Alcohol in teens in Europe
An alcohol researcher at the University of the West of England, said that "people as young as 20s are currently dying of alcohol-related liver disease, and even teens are developing it".
Irish Minister of State, speaking about his own country, captured the European inclination: "People used to drink for pleasure, but now many teens are drinking to get plastered. The teens that are provided with alcohol at home are less expected to do the heaviest types of drinking" he said.
Also, contrary to some beliefs, the stricter control of consumption of alcohol in teens in America has not translated into a "forbidden fruit" type mentality where American teens drink more and experience more problems than other countries that have a weaker control on alcohol sales and consumption.
Alcohol statistics in Europe say that teens coming from homes that had no alcohol and were not taught how to drink responsibly had more issues with alcohol. Also, 33% of the teens who said that they bought their own alcohol, were six times more likely to drink in a public space, 3 times more likely to drink frequently and twice as likely to overindulge on alcohol. The behavior in these teens was less risky if parents allowed them to drink in the home.
Amongst the imposed measures that had an effect is a legal drinking age which has substantially reduced drinking by teens. As a direct result, it reduces drinking-related injuries amongst teens, but also the risk of alcohol abuse and dependence later in life. Thus, having a legal drinking age has greatly reduced consumption of alcohol in teens.
Another alcohol related problem in Europe is binge drinking. Alcohol statistics in Europe did recently reveal that binge drinking is a current problem among teens. This is because legal drinking age in Europe is mostly 18. A possible solution is to extend the teen alcohol drinking limit until they are 21 years of age. Recent alcohol statistics have shown that binge drinking has decreased by 12 percent when 21 was adopted as the legal drinking age in some countries. The United States Department of Transportation also concluded that imposing a minimum drinking age law, by itself, has played an important role in reducing both teen drinking and driving after drinking.
A member of the European Health Department said that they are currently working with the alcohol industry to persuade the responsible production and sale of alcohol in teens.