§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What evidence they have received about alcohol consumption by children between the ages of 8 and 18, and in particular about rates of increase over the last five years; and whether they have introduced any 92WA new measures to combat alcohol abuse by children since they came into office. [HL2391]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington)Information on alcohol consumption by children aged 8–18 is not available centrally. The following tables show the weekly alcohol consumption (in units) of school children aged 11–15 in England and people aged 16–17 in Great Britain.
Table 1: Alcohol consumption in the seven days preceding survey (in units) by children aged 11–15, 1992–1996, England Percentages and units 1992 1994 1996 None 83% 80% 78% under 1 unit 2% 2% 2% 1–1.75 units 2% 3% 3% 2–3.75 units 4% 4% 5% 4–5.75 units 2% 2% 3% 6–9.75 units 4% 4% 4% 10–14.75 units 1% 2% 2% 15 or more units 2% 2% 4% Mean (per person) 1.1 1.3 1.8 Mean (per drinker) 6.0 6.4 8.4 Base 3,142 2,889 2,676 Source:
Office for National Statistics, Young teenagers and alcohol in 1996: England.
Table 2: Usual alcohol consumption level and mean weekly alcohol consumption (in units) of men and women aged 16 and 17: 1992–1996, Great Britain 1992 1994 1996 Men Non-drinker 14% 18% 13% under 1 unit 19% 15% 13% 1–10 units 43% 41% 38% 11–21 units 12% 14% 17% 22–35 units 6% 6% 11% 36–50 units 3% 1% 4% 51+ units 2% 4% 5% Women Non-drinker 15% 17% 11% under 1 unit 21% 22% 24% 1–7 units 47% 38% 32% 8–14 units 9% 13% 18% 15–25 units 7% 7% 9% 26–35 units 1% 3% 3% 36+ units 1% 2% 3% Bases Men 245 225 249 Women 257 198 207 Source:
Office for National Statistics, General Household Surveys 1992–1996.
(The standard definition of a unit of alcohol is that which contains 8 grammes of ethanol. One unit is the amount of alcohol contained in half a pint of normal strength beer, a small glass of wine, a single measure of spirits, or a small glass of fortified wine.)
The Government have set up a Ministerial Group to look at alcohol misuse by children. The group issued a statement last July, copies of which are available in the 93WA Library, which sets out the action which it expects the drinks industry to take in order to tackle the problem. The group will review the industry's progress in the autumn.
To reinforce the industry's efforts, the Home Office have brought into force the Confiscation of Alcohol Act and will be legislating to prevent adults buying alcohol on behalf of unsupervised children and to clarify the law on the use of children in test purchases of alcohol.
Additionally, this week my honourable friend the Minister for Public Health launched the Health Education Authority's new Parents' Guide to Drugs and Alcohol, which will be very useful in empowering parents to make an effective contribution in preventing their children from misusing alcohol and taking drugs. Copies of the guide will be placed in the Library.