Teen boozing 'stores up problems'

[resopalrabotnick]

Teen binge-drinkers are more likely to use drugs, become alcoholics and have criminal conviction, research shows.

A study of 11,000 children found by the time they reached 30 they were 60% more likely to be an alcoholic and nearly twice as likely to have a conviction.

The Institute of Child Health study comes as latest figures show the amount children are drinking is rising.

Experts called the findings worrying as the government said it was looking to cut the harm caused by youth drinking.

The researchers looked at the drinking habits of 16-year-olds in 1986 and then compared that to what had happened to them by the time they were 30.

This study makes worrying reading

Frank Soodeen, of Alcohol Concern 

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found they had developed a host of problems compared to those who were not binge drinkers.

As well as being more likely to be alcoholics and have criminal records, they were 40% more likely to use illegal drugs, 40% more likely to suffer mental health problems and 60% more likely to be homeless.

They were also 40% more likely to have suffered accidents, almost four times as likely to have been excluded from school and 30% more likely to have gained no qualifications.

Just under a fifth of the group was classed as binge drinkers - those who had "two or more episodes of consuming four or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks".

'Social exclusion'

Lead researcher Dr Russell Viner said: "Adolescent binge-drinking is a risk behaviour associated with significant later adversity and social exclusion."

And he added policies needed to focus on a range of areas, not just restricting the availability of alcohol to teenagers.

It comes as figures show that the number of school-age drinkers has fallen slightly, although those who do drink, drink more.

NHS Information Centre statistics show boys aged 11 to 13 who had drunk in the previous week drank an average of 12 units of alcohol in 2006 compared to eight in 2000, while the intake of girls increased from just under five units to eight.

Alcohol education now has a higher profile in schools across the country and is a major part of the national curriculum

Department of Health spokesman 

Frank Soodeen, from Alcohol Concern, said: "There is a significant minority of young people who are drinking from ever younger ages, and with greater quantities than before.

"This study makes worrying reading.

"It confirms the view that early alcohol misuse can effectively haunt a young person well into adulthood, with all the implications to health and wellbeing that that can imply."

A Department of Health spokesman said the government was determined to reduced the harm caused by young people drinking.

"We are preventing the sale of alcohol to children by cracking down on irresponsible retailers and working with the industry to reduce underage sales of alcohol, while continuing to educate youngsters about the harm of alcohol abuse.

"Alcohol education now has a higher profile in schools across the country and is a major part of the national curriculum."

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6980133.stm

Published: 2007/09/05 23:04:47 GMT

[Roco]

teen drinking is a big problem in the UK , legal age is 18 years,

most sane adults avoid town centres on Friday/Saturday evenings ,

we are looking to raise that to 21 years , but that IMHO is not the cure ,

Teenagers in the UK have a limited future due to the High cost of living in the UK ,

so they are saying F**k society , lets have some fun instead , and if I was a teenager today I would feel the same way , but this bodes bad news for the future IMHO ,

[resopalrabotnick]

and there you have it, straight from the horses mouth.

[Roco]

and there you have it, straight from the horses mouth.

who is counting teeth then ? 

Yeah, I can see where the kids today are comming from ,

for me in the distant past I had sport ( cycle sport and more) and a rosy future,and I will move heaven and Earth  to enable my Grandchildren to share in that privaliged lifestyle , a life style I then thought was normal for all at the time ,

I just guess the "times are a changing "

[resopalrabotnick]

what the kids need is more chances at a good education.

those that are troubled need someone to take them by the hand on a personal level to help educate them. no matter how bad things are economically, someone with a diverse education in the fields that really interest him can always find a way to make it.

[Roco]

what the kids need is more chances at a good education.

those that are troubled need someone to take them by the hand on a personal level to help educate them. no matter how bad things are economically, someone with a diverse education in the fields that really interest him can always find a way to make it.

lol, Reso.... Thats where I have been working for some years ,  BTW  folks, stop and think , your tomorrow is going to  funded by todays kids , they are your future , so don't just walk on by ,

[WildBlueGyrl]

A couple things I want to point out that weren't mentioned in the study. Out of those 11,000 children that were watched until they were age 30, how many of them had alcoholic parents? Or alcoholic grandparents? There have been studies about how people with some sort of substance abuse are more likely to abuse substances in their lives. Case in point, the Native Americans. That's the reason why so many of them drink. Through generations of alcohol abuse, they have essentially built up a type of tolerance to alcohol that most people in today's society wouldn't dream of trying to achieve.

As far as from the horses mouth, though, let me point out that in Scotland *up until just recently*, you were able to go to the pub, sit at the bar and order whatever drink you wanted, as long as you were tall enough to see over the top of the bar. If anyone should be strung up by their heels, covered in honey and hung over a fire-ants' hill, it's those parents who allowed their babies to enjoy the taste of alcohol at such an early age.

However, on the flip side of the coin, I do know that in several states in Southern America - not South America, folks. I'm talking about Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, etc - mothers are still using the old folk-remedy of rubbing a thumb wrapped in a cloth and dipped into home-grown wiskey *read "moonshine"* in order to help an infant who is having teething problems. And take it from a mother who had it done to her as a child and who did it to her own child... both of us hate the taste of alcohol. I hate it simply because I enjoy being in control of my own person, at all times of the day..... plus, I like my dignity. My daughter hates it because she was brought up on stories from friends of mine that were killed after going on a drinking binge and then not waking up the next morning because of alcohol poisoning. We know the horrors and dangers that certain substances can cause and we know to take them in VERY limited quantity.

