More than 90% of parents with children aged between 5 to 17 years in 10 of the 11 countries surveyed agreed that it is important to talk with children about drinking alcohol, according to a survey conducted by research firm Ipsos for global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI).

However, the survey found about a 10% difference between the number of parents who agreed that this is vital and those who have actually initiated the discussion in nine of these 10 countries.

As per the survey, most parents felt that their child was too young for not discussing drinking alcohol.

Parents from Belgium, Brazil, the UK and Russia said that they trust their children to make the right decision.

ABI CEO Carlos Brito said that programmes like family talk can help parents start these conversations with their children at the right time, in the right way, and continue the dialogue with them through adolescence.

"Research has long shown that parents are the most important influence on a young person’s attitudes toward drinking; the findings announced today build on this important insight, indicating that parents feel they need support in having these important conversations," Brito added.

The survey polled 1,000 people each in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, the UK, Mexico, Russia, the US and Ukraine.

Apart from the survey results, ABI said it reached almost 145 million adults with programmes that help parents talk to their children about underage drinking since it revealed its global responsible drinking goals in 2011.

ABI, which is planning to invest at least $300m by the end of 2014, has invested more than $112m in responsible drinking advertising and programmes so far.