Minister warns Iceland neglected youth prevention for years

Inga Sæland, Iceland’s education and children’s affairs minister, says the country has neglected prevention efforts for too long as concern grows over increased alcohol use among teenagers, mbl.is reported.

“I would say we have been fast asleep on guard duty regarding prevention for far too many years,” Sæland said.

She said prevention work had been much more active before Iceland’s economic collapse and had produced clear results. She added that she shared concerns about trends in substance use among young people, particularly the use of other intoxicants.

Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir, director of public health at the Directorate of Health, told mbl.is that information from people who work with young people, as well as from teenagers themselves, indicated a significant increase in alcohol consumption among teenagers. The information suggested that greater access and social pressure were major factors in the trend.

Sæland said teenagers’ access to alcohol had become overwhelming. Greater access led to greater consumption, she said, meaning that prevention efforts needed to be strengthened.

“We are seeing very young people lose their lives to consuming some poison without even realising that it is life-threatening,” Sæland said. She described substance use among children and young people as an extremely serious danger.

Asked whether a nationwide campaign was needed, similar to one carried out in the 1990s, Sæland said it was.

She said authorities needed to invest more in prevention, information and conversations with children to help prevent them from reaching that stage. She added that children were, for some reason, unprotected against the danger.

“We need to invest much more in children than we have done so far, investing in their wellbeing,” Sæland said.

She said children should be given better access to sports, social activities and other constructive opportunities that could support their mental health and prevent boredom.

Sæland also said she had high hopes that new regulations on the use of phones and smart devices during school hours in primary schools and after-school centres would have a positive effect. The regulations introduce standardised rules on phone-free periods in primary schools across Iceland for the first time.