By Gillian Ellison

Last updated at 11:34, Thursday, 23 August 2012

PARENTS are being urged to take more responsibility for their children’s drinking habits after it was revealed that Copeland is the second worst area in the country for the number of under 18s hospitalised due to alcohol.

Figures show there has been an almost 12 per cent rise in the number of young people being admitted to hospital due to drink.

The borough has topped the national league table or been among the top for a number of years.

This is despite efforts to reduce the problem by all public sector organisations working together across Cumbria.

Whitehaven’s Sgt Ashley Bennett said: “All parents need to accept that they have a responsibility to change the culture of binge drinking among our children.

“We are regularly finding children – some as young as 13 – drinking alcohol in areas around Copeland.

“This can often lead to problems of anti social behaviour and violence not to mention the damage that is being done to their health and can lead to some serious health problems.”

And Su Sear, public health specialist for NHS Cumbria, agreed that more support was needed from parents.

“We know that nearly half of teenagers are bought and given alcohol to drink by their parents,” she said.

“Alcohol can have a serious effect on the health of young people and their mental development. In some cases it can even lead to alcohol poisoning or death if a huge amount of alcohol is consumed at once, especially as young people may not be aware of the strength of what they are drinking.”

The Local Alcohol Profiles – published last week by the North West Public Health Observatory – show that between 2008/09 and 2010/11 there were 136 under-18s per 100,000 population admitted to hospital in the Copeland area.

This was up almost 12 per cent on the previous year and not far behind the worst area – the Isle of Wight – which had 138 per 100,000 people. In third and fourth place were Burnley and Liverpool, followed by Allerdale in fifth.

Despite a drop of almost nine per cent on last year, there were still 132 under 18s hospitalised per 100,000 people.

Sgt Bennett added: “We are working continually with partner agencies, responsible licensees, schools and youth groups to try and combat the problem in a number of ways.

“We are also continuing to target irresponsible licensees who serve alcohol to children and other people who buy alcohol for them.

“However we do need parents to play their part in keeping their children safe by making sure they don’t have access to alcohol at home and that they educate them to the dangers of alcohol consumption at an early age.”

Community groups and charities also working to educate children on the dangers of alcohol and the Government is also looking to bring in tighter restrictions on selling cheap alcohol.

Su Sear added: “When it comes to changing opinions and habits around drinking alcohol we all need to try and work together, agencies, parents, schools and young people, so young people can make informed decisions around alcohol.”

The new figures reveal every local authority is experiencing substantial ill health, anti-social behaviour and premature deaths as a result of alcohol but levels are substantially higher in the poorest communities.

First published at 11:07, Thursday, 23 August 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk