Rebecca Evans AM, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, has spoken in the Senedd of her concerns about the deadly Neknominate craze.
Neknominate is an internet drinking game which began in earlier this year and continues to spread across social media. The game involves completing a drinking challenge then nominating another person to complete a drinking dare and make a further nomination, and so the cycle continues. Videos of the dares are then posted on the internet.
Mrs Evans said:
“Drinking games are no new thing. They have always been hazardous, but NekNominate is leading to increasingly extreme and elaborate drinking challenges.
“The game relies on peer-pressure and one-upmanship – a lethal combination which has already taken the lives of five young people.”
Speaking during the weekly Assembly Business Statement in the Senedd, Mrs Evans called for a statement from the Minister for Heath and Social Services detailing how the Welsh Government was “preventing underage drinking, and promoting responsible drinking amongst adults.”
Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister responsible for the Assembly’s Business, said:
“The Minster for Health and Social Services does a great deal to encourage people to drink sensibly. Guidance is given to members of the public in relation to that. The Minister’s officials work with Alcohol Concern Cymru all year round to promote healthy drinking messages and tackle underage drinking in Wales.
“This is a very rapidly moving situation. I am sure that the Minister would consider bringing a statement forward in future.”
