Drinking binges by a third of Scots aged 13, says research

AROUND A third of teenagers in Scotland are “binge drinking” by the age of 13, according to research.

Some 35% of school pupils drink to excess by their early teenage years, a study has suggested.

The findings came out of a survey of drinking habits in six European countries: Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Scotland.

Youngsters in Scotland came out second in terms of alcohol consumption, topped only by children in The Netherlands.

The study defined binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion.

The mean age of the 2,937 people questioned in Scotland was 13. Researchers found that 35% of young people have had at least one binge-drinking session by that age.

This compared with 6% of 13-year-olds in Iceland, the country with the lowest rates among the six.

When looked at in more detail, the figures show 8% of teenagers in Scotland had drunk to excess at least five times in their life and 13% admitted binge drinking on between two and five occasions.

Across all six countries, 27% of young teenagers had consumed more than five drinks on at least one occasion but the rate “varied substantially” between the countries.

The study was published in the scientific journal Pediatrics.

It added: “Factors that were associated with binge drinking included peer drinking, sensation seeking and rebelliousness, school performance, age and sibling drinking.”

Lead author Dr Reiner Hanewinkel, of the Institute for Therapy and Health Research in Keil, Germany, said: “The drinking cultures in countries like Scotland, Germany and Holland are the same but in Iceland they are different because people have maybe one or two drinks with a meal. They don't drink in binges.”

Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Young people have 24/7 influences on them that make drinking, even heavy drinking, the norm, and that's the thing that we have to reverse. We need to change the culture.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The introduction of minimum pricing will address the issue of alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices.”