England tops chart for child alcohol consumption
More than half of children in England have drunk alcohol by age 13, making this a ‘serious public health threat’.
England has one of the highest rates of child alcohol consumption, reveals ‘health behaviour in school-aged children,’ a new study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
By the age of 13, 57% of girls and 50% of boys in England had consumed alcohol – the highest rate out of 44 countries and regions included in the report.
Dr Jo Inchley, international co-ordinator for the study said it was worrying that ‘England is at the top of the charts for 11 and 13-year-olds when it comes to alcohol use.’
She added that there are two key areas of concern. ‘One is that our levels are higher than elsewhere in Europe and, secondly, it looks like the trends are worsening quite substantially over a relatively short period of time in the UK.’ The study looked at 2021-22 data on 280,000 children aged 11, 13 and 15 from Europe, Central Asia and Canada, who were asked about alcohol, cigarettes and vape usage.
In addition to high rates of alcohol consumption in children, the data found that about 30% of girls aged 15 and 17% of boys the same age had vaped in the past 30 days in England. This is higher than other countries including Ireland, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Portugal.
Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe said that the increasing use of harmful substances among children in England is a ‘serious public health threat’.
‘Considering that the brain continues to develop well into a person's mid-20s, adolescents need to be protected from the effects of toxic and dangerous products. Unfortunately, children today are constantly exposed to targeted online marketing of harmful products, while popular culture, like video games, normalises them,’ said Kluge.
Responding to the study, a government spokesperson said: ‘The health advice is clear, smoking, vaping and underage drinking can be damaging for young people and their development. That is why there are age restrictions on the sale of these products.’
The spokesperson added that efforts are being made to create UK's first smoke-free generation through the tobacco and vapes bill. ‘The bill will make it an offence to see tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009 and includes powers to limit flavours, packaging and displays of vapes to reduce the appeal to children.’
A quarter of nurses' sick days caused by stress
Experts have expressed concern at the data showing ‘dangerous stress levels’ for nurses in the NHS, calling for urgent action by the Government.
Nurses took an average of one week off sick last year because of stress, shows new NHS England data.
An analysis of the figures by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed that sickness because of stress, anxiety and depression accounted for 24.3% of all sick days taken by nursing staff, more than double the prevalence of any other illness.
‘Dangerous stress levels have become normalised inside an NHS which is unable to cope with demand,’ said Professor Pat Cullen, the RCN's general secretary and chief executive.
Cullen attributed the high stress levels to a ‘chronic workforce shortage’ in the NHS which currently has more than 34,000 nursing posts remaining unfilled.
A hospital nurse in the West Midlands told the RCN that the ‘lack of staff combined with demand for services is a constant worry. It is causing stress and a lack of sleep. I feel low and let down by the system.’ The RCN analysis also found that financial pressures are affecting staff well-being. Nurses' pay fell by an average of nearly 25% between 2010-11 and 2023-24. Almost half of nursing staff who responded to an RCN cost of living survey last month said that their financial concerns are impacting their mental health.
Cullen called on the Government and NHS leaders to ‘take action to ease the pressure and boost recruitment and retention. A long-term workforce plan built on the backs of broken staff isn't worth the paper it's written on.’
The Department of Heath and Social Care (DHSC) has acknowledged the challenges faced by NHS staff and said that a recent survey found an improvement in staff morale and experience.
The DHSC added: ‘NHS England has published a strategy to grow occupational health and wellbeing support, and the NHS long-term workforce plan will retain even more staff, meaning there are up to 190,000 more nurses by 2036-37.’