Fewer teenagers drinking alcohol

28 July 2011 Last updated at 08:49 GMT Fewer teenagers say they have tried alcohol There have been falls in the numbers of teenagers drinking, smoking and taking drugs in England, a survey suggests.

Between 2009 and 2010 the percentage of 11-15 year olds who had tried alcohol fell from 51% to 45%.

And 27% of pupils said they had smoked at least once, while 18% had tried drugs.

The NHS Information Centre figures also suggested "a shrinking number think that drinking and drunkenness is acceptable".

The report surveyed 7,296 pupils from 246 schools.

The proportion of those drinking alcohol in the week before the study fell from a peak of 26% in 2001 to 13% in 2010.

When they did drink, six in 10 pupils said they consumed more than four units.

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To see that fewer children are tolerant of their peers drinking is an early sign of a change in the nation's drinking culture”

End Quote Chris Sorek Drinkaware Smoking One in 20 pupils said they were a regular smoker and girls were more likely to smoke than boys.

Smokers were also more likely to have drunk alcohol or to have taken drugs.

In 2001, 29% of those surveyed said they had used other drugs. That figure has fallen to 18%.

The most commonly used drug was cannabis, taken by 8.2% of pupils.

The survey also suggested a shift in attitudes.

Between 2003 and 2010, the percentage of pupils saying it was "okay" for someone their own age to drink once a week went from 46% to 32%.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: "Our figures point to an increasingly intolerant attitude among young people in today's society when it comes to the use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.

"As well as a reduction in the percentage who say they partake in these behaviours; a shrinking number think that drinking and drunkenness is acceptable among their peers."

The chief executive of Drinkaware, Chris Sorek, said: "These statistics are not just encouraging because they show a drop in the number of children who have tried alcohol, but also because they show a positive shift in attitudes.

"To see that fewer children are tolerant of their peers drinking is an early sign of a change in the nation's drinking culture."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "There is no room for complacency. Dangerous drug use, alcohol misuse and smoking are still major problems that need to be tackled and we will continue to do so."

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Binge drinking 'harms' teen girls

16 July 2011 Last updated at 00:12 GMT Adolescent girls could be risking damage to their brains if they binge drink. Teenagers - especially girls - who binge drink could be damaging the part of their brain which controls memory and spatial awareness, say Californian researchers.

Young women's brains are particularly vulnerable to harm from alcohol because they develop earlier than men's.

Tests on 95 adolescents aged 16 to 19 were carried out by researchers at several US universities.

The study is published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Researchers recruited 27 binge-drinking males and 13 females and gave them neurophsychological tests and "spatial working memory" tests to complete.

Binge-drinking young women were defined as those drinking more than three pints of beer or more than four glasses of wine at one sitting. Binge-drinking men drank four pints of beer or a bottle of wine.

The same tests were then carried out on 31 males and 24 females who did not have episodes of drinking heavily and the results compared.

Using MRI scans, the study team found that female teenage heavy drinkers had less brain activation in several brain regions than female non-drinking teens when doing the same spatial task.

They suggested that this could cause problems when driving, playing sports involving complex moves, using a map or remembering how to get somewhere.

Susan Tapert, professor of psychiatry at the University of California and lead study author, said these differences in brain activity negatively affected other functions, like concentration and "working memory".

The study describes "working memory" as using and working with information that is in your mind, like adding up numbers. It is also critical to logical thinking and reasoning.

But the young men studied were not affected to the same extent, Dr Tapert said.

"Male binge drinkers showed some, but less, abnormality as compared to male non-drinkers. This suggests that female teens may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of heavy alcohol use."

Fluctuations

Previous research has shown that among adult alcoholics, women are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of alcohol on the brain than men.

Edith Sullivan, a professor in psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University, said that the brains of adolescent boys and girls appear to be affected differently by alcohol.

"Females' brains develop one to two years earlier than males, so alcohol use during a different developmental stage - despite the same age - could account for the gender differences.

"Hormonal levels and alcohol-induced fluctuations in hormones could also account for the gender differences. Finally, the same amount of alcohol could more negatively affect females since females tend to have slower rates of metabolism, higher body fat ratios, and lower body weight."

Don Shenker, from Alcohol Concern, said the research demonstrates why reducing binge drinking among young people must be an urgent priority.

