Number of children addicted to alcohol falls

THE number of children receiving treatment for alcohol addiction has halved in a decade — but a child addiction specialist warns against complacency, with thousands of 10- to 17-year-olds reporting getting drunk every month.

The new figures from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System show the number of children under the age of 18 receiving treatment for alcohol addiction has sharply fallen since the last recession.

In 2018, 114 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 received treatment in Ireland for addiction to alcohol — compared with 228 child cases in 2008.

Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at the HSE’s Adolescent Addiction Service, Dr Bobby Smyth, said adolescents seeking treatment are only the tip of the iceberg.

He added: “About 10pc of people who use a substance will develop a substance use disorder which might warrant treatment. Of those who do develop a substance use disorder, our best guess is about 3-5pc of those will seek or access treatment in any given year.”

He said attendance figures for treatment are also influenced by the level of treatment provision but he believes the figures from the Health Research Board reflect a change in alcohol addiction among teenagers: “It is my view that the fall in treatment attendance is reflective of a genuine decline in severe alcohol use disorders amongst under 18s.”

Dr Smyth said he thinks Irish teenagers are generally more health conscious now than 10 years ago.

He said: “I think that they have picked up the message that alcohol is a genuine health risk.”

But he cautioned that the most recent Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study reported that 7pc of all children aged between 10 years and 17 years have been drunk in the past month.