One more little tidbit of food for thought, though. How many of those 11,000 kids were brought up in less than privileged families? How many of them saw their own parents turn to the drink in order to deal with life's day-to-day horrors and then turned around and made it into "monkey-see-monkey-do"?

[resopalrabotnick]

i think you got the native american part backasswards. it's no the tolerance for alcohol they have, it is a lack of tolerance that gets them very sloshed off just a little booze. it's a genetic thing. afaik some asians have similar problems. they just can't hold their liquor, and it doesn't break down as fast as normal. the lack of info about the background of the people studied is true.

[WildBlueGyrl]

... Ok, I'll grant you the Native Americans one. I went back and re-read it... typo, my mistake. That'll show me why to ***NOT*** drink massive amounts of Jolt on only 3 hours of sleep. Just one question.... What does "afaik" stand for?????

[resopalrabotnick]

iirc "afaik" stands for: "as far as i know".

[tommie gorman]

Reso's shortcuts. 

Always a good read, thanks Reso. And yes many things need addressed with todays youth. The biggest help we can giveis paying attention to them. If they say get out of my face, then get in it by all means. I do, because I care about them. Then they end up laughing anyway. 

So hell yes, get involved no matter what.  :knuppel2:

Screw societies pamper them crap. 

[WildBlueGyrl]

I agree. Society has taught our youth that if we attempt to punish them, they can merely cry "child abuse" and get away with murder. Hell, I grew up just fine, with a healthy dose of fear of "Momma" put into me by my mother taking a switch to my hind-end on numerous occasions. She never beat me, but she did tan my hide. Then that stuipd "oooh, you can't punish your child with anything but a swat to the bottom and, by the way, if the mark lasts for more than 15 minutes, it's child abuse" crap came up and I got away with almost everything........ until my mom found out just how much my rear-end could take without leaving marks...

On a side note, if your mother gets pissed off at you to the point she grabs two fresh oranges and your father's tube-sock.... run. Run like hell, don't stop, don't look back.

[tommie gorman]

I agree. Society has taught our youth that if we attempt to punish them, they can merely cry "child abuse" and get away with murder. Hell, I grew up just fine, with a healthy dose of fear of "Momma" put into me by my mother taking a switch to my hind-end on numerous occasions. She never beat me, but she did tan my hide. Then that stuipd "oooh, you can't punish your child with anything but a swat to the bottom and, by the way, if the mark lasts for more than 15 minutes, it's child abuse" crap came up and I got away with almost everything........ until my mom found out just how much my rear-end could take without leaving marks...

On a side note, if your mother gets pissed off at you to the point she grabs two fresh oranges and your father's tube-sock.... run. Run like hell, don't stop, don't look back.

LMAO on the oranges. Never heard thatone yet. 

I actually ignore the rule of society. I spank whenever necessary accordng to me. I don't really care what is written. They do not run my kids or household. Until then it is mine. After that they can pay to raise them. 

[Roco]

As far as from the horses mouth, though, let me point out that in Scotland *up until just recently*, you were able to go to the pub, sit at the bar and order whatever drink you wanted, as long as you were tall enough to see over the top of the bar. If anyone should be strung up by their heels, covered in honey and hung over a fire-ants' hill, it's those parents who allowed their babies to enjoy the taste of alcohol at such an early age.

I didn't know that , but in most of Europe, young children drink a glass of wine with a meal from a very early age , and they have far less alcohol abuse than we do in England ,

The use or misuse of Alcohol is a complex subject , and not one that the UK government is interested in solving , it is a form of control over the working classes and the military  , ( Rum rations ) also it has the bonus for the Government  of being highly taxed in the UK,

[WildBlueGyrl]

(to tommie) Yeah, oranges in a sweat sock. Regardless of how hard you hit, it never leaves a single mark. But it hurts like hell...

(to Roco) I've got a friend who moved from a small town in Scotland to New York City and, when he was a child, his parents would offer him alcohol at pretty much any event. But after the move, he and his parents went out to dinner and he ordered a glass of wine. Needless to say, he got quite upset when he was told that he couldn't get any alcohol *his parents were pissed, too, because they wouldn't serve any to them for fear they would give it to the "underage" one*. The funny part is that he's got a better alcohol tolerance and knows how to pace himself better than most people I know who have lived in this country since birth.

[tommie gorman]

I didn't know that , but in most of Europe, young children drink a glass of wine with a meal from a very early age , and they have far less alcohol abuse than we do in England ,

The use or misuse of Alcohol is a complex subject , and not one that the UK government is interested in solving , it is a form of control over the working classes and the military  , ( Rum rations ) also it has the bonus for the Government  of being highly taxed in the UK,

All true and very valid points. Actuallly an interestng point of view Roco. And it makes perfect since.

So WildBlueGyrl. is that a new way to make orange juice? (kidding) 

[Roco]

All true and very valid points. Actuallly an interestng point of view Roco. And it makes perfect since.

So WildBlueGyrl. is that a new way to make orange juice? (kidding) 

thanks Bro , I am a bit of a control freak , like, who is controlling who , and why , ?

my main concern with todays teenagers is the "have not "syndrome , I "Have not "got any money coz I don't work " and I "have not " got a cell phone, car ,PS 3,  etc. so after a few beers I will steal  and get one for free , 

WildBlueGyrl.,say HI , for me  to your Scottish friend , how old was he when he made the jump to the States ?

English - -Scottish ,.............. only kidding ,

[WildBlueGyrl]

Well, Roco, you just said hi yourself *he's a coworker and saw the post*. And he said hi back, and that he was 14 when he went across the big blue pond.

And, no, tommie... not the new way of making OJ, though it is a bit of food for thought.....