Alarming trends in youth drinking

The amount of alcohol drunk by young people continues to grow - in the case of younger teenagers by as much as 40 per cent over a four year period - and the most popular venue for consumption is the home. These findings are in Young People in 1997 , part of a series of surveys carried out annually by Exeter University's Schools Health Education Unit.

Over 37,000 pupils between 8 and 18 years old are involved in the research and their responses show general increases in consumption. Among children aged 15-16, for example, boys now drink on average ten drinks a week compared to seven in 1993, whilst girls have gone from five drinks to eight.

The largest proportion of children's drinking takes place in the home. Over 15 per cent of boys aged 11-12 (9.7 per cent among girls) did this as opposed to 4.4 per cent (1.8 per cent for girls) using a public place. In the case of Year 11 pupils , that is,15-16 year olds, almost 45 per cent of both sexes drank in their own home, substantially more than in any other place. The second choice of drinking venue was a friend's or relation's home (27.7 per cent boys, 31.1 per cent girls). Clearly the vast majority of these young people consume the bulk of their alcohol in private houses where it might be assumed their well-being was the responsibility of adults who were their parents or the parents of their friends. The same trend is shown among all the other year groups surveyed.

Given the significant number of children and teenagers drinking at home, the question of parental knowledge arises. Answering the question, "If you ever drink alcohol at home, do your parents know?", over 52 per cent of Year 5 pupils - children of 9-10 years of age - said that they did. No indication is given of frequency of consumption and in some cases this may be no more than one glass of wine on special occasions. For reasons which are unexplained, the figures vary in response to this question: just over 39 per cent of 14-15 year olds said they had drunk at home with their parents' knowledge, whilst 47.5 per cent of 13-14 year olds gave the same answer. Presumably a proportion of the parents involved are attempting to inculcate an attitude of "sensible drinking" in their children. There is evidence, such as that recently gathered by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in the United States, which indicates that children who begin drinking alcohol regularly by the age of 13 are more than four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who delay consumption until they are 21 or over.

Off-licences are the most popular source of alcoholic drink for Year 10 pupils (14-15) but by the next year the pub has taken over. Supermarkets have the lowest level of patronage, possibly as a reflection of the greater care being taken at the check-outs to prevent sales to under-age drinkers.

When questioned about quantities, just under 10 per cent of 15-16 year olds were drinking more than the maximum levels formerly recommended by the government of 21 units per week for adult men and 14 for women. Even taking the different cultural and sociological factors into consideration, the NIAAA research would suggest that these young people are in danger of developing problems. They are certainly vulnerable to the many dangers of binge drinking, such as alcohol poisoning, violence, serious accident, and unwanted sexual encounters.

Advertising effects

More than a third of young smokers said that advertising had played a large part in their decision to use cigarettes. The argument put forward by cigarette manufacturers - and by the drink industry - is that advertising is simply a matter of redistribution, of persuading those who already smoke or drink to change brands.

The survey found that 71 per cent of those who said they were occasional smokers were influenced by adverti-sing. Contrasting the claims of producers with the survey findings, researcher Dr Dave Regis, said, "The actual effect [of advertising], in the opinion of the young smokers, is different. Other surveys have suggested that young people are affected by tobacco advertising. Now this is the evidence of the youngsters themselves."

Complacency

Whether parents facilitate their children's drinking or not, they tend to show a disproportionate level of concern at illicit drugs as opposed to alcohol. Workers in the field believe that parents need educating in the dangers associated with youthful drinking as much as their offspring. "At least he's not on drugs," seems to be the most often expressed sentiment when it comes to teenage alcohol misuse.