Third of Scot teenagers binge drink

The research published in the scientific journal Pediatrics found that over a third of a total of 2,937 young people questioned in Scotland have engaged in at least one binge-drinking session by their early teenage years.

It surveyed drinking habits of 16,551 students between the ages of 10 to 19 from 114 state-funded public schools in six European countries including Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Scotland.

The study, which defined binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion, also found that youngsters in Scotland came out second in terms of alcohol consumption, topped by children in the Netherlands.

Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said, “Young people have 24/7 influences on them that make drinking, even heavy drinking, the norm, and that’s the thing that we have to reverse. We need to change the culture.”

Meanwhile, a Scottish government spokesman said it is currently attempting to tackle underage drinking by driving the cost of alcohol above “pocket-money prices” adding, “We are taking decisive action to tackle the harm caused by alcohol and stop it scarring another generation of Scots.”

SSM/MF

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