Majority worry at girls' drinking

YWCA said young women should be warned of the dangers of drinking

Four in five people think binge-drinking is a problem among girls and young women, a survey shows.

In Wales, 74% of those surveyed thought young people drank because their friends did and because it was normal.

The YouGov study for the women's charity YWCA asked 2,015 adults their views on girls drinking.

The Welsh Assembly Government said it already offered alcohol education programmes in 98% of primary and secondary schools in Wales.

Sarah Payne, chief executive of YWCA, said the public increasingly recognised that "it is education and support that is needed, not criminalisation".

"Although many people drink because they enjoy it, we believe that the one of the issues around binge drinking, by young women especially, is linked to them having low self esteem, low self-confidence and nothing to do."

The charity called for local authorities to provide more constructive activities for young women.

It said education should warn of the dangers of binge-drinking - defined in the survey as drinking double the recommended amount of alcohol in a single day.

The young drinking culture here... raises the potential for increased violent incidents and accidents Catriona Williams, Children in Wales

The survey found 56% of people in Wales said their parents had taught them how to drink safely, with only 13% learning at school.

Ms Payne said: "We must not assume that all young people have safe and supportive homes to go to. For those who do not, and unfortunately there are quite a few, parental education on alcohol will be limited.

"Hanging out and getting drunk may even be preferable or even safer to going home," she said.

A study by the World Health Organisation in 2008 found more children in Wales had been drunk at least twice before their 13th birthday than anywhere else in Europe or North America.

The survey of 250,000 young people in 40 countries put Wales behind both Scotland and England.

Catriona Williams, the chief executive of the charity Children in Wales said the trend towards excessive underage drinking had escalated in recent years.

"The young drinking culture here is also very different to that in other parts of Europe and raises the potential for increased violent incidents and accidents.

"We also know that young people themselves worry about their younger siblings getting involved at younger and younger ages."

"The drinking culture amongst girls is also a particularly worrying trend with the potential for casual unprotected sex or unintended pregnancies and Wales has amongst the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe," she said.

She said the charity believed there should be much stronger enforcement of laws against people selling alcohol to under-age drinkers.

Education programmes

A spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly Government said it was very concerned by the harmful use of alcohol, especially by young people.

"Our strategy 'Working Together to Reduce Harm' sets out how the Welsh Assembly Government and partner organisations will work to reduce the damage caused to individuals, their families and society from substance misuse," said the spokesperson.

"We believe that education about the use of alcohol for people of all ages, but in particular young people, is a key factor in tackling misuse.

"We already offer alcohol education programmes in 98% of primary and secondary schools in Wales."

They also said the assembly government was also pressing for stricter rules on the promotion of alcohol, an increase in taxation, minimum pricing and a reduction in the drink-drive limit.

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