage buyers... The normalization of alcohol sales to children and young people is particularly concerning, considering that every third student in Montenegro aged 13 to 18 occasionally or often consumes alcohol. Every second student personally knows someone who uses alcohol. On the other hand, there is no data from the competent institutions on the controls carried out or the supervision of the sale of alcohol to minors in commercial establishments," they announced earlier.
Mihailović emphasizes that it is not good that it is prescribed that for a sanction, the sale of alcohol must take place "in front of the eyes of inspectors in this country."
"Which is completely wrong. That shouldn't be the only way someone can be punished. There are several problematic aspects. Unfortunately, what's happening with this topic is that it's showing that it's just declarative again, and that no one is interested," she said.
She reminded that the control over serving alcohol to minors in cafes is different and that it "works to some extent."
"And there is a lot of room for the situation to change and improve. We have had a lot of reports and have been advising parents to report cases when they know that alcohol has been served to minors," she said.
She said it is difficult to change the awareness of store employees "so that they can react and ask a child to show their ID." She also believes that employees can refuse to sell alcohol to a minor when they see him.
"The easiest thing to do is pretend that no one wants to do that part of the story. It would have to be very clearly defined, the jurisdictions would have to be known, and the provisions relating to the exact presence at the scene of alcohol sales would have to be changed so that a sentence could be written. We have no special reactions from the authorities."
Mihailović said that in the past period they have often communicated with the Municipal Inspection of the Capital City, adding that "they visited specific premises."
"It is usually known which establishments serve alcohol to minors. It happened that they wrote them fines, but they rarely sealed them. You have to be precise and clear in order to send a clear message. And those who decide to do something like that knew that they would be held accountable if it wasn't worth it. Apparently it is now worth it for them to pay some fines so they can continue to operate according to these principles and continue to harm young people, and children primarily."
Two-thirds of teenagers consumed alcohol
The Institute of Public Health of Montenegro announced in November that, according to their data, as many as 77 percent of teenagers consumed alcohol.
"The results of the National Tobacco Use Survey (GYTS) show that 9,9 percent of children aged 13 to 15 consume tobacco products, with boys being significantly more prevalent than girls. According to the results of the ESPAD survey, 35 percent of sixteen-year-olds have tried cigarettes at least once, while 77 percent of students have consumed some alcoholic beverage. Data from the COZY survey on the prevalence of obesity among seven-year-olds show that one in five boys and one in ten girls are obese. Excess body weight and lack of physical activity increase the risk of developing diabetes, psychological difficulties, poorer school performance, low self-esteem, as well as later cardiovascular diseases," they said.
These data, the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro points out, indicate the need for joint action by children, youth, parents, the education system, decision-makers and the wider community in order to promote healthy lifestyles and protect the well-being of children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned that alcohol is the cause of one in three deaths from injuries and violence in the European region, and increased consumption during the holiday season and celebrations can increase traffic risks, falls, poisonings and violent behavior.
The WHO warned that according to the latest available data, almost 145.000 injury deaths in the European Region were alcohol-related, with the most common being self-harm, road traffic injuries and falls.
According to WHO data from 2019, Montenegro ranked 12th in terms of alcohol consumption per capita with 12,24 liters (men 19,51 and women 5,3), which is the highest measured consumption to date.
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