Teenagers are driming less than they used to. Photograph posed by models. Photograph: 67photo /Alamy
The number of admissions to accident and emergency departments for children and teenagers who had been drinking alcohol has plummeted, while the level of visits has risen among the adult population, new figures show.
A sharp fall has been recorded in the number of children aged under 11 being admitted to A&E due to alcohol – from 150 in 2009-10 to 102 in 2012-13. Across all age groups under the age of 18, admissions have fallen from 10,819 to 7,982 in those four years.
The figures stand in sharp contrast to a rise of around 10% in admissions among people of all ages where injuries or diagnoses were wholly or partially attributable to being intoxicated. In 2009-10, 545,830 people were admitted to A&E due to alcohol, compared with 609,894 in 2012-13. The figur es, which were uncovered by the shadow public health minister, Luciana Berger, through a parliamentary question, chime with a government survey published last week which suggests a growing sense of responsibility among the younger generation for their health.
Illicit drinking among younger secondary school pupils is less than half what it was a decade ago, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The results show that just 39% of pupils questioned in 2013 had ever had an alcoholic drink, compared with 64% in 1990. In 2013 9% of pupils had drunk alcohol in the last week, compared with 25% in 2003.
A report from the Portman group, a drinks trade organisation which promotes responsible drinking and liaises with ministers on government policy, suggests a host of reasons for the possible change in culture.
A Portman/YouGov poll of more than 1,000 parents shows that 96% of parents are un aware of this sustained decline in drinking among children. However, when informed of the trend and asked what they thought were the reasons for it, more than half (57%) of parents said pubs and shops had become stricter about under-age drinking.
Other reasons cited by parents included the rise of social media and new technologies providing other things for young people to do (25%); growth of ethnic and religious groups who are forbidden from drinking alcohol (20%); and increased use of alcohol labels and public health messaging, information and education (15%). One in 10 (12%) said young people were rebelling against their parents' generation, which had a more liberal approach to alcohol.
According to government statistics, 75% of 11-to-15-year-olds get alcohol from family or friends. Nearly one in five (19%) obtains alcohol from strangers and only 5% cite pubs or shops.
The Portman Group's chief executive, Henry Ashworth, said: "We now need to improve our underst anding of why this positive culture change is taking place, and what is fuelling the misunderstanding of parents. We're particularly pleased to see shops and pubs are recognised by parents as not being sources of alcohol for young people."
Berger, who supports more government action to curb the abuse of alcohol, said she believed the government's statistics on admissions provided evidence that the last Labour government's policies were having an impact. "These welcome figures are a testament to the last Labour government's work on young people and alcohol abuse," she said.
"Sadly, a decade of progress is now at risk of being thrown away. Under David Cameron, public health policy is in utter disarray as he champions the interests of big tobacco and alcohol firms."
In 2008, Labour launched a concerted effort to reduce drinking among the young including the proper enforcement of the law against serving under age drinkers. They also funded education around alcohol in p rimary schools before "patterns of regular drinking" could become established.
The current government sought to build on the progress through a minimum price per unit of alcohol. However the policy was dropped and the government instead said it would use existing licensing laws to prevent supermarkets offering deep discounts.
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