How teenagers access alcohol affects drinking consumption and levels of harm, a BMC journal report has found. The study found that alcohol-related harm was lower amongst teenagers whose alcohol had been provided by parents.
However the report highlights that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for 15-16 year olds and so does not advocate parents giving children alcohol (as suggested in this BBC story). Instead it recognises that parents who supervise frequency and consumption (e.g preventing binge drinking) may limit harms young people experience. However it also warns that whilst the promotion of abstinence by parents may be effective in some cases, it could also push children to drink alcohol outside of family environments, thereby increasing the risk of higher consumption and alcohol-related harm.
'Teenage drinking, alcohol availability and pricing: a cross-sectional study of risk and protective factors for alcohol-related harms in school children' surveyed just under ten thousand teenagers in the North West of England, all aged between 15-16. It assessed a number of key areas for alcohol-related harm experienced with overall findings reporting:
- 28.8% experienced violence
- 12.5% regretted alcohol-related sexual encounters
- 45.3% reported forgetting things
- 35.8% drinking in public places
The report recommends within its conclusion:
"Strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms in children should ensure bingeing is avoided entirely, address the excessively low cost of many alcohol products, and tackle the ease with which it can be accessed, especially outside of supervised environments."
The CMO's guidance on alcohol use for children and young people was recently supported following consultation.
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