'Clean cut' generation is least likely to have ever had an alcoholic drink

Healthy pursuits: Teenagers from the special Bristol school 'Knowle DGE' camping and bike riding near Marlborough, Wilts as part of gaining their bronze Duke of Edinburgh award
Healthy pursuits: Teenagers from the special Bristol school 'Knowle DGE' camping and bike riding near Marlborough, Wilts as part of gaining their bronze Duke of Edinburgh award Credit: JAY WILLIAMS

Just one in six children below the age of 15 has ever had an alcoholic drink - a record low, according to new national data.

Findings from the annual Health Survey of England suggest that today’s youngsters are the most “clean cut” generation on record, and the least likely to have touched alcohol or tried a cigarette before they turned sixteen.

In 2003, 45 per cent of children aged between 8 and 15 who were surveyed reported ever having had a full alcoholic drink. Now the figure is less than 16 per cent.

The latest survey of almost 14,000 adults and children, published by NHS Digital, also shows the numbers of children who have had a cigarette is the lowest on record.

Just four per cent of those aged 8 to 15 had tried a cigarette, compared with 19 per cent of those of the same age in 2003. Public health experts said the figures for children were welcome.

Cigarettes 
Smoking among children has dropped significantly

The Portman Industry group, which promotes responsible drinking, said robust schemes to check ID of those trying to buy alcohol were making a difference, along side education and programmes to tackle underage drinking.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: ‘We welcome the continuing downward trend in children aged 8-15 being exposed to alcohol.”

He said the figures for adults were worrying, with 31 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women drinking above the recommended limit of 14 units a week.

Henry Ashworth, chief executive, Portman Group, said: “It is welcome that underage drinking continues to decline and is now at its lowest recorded level. This indicates that the combination of robust ID schemes, life skills education and programmes to tackle underage drinking are having a real impact.”

Alcohol on shelves
Health campaigners have called for minimum unit prices for alcohol Credit: PA 

Joanna Simons, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “It’s encouraging to see the downward trend continue in the number of young people who have ever drunk alcohol but worrying trends still remain.

“Regularly drinking above the recommended limits of 14 units a week, can lead to all sorts of health problems, mentally and physically."

Official statistics show that alcohol is the leading cause of death among 15 to 49 year olds.

Levels of smoking have continued to drop among adults, from 28 per cent in 1998 to 18 per cent in 2015, the new figures show.

In 2015, the proportion of adults who reported that they were current e-cigarette users was 5 per cent. This is an increase from 2013 when it was 3 per cent.

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