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Shock figures show 11 to 13-year-olds drinking twice as much alcohol as five years ago (U.K.)
The Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | August 31, 2007

Posted on 08/31/2007 10:41:45 AM PDT by Stoat

Shock figures show 11 to 13-year-olds drinking twice as much alcohol as they did five years ago

Last updated at 15:02pm on 31st August 2007

 

Child drinking

Tens of thousands of 11-year-olds are getting drunk at least once a month

 

A "hard core" of young teenagers is drinking to increasingly dangerous levels every week, it has emerged.

 

 

Tens of thousands of 11-year-olds are also getting drunk at least once a month, despite a drive to cut soaring numbers of young drinkers.

Four out of 10 pupils aged 11-15 have tried smoking at least once, and a majority of young smokers are illegally served in shops.

 

The official survey of tobacco, alcohol and drug use among 11-to 15-year-olds reveals the number of school-age drinkers is falling overall but a hard core is consuming more each year.

Regular drinkers aged 11-13 are consuming more than 10 units a week — double the amount in 2001 — while 6,000 11-year-olds also smoke once a week.

Older teenagers who drink regularly are also downing 11.4 units a week, a rise of one unit on last year and the equivalent of five and a half pints. Half of this group are binge-drinking up to two days a week.

The Government said the figures are a success story because 45 per cent of school pupils have never drunk alcohol, a rise from 39 per cent four years ago.

But campaigners said tens of thousands of young people are still damaging their health by increasing their consumption.

Frank Soodeen, of Alcohol Concern, said: “The overall number of young drinkers may be going down but there is now a core of young people who are finding it much easier to get hold of alcohol because of a lack of parental support and the wide availability of drink.”

Today's report shows that one in five pupils is getting drunk once a month, including four per cent of 11-year-olds.

With more than 611,000 children this age in England, it suggests almost 24,500 could be drinking to excess every week.

The survey of 8,200 pupils at 288 schools shows that nine per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds are smoking regularly. The majority buy cigarettes from shops.

The legal age for buying tobacco will rise to 18 in a month but Amanda Sandford, of lobby group Action on Smoking and Health, said shopkeepersare likely to break the law.

“There are huge problems here with retailers not carrying out thorough checks,” she said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: alcohol; britain; children; drinking; england; greatbritain; uk; unitedkingdom
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To: CholeraJoe

ohhhhhhhh, you are RIGHT, I remember now.....


21 posted on 08/31/2007 10:58:48 AM PDT by tioga
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To: Sherman Logan

LOL


22 posted on 08/31/2007 10:59:46 AM PDT by new cruelty
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To: AppyPappy

It’s really Emma, but I think the photo was staged.


23 posted on 08/31/2007 11:00:45 AM PDT by CholeraJoe (How hot does it have to get for a burning concrete lion to experience spalling? Anybody know?)
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To: ikka
Why is it not considered Labour’s fault? If Thatcher were in power during such a thing that would be all people would talk about.

Most likely for the same reasons as the same sorts of things happen here in the USA.....as far as the media is concerned, NOTHING is the fault of the Left / the Dems, EVERYTHING that's bad is the fault of Conservatives / Republicans.

24 posted on 08/31/2007 11:00:59 AM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Sherman Logan
...though not being able to see over the counter is a common thing for adult dwarfs :)


(38 inch actor Mikey Post)

25 posted on 08/31/2007 11:01:27 AM PDT by raccoonradio
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To: Stoat

First time I got drunk was when I was 18. I also went way passed drunk, too.


26 posted on 08/31/2007 11:03:21 AM PDT by wastedyears (Alright, hold tight, I'm a highway staaaaaaaaaaaaarrr)
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To: Stoat

How do they know this? Did they ask 11-13 y/o boys?


27 posted on 08/31/2007 11:03:53 AM PDT by CindyDawg
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To: Stoat

My brother-in-law was visiting our house with his 13 year old son, and he was trying to give his son a beer.

I just looked at him and said “Not in my house”. I told my husband what happened, and he said “good for you” and backed me up (of course).

My brother-in-law isn’t welcome in my home anymore.

I feel sorry for his kids.


28 posted on 08/31/2007 11:05:16 AM PDT by luckystarmom
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To: CholeraJoe

There is no drinking in Harry Potter.

If the actress drinks, that’s a different subject.


29 posted on 08/31/2007 11:06:22 AM PDT by luckystarmom
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To: CindyDawg
How do they know this? Did they ask 11-13 y/o boys?

Unfortunately, this sparse article doesn't go into detail pertaining to the study's methodology.

30 posted on 08/31/2007 11:06:38 AM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: CholeraJoe

There are other pictures of her drinking. It’s really common for teens over there. She suffering from the Christina Ricci syndrome now. The minute she became legal, the stalkers lost interest. Luckily, Ricci could act. ahem.


31 posted on 08/31/2007 11:07:25 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: luckystarmom

Butterbeer contains low amounts of alcohol.


32 posted on 08/31/2007 11:07:57 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: Stoat

I don’t get the problem here...

I’m a non-drinker and constantly get chastized and belittled for it. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with it! It’s GOOD for you!...”

so what’s the problem? What makes it okay for an 18 yr. old to consume alcohol when it was a bad thing just ONE day before?

Just throwing this out tongue in cheek...


33 posted on 08/31/2007 11:08:14 AM PDT by KingRonnie9
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To: luckystarmom
I feel sorry for his kids.

And I feel sorry for you as well.

Life can be tough enough without having such discord within one's own family.

May God Bless you and yours, as you've done the right thing, which, as is quite often the case, not the easy thing to do.

34 posted on 08/31/2007 11:10:09 AM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: luckystarmom

There is loads of drinking in the books. Hagrid, Professor Trelawney, Winky the House elf and Professor Slughorn are all alcoholics. The kids drink butterbeer, (which is intoxicating BTW See “Goblet of Fire”), wine, mead and firewhiskey.


35 posted on 08/31/2007 11:11:26 AM PDT by CholeraJoe (How hot does it have to get for a burning concrete lion to experience spalling? Anybody know?)
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To: CholeraJoe

I meant the kids, and there is different things about butterbeer. Some things say it contains alcohol and others say that it doesn’t make humans drunk, but it does house elfs.

I figure butterbeer is like rootbeer, but magical.


36 posted on 08/31/2007 11:13:44 AM PDT by luckystarmom
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To: Stoat

Well, if the kids had a healthy past time - like shooting guns, they wouldn’t be sitting around drinking.


37 posted on 08/31/2007 11:14:40 AM PDT by Fido969 ("The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax." - Albert Einstein)
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If I had to live in the UK I’m sure I would be a hopeless alcoholic, if not just plain hopeless.


38 posted on 08/31/2007 11:15:02 AM PDT by Califreak (Go Hunter!)
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To: AppyPappy

Emma’s making a BBC movie right now “Ballet Slippers.” Who cares if she can act? She’s got millions in the bank and aced her college entrance exams.


39 posted on 08/31/2007 11:15:28 AM PDT by CholeraJoe (How hot does it have to get for a burning concrete lion to experience spalling? Anybody know?)
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To: luckystarmom

The kids drank wine and mead in “Half Blood Prince” and firewhiskey in “Deathly Hallows.”


40 posted on 08/31/2007 11:17:02 AM PDT by CholeraJoe (How hot does it have to get for a burning concrete lion to experience spalling? Anybody know?)
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