Nearly half of Scottish teens binge drink by 14

Almost half of Scottish teenagers have dabbled in binge-drinking by the age of 14 and prefer drinking spirits over wine and beer, new research has shown.

Scottish teenagers prefer drinking spirits over beer and wine, new research has shown

Conducted by the Medical Research Council at Glasgow University, a total of 12,000 teenagers in Scotland, Italy, Poland and Germany were questioned about the type of alcohol they drank and how much.

Scientists discovered 45% of children had consumed at least five drinks in one sitting and that more than half preferred drinking spirits over beer and wine.

The researchers also compared the differences in regulations in relation to alcohol advertising on TV and the effects on children.

Those aged 13 when first interviewed were asked what their favourite alcohol brand was and while most Polish (86%) and German (66%) named a beer, more than half Scottish and Italian kids named a spirit.

The top 10 Scottish brands were: WKD vodka, Smirnoff Vodka, Strongbow Cider, Buckfast, Bacardi, Mad Dog 2020, Budweiser Beer, Magners Cider, Guinness and Carling.

“Alcohol is one of the most heavily marketed products in the world, and its advertising goes beyond national boundaries,” Dr Helen Sweeting, study co-author, told the Daily Record. “Existing advertising regulations do not prevent brands from being promoted by less traditional or ‘below-the-line’ marketing strategies such as (viral) social media or YouTube postings.”

The report concluded that having a favourite alcohol advert remained significantly associated with binge drinking.

“Advertising firms hired by multi-national corporations might be especially active in assessing these non-classical forms of advertising,” it read.

A spokesman for the Scottish government said the number of 13 and 15-year-olds who admitted drinking alcohol is at its lowest level since 1990.

“However, we are all too aware of the impact of alcohol advertising on young people and believe this could and should be reduced,” she added.