In some parts of Britain, the level of alcohol abuse among young people was stunning -- with one in four children telling researchers that they drank an average of nine pints of beer or one and a half bottles of wine every week. That was an average, with many children claiming to drink even more.
It is possible that many who responded to the survey exaggerated the amounts of alcohol consumed.
Despite the large numbers who reported getting drunk on a regular basis , the study actually showed a decline in binge drinking from 55 to 52 percent in two years. Girls drank just as often as boys, but the boys tended to consume greater amounts. The most drinking tended to occur in rural areas.
"Regular consumption at these levels puts boys and girls at considerable risk that extends beyond the usual considerations around accidents and injury through violence," according to the report from NHS Information Center. "At this stage, the adolescent mind is still developing, and for an unlucky minority, heavy drinking at so early an age will have profound and long-lasting implications for their learning and problem solving skills."
Labels: teenage_drinking, alcohol_abuse, adolescence, great britain
Posted By: Aspen/CRC