Most people want sales of alcohol to under-18s banned in convenience stores and supermarkets amid a rise in teenage drinking, a survey released yesterday showed. The Democratic Party survey found that nearly 40 per cent of 799 respondents believed there was a serious teenage drinking problem in Hong Kong. Only eight per cent considered the problem insignificant.
Among the 7.5 per cent, or 59 people, who said they drank alcohol every day, 19 were under 18 - the largest share out of the survey's four age groups. A total of 155 of those questioned in the poll were under 18.
The survey also found 41 per cent of respondents had seen groups of teenagers drinking outside convenience stores.
Democrat Fred Li Wah-ming said: 'We often get public complaints against young drunkards shouting and fooling around outside convenience stores in residential areas after midnight. The problem is starting to be alarming.'
More than half of the respondents supported a ban on people under 18 being able to buy alcohol in convenience stores and supermarkets. Forty per cent opposed such a move.
Convenience stores and supermarkets do not need a licence to sell alcohol, on the grounds that the drinks are not expected to be consumed on the premises. In contrast to pubs and bars, such shops are free to sell alcohol to people under 18.