Northampton Journal
Partying Until Drunk and Disorderly in BritainBy STEVEN ERLANGER and STEPHEN CASTLE
British officials are considering solutions as large numbers of
British youths go out on the weekends to get thoroughly, blindingly and
often violently drunk.
2007.9
《衛報》報道， 政府最新統計數據表明，在過去5年中，年齡在10-13歲的青少年平均每周飲酒量增長了一倍，相當於每人每周要喝1瓶半白葡萄酒和5品脫啤酒。
報道說，專家認為，廉價酒是導致青少年酗酒問題日益嚴重的主要原因。此外，越來越多的女孩酗酒以及與酗酒有關的青少年反社會行為都已成為亟待解決的問題。
與老年人相比，酒精並不是危害青少年生命的直接原因，酒後亂性引起的暴力事件才是威脅青少年生命安全的最大隱患。
The children drinking five pints a week
Cheap alcohol blamed as study finds pre-teen bingers have doubled intake
Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent
Saturday September 1, 2007
The Guardian
A persistent hardcore of pre-teen binge drinkers - almost one in 10 of all 11- to 13-year-olds - are consuming more alcohol than ever before, according to new government figures.
They have doubled their weekly intake over five years - to more than 10 units a week, the equivalent of a bottle and a half of wine or five pints of beer, according to an NHS report which surveyed more than 8,000 secondary school pupils.
Health campaigners believe alcohol is "ridiculously cheap" and too easy for children to buy and warn that girls in particular are drinking to dangerous levels.
Although the report also found an increase in the number of children who had not consumed any alcohol, it will fuel concerns about drink-related antisocial behaviour. Last month Cheshire's chief constable, Peter Fahy, demanded the legal drinking age be raised from 18 to 21, after three boys were charged with murder.
The Home Office and the Department of Health are urgently reviewing how discounting and advertising drive the consumption of alcohol. In the report by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care, one in five secondary school pupils admits having been drunk in the week before the survey - ranging from "mild tipsiness to full-scaled incapacity". Nearly two-thirds said they drank mainly at home or someone else's home, or on the street (31%) or at parties (29%).
The government has already identified drinkers under 18 as a group at risk, partly due to the perception that alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking or drugs. The report said young people were unlikely to die from the direct effects of alcohol, but they were risking "indirect effects" such as accidents and violence.
There is some good news in the report: the number of pupils aged 11 to 15 who said they had never drunk alcohol at all has risen from 39% in 2003 to 45% in 2006, and the number who had had alcohol the previous week was down from 26% in 2001 to 21%. Only a quarter said they had taken drugs - down from 29% in 2001. But the proportion who said they smoked at least once a week has remained at 9% for three years.
Among the pre-teens, 9% admitted drinking in the past week, and the level of their consumption caused concern: up to 10.1 units a week, from 5.6 units in 2001.
Deborah Cameron, of Addaction, Britain's biggest drug and alcohol treatment charity, said: "It is clear from these figures that young people who are drinking under-age are drinking more than ever before. The increase in girls' drinking is particularly worrying. Those who are drinking alcohol are drinking over the recommended safe limit for adult women.
"The problem is that alcohol is ridiculously cheap - in many places cheaper than bottled water - and too easy to get hold of. Yes, we need to keep up pressure on shops, but we also have to ask whether families are as aware as they should be."
Among 11 to 15s who had drunk in the last seven days, average consumption had risen to 11.4 units, from 10.4 in 2000.
Tim Straughan, acting chief executive of the Information Centre, said: "The report shows more schoolchildren are choosing a cleaner lifestyle and are abstaining from drink and drugs. However, the figures also reveal drinking, drugs and smoking continue to play an important role in the lives of a significant number of young people and there may be links between this behaviour and truancy rates."
They have doubled their weekly intake over five years - to more than 10 units a week, the equivalent of a bottle and a half of wine or five pints of beer, according to an NHS report which surveyed more than 8,000 secondary school pupils.
Health campaigners believe alcohol is "ridiculously cheap" and too easy for children to buy and warn that girls in particular are drinking to dangerous levels.
Although the report also found an increase in the number of children who had not consumed any alcohol, it will fuel concerns about drink-related antisocial behaviour. Last month Cheshire's chief constable, Peter Fahy, demanded the legal drinking age be raised from 18 to 21, after three boys were charged with murder.
The Home Office and the Department of Health are urgently reviewing how discounting and advertising drive the consumption of alcohol. In the report by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care, one in five secondary school pupils admits having been drunk in the week before the survey - ranging from "mild tipsiness to full-scaled incapacity". Nearly two-thirds said they drank mainly at home or someone else's home, or on the street (31%) or at parties (29%).
The government has already identified drinkers under 18 as a group at risk, partly due to the perception that alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking or drugs. The report said young people were unlikely to die from the direct effects of alcohol, but they were risking "indirect effects" such as accidents and violence.
There is some good news in the report: the number of pupils aged 11 to 15 who said they had never drunk alcohol at all has risen from 39% in 2003 to 45% in 2006, and the number who had had alcohol the previous week was down from 26% in 2001 to 21%. Only a quarter said they had taken drugs - down from 29% in 2001. But the proportion who said they smoked at least once a week has remained at 9% for three years.
Among the pre-teens, 9% admitted drinking in the past week, and the level of their consumption caused concern: up to 10.1 units a week, from 5.6 units in 2001.
Deborah Cameron, of Addaction, Britain's biggest drug and alcohol treatment charity, said: "It is clear from these figures that young people who are drinking under-age are drinking more than ever before. The increase in girls' drinking is particularly worrying. Those who are drinking alcohol are drinking over the recommended safe limit for adult women.
"The problem is that alcohol is ridiculously cheap - in many places cheaper than bottled water - and too easy to get hold of. Yes, we need to keep up pressure on shops, but we also have to ask whether families are as aware as they should be."
Among 11 to 15s who had drunk in the last seven days, average consumption had risen to 11.4 units, from 10.4 in 2000.
Tim Straughan, acting chief executive of the Information Centre, said: "The report shows more schoolchildren are choosing a cleaner lifestyle and are abstaining from drink and drugs. However, the figures also reveal drinking, drugs and smoking continue to play an important role in the lives of a significant number of young people and there may be links between this behaviour and truancy rates."
沒有留言:
張貼留言