Number of off-licences in an area linked to teen drinking
hospital admissions, research reveals
By Daniel Martin
Last updated at 12:07 AM on 5th September 2011 The Daily Mail
A clear link between the number of off-licences in an area
and teenagers ending up in hospital through drink has been established by
researchers.
Charities have long warned that off-licences increase
opportunities for minors to get hold of alcohol by hanging around outside shops
and persuading adults to buy them drink.
Now a study by Alcohol Concern has found that, in areas
where there is a higher density of off-licences, under-18s are more likely to
be treated for intoxication or alcohol poisoning.
Clear
link: Research has found that in areas where there are a high number of off
licences, under 18s are more likely to be treated for alcohol poisoning or
intoxication
Outside London, there was on average one underage
alcohol-related admission to hospital every year for each two off-licences in
an area.
Charities have called for councils to be given extra powers
to prevent shops from becoming licensed premises if there are already too many
established there.
Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: ‘It
is a sobering thought that the number of off-licences in any one area has an
impact on over-18s drinking and ending up in hospital. It is a failing of the
current system that so many licences are being granted without due
consideration to young people’s health.’
Time
for action: Professor Ian Gilmore said the research highlights the need for a
comprehensive alcohol strategy, which tackles the affordability, promotion and
the availability of alcohol
Professor Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health
Alliance UK, said: ‘This research further underlines the need for a
comprehensive alcohol strategy from the government, which tackles the
affordability, promotion and the availability of alcohol.’
The study was carried by Dr Nikki Coghill, from the
University of the West of England. It uncovered a moderate but statistically
significant relationship across England, excluding the capital.
This is because London has consistently lower levels of
alcohol consumption than the English average.
The study found there was on average a two-to-one
relationship between the number of off-licences per 100,000 of the population;
and hospital admissions by underage drinkers for alcohol-specific admissions
such as alcohol poisoning or intoxication.
It concluded: ‘For every two off-licences per 100,000 of
population there was one under-18 year old per 100,000 of population being
admitted to hospital, meaning that on average in areas with a higher
concentration of off-licences, there are higher numbers of young people going
to hospital as a result of drinking.’
The analysis found that 10 per cent of all alcohol-specific
hospital admissions for under-18s are directly attributable to the
concentration of off-licences in a local area.
Of the 19,367 young people admitted to hospital through
drink between 2006 and 2009, more than 1,900 could be directly attributable to
the concentration of off-licences in the area.
Drunk:
More than 19,000 young people were admitted to hospital for because of drinking
between 2006 and 2009 for drink (posed by model)
In 2009 there were more than 49,000 in England and Wales –
up 25 per cent in 30 years.
Mr Shenker said: ‘Local licensing committees are currently
operating with one arm tied behind their backs. Current licensing legislation
does not give committees enough power to restrict high density of licenced
premises. A new health objective should be included in the Licensing Act to
enable local authorities to refuse new licences in order to reduce
alcohol-related harm and protect young people.
‘We also need more research to understand the relationship
between off-licence density and alcohol harms and better collection of alcohol
harm data to feed into licensing decision-making.’