Smartphone apps ‘are encouraging binge drinking among teenagers’

SMARTPHONE apps that encourage binge drinking have become the latest craze among teenagers, alcohol charities have warned.

The drinking game apps are available free of charge through the Apple App Store and encourage players to drink vast amounts of booze very quickly. They are described as “adult drinking games” and marked as 18plus, but do not always ask for proof of the player’s age.

In recent years there has been a decline in binge drinking among young people in the UK, but alcohol charities are concerned that the apps could make it fashionable again.

One app, called “Drink Roulette Drinking Game”, promises players will get so drunk that they “can’t even read this sentence”. The game asks players to drink, do dares or play mini games. If users refuse to do the dares or lose the mini games, they must pay a forfeit – which could be consuming up to 25 mouthfuls of an alcoholic drink.

Another, called “ipuke”, created by Mint Mobile, gives players a choice between doing a task or downing shots, promising that users will “lose your sense of self-respect”. Players can choose between eating an entire paper napkin or drinking four shots, or they could be asked to take two shots or “get a nipple twist”. Random wild card pop-ups demand “all the single players drink” or “all unemployed people drink”.

Andrew Misell, director of Alcohol Concern, said: “People have always played drinking games, and so drinking game apps are somewhat inevitable. But one worry is that these games may appeal to young people, including teenagers, who are more at risk from certain alcohol harms as their bodies and brains are still developing.

“Heavy drinking is ingrained in British culture and these apps reflect that – there is a demand for them. But it’s important that people keep in mind that heavy drinking isn’t ‘normal’.”

Dr Sarah Jarvis, of Drinkaware, said: “Binge drinking can be extremely dangerous. If you do drink too much, you could get into trouble – problems include difficulty breathing, seizures and brain damage.” In 2014, a social media drinking craze called Neknomination was linked to the deaths of at least five young adults.