The dangers of alcohol for young people
Young people are less well equipped than adults to cope with the effects of alcohol, physically and emotionally. The same amount of alcohol will have a much greater effect on the body of a child or young person than on an adult, because their bodies are still growing and developing. Also, a young person doesn't have the experience needed to deal with the effects of alcohol on judgement and perception.
In the short-term, drinking and getting drunk can be dangerous for young people. They may do or say something they regret later, and they're much more likely to have an accident or get into trouble. Drinking a lot in one session can be harmful because the human body can't process a lot of alcohol at once. In the UK, drinking to get drunk is called 'binge drinking' - that means drinking more than double the amount advised for adults at least once a week. This harmful effect is especially true for under age drinkers because they can't cope with alcohol as well as adults.
In the longer term, drinking can have a negative effect on a young person's school work, social life and friendships, as well as their general health. They'll also be in trouble if they break the laws about buying and drinking alcohol.
Because of these dangers, there are NO safe limits for alcohol consumption for the under age.
Statistics:
Up to 70% of all admissions to hospital accident and emergency departments are linked to alcohol misuse.
Up to 22,000 premature deaths a year are linked to alcohol misuse.
Alcohol misuse is a factor in around 1000 suicides a year.
Between 780,000 and 1.3m children are affected by their parents' alcohol problems.
Alcohol-related crime costs society around £7 billion each year.
There are over 500 drink-driving deaths each year.
