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Underage drinking 'is bigger problem for white middle class families'

By Gerri Peev
Last updated at 9:30 AM on 17th February 2010

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Underage drinking is most common among white middle-class families and liberal parenting attitudes are to blame, a government report has warned.
It found white children are five times as likely to have been drunk as those from ethnic minorities - 28 per cent compared with 5 per cent.
The study blamed affluent parents who adopt a European attitude and allow children to try alcohol at home.

Underage drinking is a bigger problem for white, middle class families than other social groups, a new report has found

More than half of young people in well-off homes (52 per cent) had drunk alcohol while that figure dropped to 45 per cent in poorer homes.  

More than 2,000 parents of nine to 16-year-olds were interviewed across England by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
The report said: 'In general, white parents, heavier drinkers and AB parents [the wealthiest social group] were more likely to think that it is acceptable for children to start drinking at a younger age.'

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker hopes the research will change parents' attitude to their children and alcohol

Researchers found 62 per cent of children regularly had alcohol at home and a quarter said they had been drunk.
Children as young as 12 had an average of four units a week, while sixth-form boys who said they had drunk in the past week consumed an average of 24 units.
Government guidelines say that under-15s should not drink at all and that children aged 15 to 17 should drink only under adult supervision.
Seven out of ten parents felt that it was safer to introduce their child to alcohol gradually, as they do in Europe.
Only 38 per cent of all parents agreed it was better to ban drink for under-18s, although this rose to 77 per cent among black parents and 75 per cent among Asians.
Parents also underestimated the amount they drank, saying they were 'light' or occasional' drinkers when they consumed the recommended government guideline of about three units per day.
The widespread adoption of European drinking attitudes across Middle England will dismay the Government.
Successive studies have shown that the younger someone starts drinking, the more they consume throughout their lives.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251531/Underage-drinking-bigger-problem-white-middle-class-families.html#ixzz13yeZUfYc

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Depending on the media in question, there are sets of rules that the drinks industry must adhere to. These prohibit advertising that:

• Targets young people under the age of 18.
• Implies that drinking alcohol improves your social skills or makes you more sexually attractive.
• Encourages any form of irresponsible drinking.
• Suggests any form of association with drugs.
• High alcoholic content should not be emphasised as being a positive quality.