Drink taking heavy toll on children

The Guardian take a different tack on young people’s drinking than the BBC story we covered earlier today:

Thousands of children – most of them girls – are ending up in hospital in England every year because of binge drinking, according to figures released yesterday.

Statistics from the government’s information centre for health and social care reveal that last year 5,280 children younger than 16 were admitted because of their drinking – of whom 59% were girls. The numbers have risen by a third in the last 10 years, while adult admissions have almost doubled to 187,640.

Most of the young people were admitted for “mental and behavioural disorders” caused by alcohol – which include chaotic, uncontrolled, noisy and violent conduct, addiction and psychosis – while 470 suffered alcohol poisoning.

The true toll alcohol takes on children will be much greater, because the figures do not include those injured in alcohol-fuelled accidents and fights.

Drink taking heavy toll on children | Health | SocietyGuardian.co.uk

The Information Centre’s paper can be downloaded here, and their headlines on young people’s drinking are:

• In 2006, 21 per cent of pupils in England aged 11-15 reported drinking alcohol in the week prior to interview; continuing the recent decreasing trend since 2001.
• Since 2001, the proportion of pupils who have never drunk alcohol has risen; in 2006, 46 per cent of pupils said they had never had a proper alcoholic drink, compared to 39 per cent in 2001.
• Among pupils who had drunk alcohol in the week prior to interview, the average weekly consumption has almost doubled from 5.3 units in 1990 to 10.4 units in 2000. Weekly consumption has since fluctuated around this level and in 2006 was estimated at 11.4 units. However, consumption among children aged 11-13 has continued to increase, from 5.6 units in 2001 to 10.1 units in 2006. The proportion of pupils in this age group who reported having a drink in the last seven days has decreased in the same time period from 40 per cent in 2001 to 27 per cent in 2006.

Filed under: alcohol

‘Fewer’ teenagers drink regularly

The BBC have a report on young people’s drinking:

Fewer teenagers are drinking regularly – partly because it is becoming harder for youngsters to get hold of alcohol, a Trading Standards survey suggests.

The number of those who say they never drink at all has climbed from 12% in 2005 to 17% in the latest poll, of 12,000 children in north-west England.

Those who drink regularly – at least once a week – fell from 50% to 44%.

It will be interesting to see if this is reflected in the annual survey of 11 -15 year olds next year.

BBC NEWS | Health | ‘Fewer’ teenagers drink regularly

Update – more on this survey here.

Filed under: alcohol

Alcohol Prevention more Difficult for Young Men to Swallow

Via the ever excellent Daily Dose I saw this piece of Australian research into a school based aclohol intervention which found:

The program was successful in teaching all young people, both males and females, the knowledge to minimise alcohol-related harm. It was also effective in moderating students’ beliefs regarding the positive benefits of alcohol. Students were far less likely to glamorise the effects of alcohol after they had completed the CLIMATE program.

However, when it came to behaviour change, it was only female students who changed their behaviour.

For the boys, the CLIMATE program was no more effective in changing alcohol use behaviour than the standard alcohol prevention education currently being delivered in the control schools.

Perhaps this reflects the same sort of findings as we discussed here when American researchers suggested that personalised normative messages worked with young women.

Certainly that seems to be one of the explanations posited by the researchers who are quoted saying:

”Currently, many young females drink similar amounts to their male counterparts. Pointing out to young women that they cannot actually drink as much alcohol for the same level of risk, may have been a shock for many and made them rethink their behaviour.“

More on the Australian programme here.

Filed under: alcohol

Britain is now cocaine capital of Europe

The Evening Standard:

Britain is now the cocaine capital of Europe with soaring numbers of young people taking the drug, a United Nations report has revealed.

It revealed more than 900,000 Britons buy cocaine, which means the country has overtaken Spain as the biggest user in the continent.

In addition, Britain’s 350,000 heroin users are the largest number in any country in Europe.

The UN Document from which these figures are taken can be downloaded from here.  It has this to say about cannabis:

For the United Kingdom, which was Europe’s largest cannabis market for many years, cannabis use is now showing a downward trend. Use among the general population (age 16-59) declined in England and Wales from 10.8 per cent in 2003/04 to 8.7 per cent in 2005/06. Including data from Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK has now a prevalence rate of 8.4 per cent and thus ranks behind Spain and France.

The downward trend among young people in England and Wales appears to have started shortly after 1998, as the UK drug prevention budget was expanded and a number of new activities targeting youth became operational.

The trend then became more pronounced in the new millennium, probably because extensive discussion about re-scheduling cannabis brought new scientific findings on the potential harm of cannabis into the limelight. Growing awareness of the dangers of cannabis use among young people went in parallel with declining cannabis use.

Filed under: illegal drugs

People understand risk factors

The Times report on some polling that Barnardos have done to support their campaign Believe in Children. They found:

that people believe the main threats to a happy childhood are growing up without a father (31 per cent), being brought up in care (27 per cent), teenage motherhood (18 per cent) and being expelled from school (12 per cent).

I was struck that this mirrors a number of risk factors that drug education and prevention try to act on.

The Barnardo’s survey suggests that:

• One in four adults think that children who are disruptive or antisocial are beyond long term help by the time they are just 13.
• Two thirds of adults are convinced that children are more criminal now than ever before, when in fact there has been a substantial drop in youth crime since 1995.

