Details surrounding the case remain scarce for now. Investigations are underway to reconstruct what happened, and in particular to determine whether the alcohol consumption was voluntary or accidental.
The incident has nonetheless brought renewed attention to the issue of alcohol consumption among very young people. In San Marino, the minimum legal age for the sale of alcoholic beverages was raised to 18 about a year ago, while an earlier survey by the Health Authority had already painted a worrying picture among adolescents.
Among the phenomena under close observation is above all so-called binge drinking — the consumption of large quantities of alcohol within a very short span of time. According to data from that survey, in 2022 more than one in ten thirteen-year-olds had experienced it at least once, while among seventeen-year-olds the figure climbed to nearly 60%.
It is a phenomenon that closely affects the Rimini area as well. Last March, a minor was given emergency assistance in Rimini after collapsing in the street, with clinical tests revealing a blood alcohol level of more than three grams per litre. A subsequent survey conducted in schools across the province also found that more than one student in three admitted to having drunk five or more drinks within just a few hours on at least one occasion.
