'Alcohol and childhood don't mix' - DrinkWise call for more action to protect children

Drink Wise North West have launched a campaign aiming to highlight the impact of alcohol on children and actions that should be taken. As part of the campaign DrinkWise have released a report and film clips warning that the normalisation of alcohol is 'teaching our children to drink'. 

Read the report 'Alcohol and childhood don't mix' [pdf] here. Its key findings state:

• 15 children are ending up in hospital every day because of alcohol – hundreds as young as 11
• 2.1 million children in England are affected by other people’s drinking
• 250,000 children suffer mental distress due to others’ drinking
• 170,000 children are neglected because of others’ drinking 
• 10-15 year olds view more alcohol ads on TV than adults over the age of 25
• Alcohol is 61% more affordable today than in 1980 – children drink more when alcohol is cheaper
• Children who are exposed to a lot of alcohol advertising, are more likely to drink heavily and to start drinking at an earlier age
• By the age of 15, 44% of girls and 39% of boys have already been drunk at least twice
• Children in the UK drink more and start drinking earlier than most other European countries

The issue of alcohol and young people remains a high profile policy area despite an overall downward trend in children and young people's drinking since 2003 - though the UK remains above the European average for prevalence and likelihood of binge drinking.

Alcohol Concern and others like Balance North East have been campaigning for tougher regulation on alcohol advertising. Last year Drinkaware warned against parents being drunk in front of their children and other issues include access to alcohol over the internet and questions over the impact of school based alcohol education.

See here for a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report Young People, Alcohol and Influences. Further alcohol-related reports and guidance related to children and young people can be found here on the Alcohol Learning Centre, including the CMO guidance. See here a post on IBA for young people and all Young People tagged Alcohol Policy UK posts.