On a similar theme; Parmajit Dhanda MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the DfES, talking about how young people are percieved:

If you search Google’s ‘pages from the UK’ for the word ‘disaffected’, 5 out of the top 10 hits couple the word with youth. Louts, monsters, brutes, scum – even inhuman. All words that have been used by the press to describe British youngsters. If they are to be believed, the better half of youth is drinking, shouting, and swearing in the streets (all wearing hoodies of course), while the rest are getting pregnant at 13, taking drugs, and trashing their neighbours’ property.

When did we become so down on young people? Two thirds of 18-25 year olds elected to stay at home rather than vote in the last general election. With such a bad press, it’s no wonder they are so down on us.

Filed under: risk and protective factors, Uncategorized

Doctors want hard line on alcohol

The BBC say that the BMA are to debate whether they would like to see the age at which alcohol can legally be bought raised to 21:

Dr Chris Spencer-Jones, chairman of the BMA’s public health committee, said it was important to restrict access to alcohol to stop “young people forming bad habits”.He said: “Sales of cheap alcohol from supermarkets and other retailers are fuelling binge drinking. There are now aisles and aisles devoted to alcohol in some supermarkets.”

The Home Office say they have no plans to raise the “minimum drinking age” – which the legally minded amongst you will know is different from the age at which alcohol can be purchased.

Slip of the tongue?

Update – looks like the BMA voted against raising the age at which it is legal to purchase alcohol.

Filed under: alcohol

Alcohol Concern on the alcohol strategy

Alcohol Concern (a Forum member) have a response to the alochol strategy, Safe Sensible Safe.  In the section on under-18s they say:

This [the actions the government propose] bodes well in relation to reducing alcohol harms among young people, however there is no mention of current work underway with the Blueprint project, nor of any action to increase interactive and evidence based alcohol education.

The Substance Misuse budget for young people was reduced this year and there is no mention at all of developing services for young people who are drinking at an earlier age and consuming more than before. The strategy has admitted there is a problem, set out a key objective to reduce the amount that under-18s drink but not outlined actions that will significantly address this in the short term.

Filed under: alcohol strategy

Presentation on Safe Sensible Social

This is the presentation that Hajra Mir (Alcohol Concern) and I gave to the Drug Education Forum last week.

Filed under: alcohol strategy

Reaching Out: Think Family

The Social Exclusion Task Force have recently published what they call the analysis and themes from the Families At Risk Review.

One of the areas they look at is drugs, where they say:

It is estimated that there are 250,000–350,000 children of problematic drug users* in the UK.94 2–3% of children under age 16 have at least one parent who misuses Class A drugs, although around half of these children do not live in their parent’s care.

Drug misuse can have significant impacts upon children. Maternal drug use during pregnancy carries significant health risks for the foetus. Parental problem drug use is associated with neglect, isolation, physical or emotional abuse, poverty, separation and exposure to criminal behaviour. Over the longer term there is an increased risk of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and other psychological problems, early substance misuse and offending behaviour and poor educational attainment.

In discussing the impact of alcohol they say:

Around 1.3 million children live with parents who misuse alcohol. Studies have found that the children of parents who misuse alcohol are at a higher risk of mental ill-health, behavioural problems, involvement with the police, as well as substance and alcohol misuse.

Parental alcohol misuse also raises the likelihood of having caring responsibilities at a young age and of poor educational attainment. Children with problem drinking parents are more likely to witness domestic violence and to experience parental relationship breakdown. Alcohol misuse has been identified as a factor in over 50% of all child protection cases.

They point out that just living in a rundown neighbourhood is a risk factor for school failure, and that:

Community disorganisation and neglect, the perception of easily available drugs and a lack of neighbourhood attachment are all risk factors that make young people more likely to turn to drugs or youth crime.

The report conculdes:

Against a backdrop of increasing prosperity and progress for the majority, a small minority
of families are still experiencing poor outcomes. Their complex problems provide significant challenges to public services if we are going to break intergenerational exclusion and close the gaps in achievement. This report has shown the impact of families is rarely neutral: they can sometimes be a great source of resilience and protection, but they can also pose grave risks…

There is scope to link up the progress being made through public service reform in the children’s and adults’ sectors to create a coherent system of support for the most vulnerable families. A system that is incentivised at all levels to prevent families deteriorating and support those already facing the most chronic exclusion. A system that reintegrates families, putting them back onto the road to success and enabling them to enjoy the improved outcomes that the rest of society is experiencing. We need a system that thinks family from Whitehall to the frontline.

Filed under: families

ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE CONFERENCE

Beverley Hughes on how young people:

Many young people I’ve spoken to say they feel let down by the constant negative portrayals of young people both in the press and among older generations. Every time we fail to listen to young people, or to take what they tell us seriously, we reaffirm these misconceptions when it is our duty to challenge them.

There are many who believe that there has never been a worse time to be young in Britain. Who will be inclined to see the high-profile violent and sometimes tragic incidents that have blighted some communities, not as the exception, but as the rule.

The truth is that young people achieve more, are the most generous when it comes to giving up their time to do work for charities and local community groups, and frequently put their elders to shame when it comes to concern over issues such as climate change.

Young people have unfortunately become one of those categories of people, of whom for many people, somehow, it’s acceptable to make gross generalisations about. I’d like to make it very clear today, that this neither acceptable, nor helpful, nor right.

It will be fascinating to see whether this positive portrayal of young people will apply to the social marketing campaign the new alcohol strategy promises next year.  I’m not sure that the current Know Your Limits campaign starts from that premiss.

DfES Speeches : view online

Filed under: advertising