Binge drinking also figures in these surveys, particularly among 15 to 16 year olds. Many of us come from an era when we took the pioneer pledge in secondary school until we reached the age of 18 years. Although some did not take it, binge drinking at 15 or 16 years must be recognised as a new phenomenon. We have a responsibility to protect the young people concerned from each other and themselves. We cannot allow a situation to develop where people, due to a lack of proper supervision and enforcement of the laws of the land, are allowed to ruin the rest of their lives, or have the lives of others ruined. We must reduce alcohol consumption and control binge drinking.