An EU Commission Survey of 15-24 year olds in Europe claims 'One of the most disturbing trends is that regular alcohol consumption begins at a younger age than it used to, and drinking to inebriation has become increasingly common among young people in Europe' The report concluded that overall volume and frequency of alcohol consumption had increased in Britain and in four other European countries. Similarly a report by Alcohol Concern entitled 'Britain's Ruin' claims, amongst other things, that young people are drinking and bingeing more.

Yet if we look at some of the figures as the above surveys, some very different observations can me made.

A survey by the UK Department of Health of 11- 15 year olds in the UK from 1988- 98 shows that the percentage of 11-15 year olds having had a drink in the last month has fallen from 26% in 1996 to 21% in 98, the same figure as when the survey began. Average alcohol consumption is 1.6 units a week, but most importantly, seven out of ten children report drinking under parental supervision, which suggests a responsible and social approach by most. A small minority (4% of boys and 2% of girls) had drunk over 15 units in the last week , illustrating the need for targeted help for the vulnerable and at risk, but the overall results are encouraging.

Similar statistics are revealed in the US. A detailed report, Our Healthier Nation 2010 estimates that 8% of 12-17 year olds occasionally binge drink, but that the proportion of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 having drunk alcohol at all in the last month has fallen from 50% in 1979 to 20% in 1998, indeed 77% of 8th graders disapprove of having one or two alcoholic drinks a day. Road deaths amongst 15-24 year olds have dropped from 22 per 100,000 to 11 in 1998. Finally within the US College fraternity( the US legal drinking age is 21) the number of freshmen drinking beer

occasionally or frequently dropped from 75% in 1981 to 50% in 1999. Hence by looking closely at two Nations, the UK and US, it would appear that the young are acting more responsibly than some would have us believe.