Youngsters: 60% have been drunk

Published on 04/12/2012 00:23

SIX in ten 13- to 15-year-olds in Scotland have admitted to getting drunk in the past year, a new study found. And 40 per cent of them say they have drunk so much they have been sick as a result.

But the findings from NHS Scotland are a drop on figures from 2002, which showed 78 per cent in the same age group had drunk alcohol.

The research found that on average, youngsters in Scotland drink ten units a week – one unit more than 13- to 15-year-olds in England and Wales A separate study found children whose parents are heavy drinkers were almost twice as likely to have been drunk or regularly consume alcohol.

The link with the drinking habits of parents was revealed in a study by the independent charity Drinkaware. It found that a fifth of youngsters whose parents drank more than recommended guidelines were the most likely to have been drunk before.

This was compared with 11 per cent of children whose parents drank below the guidelines or not at all.

Siobhan McCann of Drinkaware said: “When it comes to alcohol, parents have the biggest influence on their children and lots of children would turn to their parents first for advice.”