Teenage Binge Drinkers in Western World

Binge Drinking

Alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug in Australia. Because of its popularity, people don't tend to think of it as a drug, or even realise that it can be harmful. But alcohol is the largest cause of drug-related deaths among Australian teenagers.

According to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 1998 alcohol was the cause of 814 deaths and 25,207 hospital admissions for people between the age of 15 and 34.

• What is binge drinking?

The term 'binge drinking' meant different things to different people, but some common definitions are:

Drinking so that you can deliberately get drunkOccasional and irregular bouts of heavy drinkingNormally being a responsible drinker, but often overindulging

    A survey of Australian secondary students in 2005 found that one in ten people between the age of 12 and 17 admitted to binge drinking, or drinking unsafe amounts of alcohol. For people between 16 and 17 the figure increased to one in five. That's six binge drinkers in every average school classroom. 

• Teenage binge drinking 'epidemic'

A police chief has said that it is time to take a "hard look" at the issue of teenage binge drinking which has reached "epidemic proportions".

Ken Jones, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, says data suggests that 50% of young drinkers are obtaining alcohol from their parents.  Speaking to the BBC, Mr Jones condemned the drinks industry for targeting young people. "We need to take a hard look at this and whether we should be really looking to make profits on the back of this sort of misery."

" This is a dangerously escalating public health crisis with often tragic consequences "

The Liberal Democrats say there has been a 37% increase in hospital admissions of children since 2001. 

• British girls 'biggest teenage binge drinkers in western world'

Half of 15-year-old girls have been drunk at least twice, nearly double the average proportion in other developed countries. 

The proportion of British girls who consume more than six drinks per session has risen by more than 50% in a decade, a report shows. British girls are the biggest teenage binge drinkers in the western world, according to a report.

      Half of 15-year-olds have been drunk at least twice – almost double the 29% average of other developed countries, while 44% of 15-year-old British boys admitted to being intoxicated on two or more occasions. Girls also drink more alcohol in the UK than their male counterparts,  with fresh evidence that their behaviour is contributing towards high rates of teenage alcohol-related accidents and unprotected sex. Yet British teenagers were more likely than those in all other European countries to claim that they expected "positive consequences" from drinking, such as "feeling relaxed" and "forgetting my problems".

      The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures were published in Through the Looking Glass, a report commissioned by the thinktank Demos. They found that between 1998 and 2008 the proportion of girls who binge-drank – defined as consuming more than six drinks a session – increased from 17% to 27%.

     Money fears also featured highly, with more than three-quarters (76%) saying they were worried about not having enough money, compared with 38% who were anxious about finding a partner and 57% who were worried about getting into university.

     Having more cash to spend was ranked as the top answer (27%), when girls were asked what would make them happiest, while in second place was a good or better relationship with their boyfriend, girlfriend or partner (26%). The poll also found teenage girls thought success in education (92%), having good friends (72%) and being kind (70%) would enable them to excel in life.

source: guardian.co.uk ,news.bbc.co.uk , guardian.co.uk , youthcentral.vic.gov.au