The BBC report on a survey carried out with young people in Hull. They say that 166 young people under 18 needed hospital treatment as a result of alcohol misuse and go on to report:
A total of 480 young people were questioned about their drinking habits by officers dealing with anti-social behaviour, along with drug and alcohol workers.
The survey also found that 95% of all those questioned were drinking alcohol at a level regarded as harmful and more than a fifth of young people may have a serious alcohol dependence.
Kate Stevenson, alcohol project manager from Hull Citysafe, said: “The results from this study are concerning, but it will help us address the issue of alcohol misuse with young people much more effectively as we now understand the severity of the problem.”
This WHO paper on brief interventions for hazardous and harmful drinking defines harmful drinking as:
a pattern of drinking that is already causing damage to health. The damage may be either physical (e.g., liver damage from chronic drinking) or mental (e.g., depressive episodes secondary to drinking).
Harmful patterns of use are often criticized by others and are sometimes associated with adverse social consequences of various kinds. However, the fact that a family or culture disapproves drinking is not by itself sufficient to justify a diagnosis of harmful use.
Filed under: alcohol, hospital , harmful drinking, Hull
