Irish teens drinking less often than European counterparts

Irish teenagers drink less often than the European average but when they drink, they consume more than many of their counterparts.

According to new comprehensive research by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, about 50 per cent of 15 and 16-year-olds had taken an alcoholic beverage in the 30 days prior to the questionnaire.
But only about one quarter (23 per cent of boys and 27 per cent of girls) said they had drank alcohol three or more times in the past thirty days. Just four other countries had lower percentages than Ireland in this category. Greece was top of the list with over half of boys saying they had consumed alcohol more than three times in the month.
However, on the occasions when they did drink, the Irish teen consumed an average volume of 6.7 centilitres, compared to the European average of 5.1 centilitres.
Only Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden’s 15 and 16-year-olds drank more on their last day of drinking when asked by researchers from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (EPSAD).

Irish teens drinking less often than European counterparts

Comments