Kids as young as 11 drink alcohol every week

Children as young as 11-years-old are drinking alcohol at least once a week, new research has revealed.

Children as young as 11 are drinking alcohol at least once a week in Wales

The publication, Alcohol and Health in Wales 2014 published by the Public Health Wales Observatory, revealed children in Wales are drinking more alcohol than England and Scotland and twice as much as the Republic of Ireland.

It showed that 17% of males and 14% of females aged between 11-16 consume alcohol at least once a week.

Furthermore, each week 29 people die from alcohol-related deaths, with the most deprived areas of Wales showing significantly higher levels of alcohol-related diseases and deaths.

“While we are making progress, this new report shows much more is still to be done if we are to reduce the avoidable harms that alcohol causes to communities across Wales,” commented professor Mark Bellis, director of policy, research and development at Public Health Wales.

“We need to help people make the right choices about their own drinking. Too many drinkers fail to recognise how even moderate drinking can increase their risks of developing diseases such as cancer.

“The normalisation of drinking at a young age is also especially harmful and our problems with alcohol must be tackled early in life.”

In contrast, “heavy” drinking among adults below the age of 45 has decreased in the past year, although the statistics for those over 45 have either increased or stayed the same.

“This new report provides a comprehensive analysis of alcohol consumption patterns and the impact of alcohol on health,” added Andrea Gartner, project leader for the report. “It will provide stakeholders with the necessary information to inform action and drive change.”