Teens who binge drink are more likely to develop drug habits, become homeless, and engage in criminal behavior as adults, according to a long-term British study.

Dr. Russell Viner of University College London and Professor Brent Taylor of the Institute of Child Health studied more than 11,000 Britons born in 1970 through the year 2000. They found that by age 16, about 20 percent were binge drinkers and 25 per cent were regular drinkers. By age thirty, the binge-drinking group was 40 percent more likely to have a drug habit, and 60 percent more likely to be homeless.

Dr. Viner noted that binge drinking "brings a distinct set of problems of its own."

This study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

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Labels: binge_drinking, criminal_activity, drug_use