The true cost
Thousands of teenagers are regularly binge drinking, having sex which they later regret, and getting involved in drunken violence, a new study has found. The alarming figures show that teenagers are drinking the equivalent of three pints of beer or nearly a whole bottle of wine each week.
Of the teenagers who drank once a week or more, 20% of girls and 15% of boys said they had had sex after consuming alcohol, which they later regretted. This response was particularly the case among teenagers that binge drink. Around 40% of girls and 42% of boys who drank once a week or more had been involved in violence after drinking alcohol.
The study of 190,000 teenagers in the North West found that the numbers who binge drink ranged from 30% in affluent areas to 40% in poor areas.
The authors of the study, which was conducted by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, recommended that stronger warnings be given to teenagers about the dangers of drinking and called on retailers to prevent them from buying alcohol.