"Ministers should go much further to clamp down on off-licence promotions which are driving under-age drinking and reviewing the extent of alcohol marketing which young people are exposed to and which makes drinking appear attractive.

"We have to also look at intervening as early as possible so that when teenagers go to A&E as a result of drinking or in trouble with the police or at school, they are provided with the right advice and support to reduce their risky drinking and make healthier choices."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said "We are already taking action to tackle problem drinking, including plans to stop supermarkets selling below cost alcohol and working to introduce a tougher licensing regime.

"Our recent white paper set out our plan to ring-fence public health spending and give power to local communities to improve the health of local people and this includes improving alcohol treatment services through a greater focus on outcomes and payment by results.

"We will also be publishing a new alcohol strategy later this year to follow on from the public health white paper."

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Elderly drinking 'epidemic' row

25 May 2011 Last updated at 06:00 GMT The charity says bereavement and retirement can lead to heavy drinking among elder people An alcohol charity claims there a "silent epidemic" of heavy drinking among elderly people in Wales.

But Alcohol Concern Cymru's (AAC) report quotes statistics that have been challenged by drinks industry body The Portman Group.

The group argued overall trends showed "a positive and continuing decline in the rates of excessive drinking".

Andrew Misell of AAC said there was anecdotal evidence from elderly support workers to back their claim.

AAC's briefing paper, Hidden harm? Alcohol and older people in Wales claims that although drinking tends to decline with age, this pattern may conceal serious alcohol-related problems among some older people.

Mr Misell, the charity's manager in Wales, said: "With the number of people over retirement age increasing, some researchers have even talked about a silent epidemic of older people's alcohol issues."

The paper compares figures from Welsh Government-commissioned Health Surveys of 2003/4 and 2009 as "evidence that the proportion of older people drinking more than the recommended amount is rising".

AAC said the number of over 65s who said they had drunk more than the recommended maximum in the previous week rose from 22% (men) and 7% (women) in 2003/4 to 34% (men) and 17% (women) in 2009.

However, BBC Wales understands that as a result of changes in methodology adopted by the compilers of the Welsh Health Survey in 2006 the two sets of statistics are not comparable.

Continue reading the main story Age 16 and over: 52% of men and 38% of women said they had drunk more than the recommended maximum amount of alcohol in the previous weekAge 35-44: 61% of men and 49% of womenAge 65 and over: Men 34% Women 17%

Source: The 2009 Welsh Health Survey

Factors that changed included increases in size of wine glass, the increased alcoholic strength of wine and better estimates of the alcoholic strengths of beers, lagers and ciders.

When challenged on the paper's use of statistics Mr Misell said: "Those statistics were taken as an illustration. It's certainly the case that more work needs to be done in terms of finding out what exactly is the pattern of drinking among older people.

"The point of the paper is that it's a hidden problem. If you talk to people working with older people they will say there's quite a lot of anecdotal evidence to support the fact that alcohol is a problem."

Mr Misell said many who might benefit from support might not look like stereotypical drinkers. The fact that many older people drank at home contributed to the problem being hidden.

However, David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: "Just as we encourage people to drink responsibly, we would urge Alcohol Concern Cymru to use alcohol statistics responsibly.

"Overall trends shows a positive and continuing decline in the rates of excessive drinking. Trying to get people to adopt safer behaviour does not justify misrepresenting statistics in this way."

Alcohol Concern Cymru says a focus on the more visible issue of younger people drinking in city centres conceals the problem

The AAC's report said a number of factors linked to age, like bereavement or changes to lifestyle after retirement, could lead to heavier drinking.

It also claimed that many younger adults are now adopting patterns of heavy drinking that they may well carry on into later life.

Loneliness

The report said healthcare professionals did not always recognise when older people's health problems were alcohol-related, or might not know how to raise the issue, leaving the problems untreated.

And the charity called for research into whether current unit guidance and screening methods for alcohol misuse was relevant to older people.

The briefing paper was supported by Rhian Pearce of Age Cymru who said: "About a third of older people with drinking problems develop them in later life and they may struggle to access help for this issue."

Ms Pearce called for health professionals to be trained to identify drinking problems in older people.

Wynford Ellis Owen of the Wales Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs also rejected claims that the problem of alcohol abuse among older people was being overstated.

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