Christian families face a wave of new alcohol brands but can prepare young people to thrive

Despite regulations, digital marketing makes alcohol more accessible than ever. Mary Deller from Hope UK says that Christian parents play a vital role in educating and equipping young people for wise choices

The end of the school year is here and many young people will be looking forward to parties, music festivals and holidays.

The thought of those care-free, long summer days might however be tinged by slight anxiety on the part of parents and carers, who worry about their children keeping safe.

In recent weeks there have been many news headlines about excessive alcohol consumption – binge drinking – by under-18s. Stories from all over the UK, raise alarm bells about easy access to alcohol brands that seem to have a huge appeal to young people – despite the insistence by the drinks industry that they do not market their products to appeal to this age group.

Readers may recall the colourful, flavoured, sweet and fizzy premixed ‘alcopops’ that were popular in the 90s – below 5% ABV: ‘basically fruit juice’ according to some. Today’s iteration of the fun, cheap and readily accessible alcoholic drink – often in a single click – can be seen in brands like ……