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British girls are world’s biggest teenage binge drinkers, report finds
Half of 15-year-old girls in the UK have been drunk at least twice, nearly double the average number in other developed countries.
British girls talk to a friend who is being treated in a ambulance parked outside a night spot in Cardiff city, Wales, on July 24, 2010. The Coalition government is widely expected to introduce new laws to give increased powers for local councils to curb binge drinking and to take action in areas plagued by alcohol-influenced crime and disorder. The previous government controversially introduced 24-hour licensing in 2005 when it was hoped would introduce a cafe culture society to British cities, but critics have claimed it has lead to wide spread binge drinking and a marked increase in violent disorder.
Matt Cardy
Teenage girls in the U.K. are the biggest teenage binge drinkers in the western world, according to a report.
Half of 15-year-old girls in the U.K. have been drunk at least twice — almost double the 29 percent average of other developed countries, according to the report "Through the Looking Glass," based on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures.
Meanwhile, 44 percent of 15-year-old British boys admitted to being intoxicated on two or more occasions, according to the report — commissioned by U.K. think tank Demos to provide lawmakers with recommendations on female empowerment.
And more than a quarter of 16- and 17-year-old girls admits drinking to lift their spirits, according to a poll conducted by Demos as part of the report.
Richard Darlington, the author of the report, told the Daily Mail: "Ministers need to address the underlying problems of low self-esteem and poor parenting during younger girls' early years, rather than just preach to teenage girls about drinking responsibly."
Meanwhile, ministers of David Cameron's coalition government blamed a relaxation of liquor licensing laws by the previous Labour government for the onset of a 24-hour drinking culture.
"These findings are further proof that Labour got it very wrong on alcohol … our towns and cities have become no-go areas in some places," said Theresa May, Home Secretary and minister for women, according to the Telegraph.
The report also found that teenage girls were particularly worried about money and their career prospects.
In a Demos poll of 500 British females aged 16 to 19, 84 percent were anxious about being able to secure the job they wanted in the future.
More than three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents said they were worried about not having enough money, compared with 38 percent who were anxious about finding a partner and 57 percent who were worried about getting into university.
When asked what would make them happiest, most (27 percent) said having more cash to spend, while a good or better relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend ranked next (26 percent).
More than half (55 percent) said their mobile phone was the most important item in their bag, while 62 percent said their main use of the internet was for social networking.
Teenage girls from lower socioeconomic groups were less happy than their wealthier counterparts.