A third of 11-year-olds and over half of 13-year-olds in England had consumed alcohol, putting the nation at the top out of 44 countries assessed, according to research by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In England, Wales, and Scotland, girls were more likely than boys to start drinking and becoming intoxicated by the age of fifteen. Alcohol, which may harm children’s brains, has become normalized, according to the WHO study, which also urged nations to take additional precautions to safeguard youngsters.
The World Health Organization analyzed information from 280,000 youths (ages 11, 13, and 15) from 44 nations who were questioned about their alcohol, cigarette, and vape use. England is “top of the charts” worldwide for juvenile alcohol use, and the study indicated that females drink, smoke, and vape at higher rates than boys. England has the highest rate of underage alcohol use among 11-year-olds, with 35% of boys and 34% of girls having tasted alcohol. This rate is more than twice the worldwide average of 15%. While the global average is one-third (33%), by the time children reach the age of thirteen, the proportion in England has increased to more than half (50 percent of boys and 57% of girls), making it the highest in the world.
Many English boys and girls are not drinking moderately, as they are more likely to have been drunk at least twice than the worldwide average when they are 11, 13, and 15 years old, respectively. Among English females aged 15, more than a third (34%) had been drunk.
The results are pretty disturbing, according to Sir Ian Gilmore, leader of the UK’s Alcohol Health Alliance, particularly the levels of reported alcohol use among 11- and 13-year-olds. He called it “shocking” that kids in the UK know more about beer brands than ice cream, cookies, and crisps, and he claimed that this is all due to the prevalence of alcohol ads when they were young. The fact that England ranks first for alcohol consumption among 11 and 13-year-olds is “really quite worrying,” according to Dr. Jo Inchley of the University of Glasgow, who is the worldwide coordinator of the research titled Health Behavior In School-Aged Children.