CHILDREN as young as seven have been treated for alcohol poisoning in a Scottish hospital leading to demands for tougher enforcement in shops and curbs on drinks advertising.

In one month 40 children under the influence of alcohol were treated at the accident and emergency unit of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, according to Paul Leonard, a consultant. He said that he had dealt with children under 10 who were intoxicated having been encouraged to drink by older children.

“While most of the children we see with alcohol intoxication are teenagers, we do see even younger children who have been drinking,” Mr Leonard said. “I have personally treated children as young as seven years old who have been encouraged to drink large quantities of alcohol by older friends and have become extremely unwell. Clearly these children have very little idea of the consequences of what they are doing.”

A recent Executive survey of teenage lifestyle trends showed that the number of 13-year-olds drinking alcohol regularly had doubled in a decade to one in five, while just under half of 15-year-olds admitted drinking alcohol every week. In England, a quarter of school-age children admitted drinking alcohol every week, double the figure a decade ago, according to Alcohol Concern. Sweet-tasting alcopops were the most common drink of choice, followed by cheap cider, beer and lager.

Yesterday Alcohol Focus Scotland, a charity, said it was time for the Government to get tough with the third of off-licences known to sell alcohol to children, and adults who buy it for them. The charity’s remarks echoed demands made by Alcohol Concern last month, after a tragic case in which two drunken boys, twice over the drink drive limit, were hit by a train and killed in Darlington.

Gillian Bell, of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “It is obvious from the statistics we have for underage drinking that young people are accessing it quite easily so there is a need to do something about law enforcement.

“There are more alcohol promotions and advertisements than ever before, including those linked to TV programmes. The papers are full of pictures of celebrities, like Charlotte Church, falling out of nightclubs giving out the message to children that drunkeness is OK.”

Ms Bell also called on primary schools to include alcohol in the curriculum. “Some schools have very little alcohol education and if we are talking about seven-year-olds, we can’t wait for high school before it starts,” she said.

Alcohol has a much stronger effect on children because their bodies are smaller and they do not have the same experience of drinking as adults, so smaller quantities cause more damage. Last year 1,969 children with alcohol problems were referred to the Children’s Panel, which deals with children at risk.

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