33% of women start drinking age 13

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by Change | 17 Nov 2008

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A report finds a third of women begin drinking by the age of 13, with three-quarters consuming five or more units on nights out.

A study suggests a higher number of women are engaging in alcohol abuse than was previously believed.

Researchers from the University of Manchester suggest more than a third of girls begin drinking by the age of 13.

Three-quarters consumed five or more units on a night out, with a number engaging in alcohol abuse by drinking a week's recommended intake in a single evening.

Last year's Health Survey for England found ten per cent or fewer women consumed six plus units on a night out.

Valerie McMunn, the author of the report, suggested the lower the age females begin drinking alcohol the higher the risk of developing an alcohol problem.

"The younger girls in the sample, the ones closest to age 16, were the ones who had started drinking earlier," she claims.

Ms McMunn suggests more needs to be done to increase awareness of the health risks created by alcohol abuse and highlight the risk of possible dependency.

"The trouble is that for many of them, they just don't seem able then to stop," she states.

Warning of the risk of alcohol addiction, she recognises shy women who are on a night out may need a few drinks at the beginning of the evening to gain confidence but suggests people must learn restraint.

Recently, Labour member of the Scottish parliament for the north-east of the country Richard Baker described figures showing the number of alcohol-related suspensions in the country's schools as "shocking".

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