NEWS FOCUS

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.