Heavier Drinking At an Earlier Age
E.U. Study Finds Worrisome Trends
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Saturday, May 10, 2008; 9:34 PM
VIENNA -- A 13-year-old schoolgirl in southern Austria celebrated the start of her spring break with a bottle of schnapps.
She ended up in intensive care.
In other countries across Europe, adolescents are making similar headlines for drinking themselves into a stupor, often passing out in the process.
And they're getting younger: A June 2006 European Union-commissioned report says nearly all 15- to 16-year-old European students have had alcohol at some point in their lives and, on average, now start when they're just 12 1/2 years old.
The data stem from a 2003 survey by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
More than one in six have "binged" -- had five or more drinks on a single occasion -- three or more times in the last month, said the report by the London-based Institute of Alcohol Studies. It excluded E.U. newcomers Bulgaria and Romania.
In contrast to the United States, where even adults are often asked to prove their age when buying beer and other alcoholic drinks, laws in Europe are more lax and the drinking age generally hovers around 16 or 18.
Supermarkets sell alcohol and, unlike in the United States, bottles and cans are seldom stashed away in areas that are off-limits to underage customers. Carding is uncommon.
In Austria -- where binge drinking is known as "komatrinken," or "coma drinking" -- a new law prohibits the sale of alcohol to anyone younger than either 16 or 18, depending on the region, and requires cashiers and establishments to card customers if they have any doubt about their age. Failure to do so can result in fines of up to $5,610 and loss of a liquor license.
"When it comes to coma drinking among young people, we're dealing with a phenomenon that needs to be battled to the best of our abilities," Economics Minister Martin Bartenstein said.
Authorities and experts alike acknowledge the issue isn't going away.
The World Health Organization estimates there are 76.3 million people with alcohol use disorders worldwide.
