Young People

Young people sexual health and alcohol

The rather mixed role alcohol plays in society today is nicely summarised in the Governments national harm reduction strategy for alcohol:

"Alcohol plays an important role in our society and in our economy. However, where it is misused alcohol is also a major contributor to a range of harms, at considerable cost."

Alcohol has recently become a high profile issue reflecting the current trends:

  • Alcohol consumption has been rising consistently in recent years patterns of use are also changing more wine is being drunk at home.
  • 25% of 11 to 15 year olds said that they had drunk alcohol in the previous week. This figure rose steadily from 1990-2000. In 11-15 year olds alcohol consumption doubled from 1990 - 2000 (0.8 units per week to 1.6 units per week)
  • In 2003, the average alcohol consumption of those pupils aged 11 to 15 who had drunk in the last seven days was 9.5 units.
  • The age at which people start to drink alcohol is reducing
  • The proportions who drink alcohol rise sharply with age: for instance only 6% of pupils aged 11, compared with 49% of those aged 15, said they had had a drink in the last week (for England in 2003)
  • The amount young people drink also increased sharply by age, from 7.1 units among 11 to 13 year olds, to 11.3 units among 15 year olds:
  • The UK exhibits a binge drinking culture based on a desire to drink to get drunk
  • The gap between male and female consumption and alcohol related ill health is narrowing as a consequence - female consumption has seen a 70% rise since 1990.
  • Rising numbers of young people are experiencing harm from alcohol with a significant number being admitted through A&E with alcohol related intoxication each year.
  • 16-24 yr olds are the heaviest drinkers with 36% of males and 25% of females drinking above safe levels.

It would be easy to see this as a problem for young people but what about the role of adults? For many young people the onset of adolescence is a difficult and challenging time, a time for pushing at the boundaries and taking risks as part of the process of making sense of the world they live in. As adults we can sometimes add to this confusion by creating mixed messages for young people. This can be clearly seen around drinking alcohol, where adults can be seen regularly drinking to excess and the drinks industry continues to openly targets its products at a younger market.

It is important that as adults we reflect on our own reasons for having a drink, to unwind or as a social activity like the few beers at the BBQ. Before we point the finger perhaps there is a need to consider why and how much we drink ourselves? When was the last time you checked how many units you drank in a week or a day?

Whilst we need to educate young people about the negative aspects of alcohol use the dangers of binge drinking and the potential associated risks such as unprotected sex, lets not forget that 90% of the population enjoy alcohol, unfortunately for some of us we enjoy it a little too much.

More detailed information about alcohol (and other drugs) can be found at:

The current Department of Health guidelines for safe drinking state that:

For men: drinking between 3 and 4 units a day or less indicates no significant risk to health. Regularly drinking 4 or more units of alcohol a day indicates an increased risk to health.

For women: drinking between 2 and 3 units a day or less, indicates no significant risk to health. Regularly drinking over 3 units a day signifies an increased risk to health.