EXCESSIVE drinking among children is out of control, the Government was told yesterday. It was disclosed that 13 children are admitted to hospital every day because of alcohol abuse.

Research shows that 4,647 under-18s admitted to hospital in 2003-04 were suffering from conditions including the toxic effects of heavy drinking and mental and behavioural disorders caused by alcohol. The figures were revealed in a parliamentary answer to the Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow, a member of the Commons Health Committee.

“The number of children admitted to hospital for alcohol-related disease is shocking and shows that binge-drinking among teenagers is completely out of control,” he said. “Dither and delay are the hallmarks of this Government’s approach to alcohol. It has taken eight years for ministers to begin to wake up to the problem and ask the NHS to draw up alcohol harm-reduction strategies.”

Eight years ago 4,173 young people were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related diseases, which means that the Labour Government has presided over an 11 per cent increase.

Concern has increased about the effects of excessive drinking on health, with fears about rising antisocial behaviour. Doctors have reported more young people with alcoholic liver disease, once seen only in older people who had been drinking for years.

The Department of Health said: “We are already making strides in reducing the number of young binge drinkers. Figures show that between 2003 and 2004 there was a drop of two percentage points in the number of 11 to 15-year-olds in England who had drunk alcohol in the past week.

“We have measures to improve education as well as clamping down on the selling of alcohol to those under-18.”

HEALTH RISKS

More 15-year-old girls drink alcohol regularly than boys of that age

Sources: Department of Health; Liberal Democrats; Alcohol Concern

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