These include a new offence of knowingly permitting a sale to a person under 18 years, a new duty on people selling alcohol to satisfy themselves about customers ages and the wider use of proof of age cards. For young people, who come in all shapes and sizes, and whose bodies may still be developing, risk free drinking does not exist. Not only sex, build and weight, but also physical tolerance, experience of drinking and the context in which it takes place are all crucial factors which affect young people s drinking experiences. A significant number of young people drink more than the amounts advised for adults. The consequences of young people s drinking are more likely to be related to intoxication rather than long-term health risks or incipient alcohol dependence.
Young people drink less often than adults, but when they drink, they tend to drink in large amounts.
In the early 1980s, hospital admissions for alcohol poisoning were calculated at about 1,000 a year. More than ten years on, these figures are still not collected routinely. Research from the Royal Liverpool Children s Hospital Accident and Emergency Department shows a ten-fold increase in such admissions between 1985 and 1996. In 1996, about 200 children under the influence of alcohol were brought into the department, ranging in age from 9 to 16. All either needed resuscitation from a large overdose or had injuries from accidents or assaults sustained while drunk.