- Number of 11-15 year olds who have tried alcohol has fallen by 34 per cent
- Research shows 75% of 11-15 year olds get alcohol from family or friends
- 19% obtain alcohol from strangers and only 5 per cent from pubs or shops
- Drinking among secondary school pupils half what it was a decade ago
The number of admissions to accident and emergency departments for children and teenagers who have been drinking alcohol has fallen - but the level of visits for adults has risen according to new figures.
More than nine out of 10 parents in England are unaware of the decline in alcohol consumption among 11-15 year-olds in the past 10 years, according to research published by the Portman Group which represents the alcohol industry.
The results of the polling follows figures released today by the Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), which show that the proportion of 11-15 year olds having ever tried alcohol has fallen by 34 per cent since 2004.
Meanwhile, the number who think it is 'okay' to drink alcohol once a week has dr opped by 33 per cent.
The number of admissions to A&E departments for children who have been drinking alcohol has fallen
In the Portman/YouGov poll of more than 1,000 parents, 96 per cent of them were unaware of this
sustained decline.
However, when informed of the trend and asked what they thought were the reasons for it, more than half (57 per cent) said pubs and shops had become stricter against underage drinking.
Other reasons cited by parents included the rise of social media and new technologies providing other things for young people to do (25 per cent and increasing diversity in the UK among ethnic groups who are forbidden from drinking alcohol (20 per cent).
Some 15 per cent blamed health warnings on alcohol labels while 12 per cent think young people are rebelling against their parents' generation, which had a more liberal approach to drinking alcohol.
According to government statistics, 75 per cent of 11-15 year olds get alcohol from family or friends.
According to government statistics, 75 per cent of 11-15 year olds get alcohol from family or friends
Nineteen per cent obtain alcohol from strangers and only 5 per cent cite pubs or shops.
Portman Group chief executive Henry Ashworth said: 'Our research, held against the sustained downward trend in these government figures, highlights the huge gap between the perception of parents and the reality of a significant cultural shift in underage drinking.
'We now need to improve our understanding 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, showing the success of industry schemes such as Challenge 25 and Challenge 21 in preventing drinks sales to minors. '
However, despite drop in youngsters being treated at A&E there has been a rise of around 10 per cent in admissions among people of all ages where alcohol was involved.
In 2009-10, 545,830 people were admitted to A&E due to alcohol, compared with 609,894 in 2012-13.
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 per cent of pupils questioned in 2013 had ever had an alcoholic drink, compared with 64 per cent in 1990.
In 2013, nine per cent of pupils had drunk alcohol in the last week, compared with 25 per cent in 2003.
No comments:
Post a Comment