[Urgent need for prevention of alcohol drinking among Arab youth]

A study was conducted in the winter of 1996 among 2,220 Arab adolescents in northern Israel. This fourth study among Arab youth dealt with frequency of drinking and amounts of alcohol drunk during a drinking bout. Among Christian, Druze and Moslem males there were 81.72, 49.61% and 31.93%, respectively, who drank. The figures for females were 36.75%, 11.25% and 12.78%. About 4 % of Moslem males drank 5 drinks or more consecutively, daily or every 2-3 days. The need for preventive efforts in the Arab sector is stressed.