Dramatic rise in underage drinking
Written by Bupa's medical team - 31 January 2002
Data published today (31 January) by the Office for National Statistics has revealed a rise in the amount of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers. Although there has only been a small rise in the actual number of children drinking, the volume consumed has risen alarmingly.
In comparison to figures released 10 years ago, the number of units consumed has doubled for both boys and girls. In 1990 the average consumption for 25 percent of boys in the week previous to the survey was 5.7 units and for girls 4.7 units. In 2000 this rose to 11.7 units for boys and 9.1 for girls.
The Social Trends statistics for the year 2000 also indicated that children start drinking at an increasingly young age. Almost 20 percent of 13-year-old boys and girls drink alcohol at least once a week, at 14 years this rises to 34 percent and 31 percent respectively, and at 15 around half reported drinking at least once a week.
Alcohol Concern, the national agency on alcohol misuse, attributed the rise in alcohol consumption to several factors. "The drinks trade has stepped up its marketing to younger audiences and, although we have no data to back it up, we feel it's no co-incidence that the rise in underage drinking coincides with the rise in alcopops and sweeter fruit-based drinks primarily aimed at younger people,' a spokesman said. He also believed that rising affluence was also a factor: "Children also have more money than ever before and invariably that gets spent on alcohol."
David Poley from The Portman Group, an industry funded sensible drinking campaign, agreed that some of the rise in children's alcohol consumption was due to a larger disposable income. But he also believed that the rise was due to an increased opportunity to obtain alcohol and from learnt behaviour: "Children are looking a lot older than they actually are making it easier to obtain alcohol, I also think the rise in adult binge drinking has contributed by encouraging children to drink more".
Mr Poley also sought put the problem into perspective: the vast majority of young people are not drinking or at least only in moderation. "It is a minority who are drinking to excess," he emphasised.
Organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Al Anon can also provide support for anyone who has a problems or people affected by someone else's drinking. The Portman Group publish a leaflet entitled 'Discussing Drinking with your Children' that is aimed at parents who feel their children may have a problem with alcohol. And Alcohol Concern publish a guide specifically aimed at teenagers on the issues around alcohol and drinking called 'Enough Bottle, Can You Handle Your Booze'.
Both the Portman Group and Alcohol Concern stressed the need for a national strategy to educate children in schools before they start drinking and strict law enforcement to prosecute premises that sell alcohol to under 18's.
Links:
