The IAS on Thursday said 29 per cent of teenage girls were binge drinkers in 2003 compared with 26 per cent of boys.
LONDON: The Institute of Alcohol Studies on Thursday said 29 per cent of teenage girls were binge drinkers in 2003 compared with 26 per cent of boys. In 1999 the figure was 27 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
Teenage girls in the UK have overtaken boys as binge drinkers for the first time and are now second only behind Irish girls in Europe, according to a report. It said over a quarter of all 15 and 16-year-olds in Britain had been on drink binges three or more times in the last month.
In contrast France, where it is not unusual for children to be given watered-down wine with meals as a way of introducing them to alcohol, had very low binge drinking levels among adolescents.
The study, funded by the European Commission, found only 9 per cent of French youngsters were classed as binge drinkers.
Among adults, Britons rank among the top binge drinkers in Europe, causing widespread damage to the nation's health and social fabric. The study said British drinkers binge about once every 13 days — 28 days a year — the second-highest rate in Europe behind Finland and Ireland, both on 32 times.
The social cost of alcohol across Europe was estimated to be 125 billion euros from healthcare, crime and work issues.
The study said the damage could be limited by increasing alcohol taxation, tightening advertising rules and making labelling clearer about the dangers of alcohol misuse.
"If alcohol taxes were used to raise the price of alcohol in the EU by 10 per cent, over 9,000 deaths would be prevented in the following year," it said. It added that alcohol was the third worst public health problem in Europe after tobacco and high blood pressure.
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