More girls than boys being hospitalised for drinking in UK
By ANISaturday, October 23, 2010
LONDON - A UK survey has revealed that more girls than boys are being increasingly hospitalised for drinking.
The charity, Alcohol Concern, found that 13 girls were admitted from A and E to a hospital per day between 2004 and 2009 compared with ten boys a day.
In some cases children as young as ten were admitted because they were drunk.
“Underage drinkers consume approximately the equivalent of 6.9 million pints of beer or 1.7 million bottles of wine each week with an estimated 630,000 11- to 17-year-olds drinking twice or more per week,” The Telegraph quoted the report.
The report calls for earlier identification of young people engaged in ‘risky’ drinking such as young people attending A and E or getting into trouble with the police for alcohol, so that they can access information, advice and support.
“As well as tackling the ludicrously cheap price of alcohol in some settings, we want all under-18-year-olds who turn up at A and E to be advised and supported to address their drinking,” said Alcohol Concern Chief Executive, Don Shenker.
“We mustn’t forget that under-18s are still children, with developing bodies and low tolerance levels, so drinking to the point of needing hospital treatment is extremely dangerous. But it’s not just those young people who end up in hospital that we need to focus on - even drinking small amounts of alcohol is risky for children,” said Chris Sorek, chief executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware.
“Drinkaware has lots of tips for parents - use queues such as television shows, newspaper articles or anecdotal stories to broach the subject earlier rather than later,” he added. (ANI)
