WHO report shows decreased alcohol consumption in teens

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report has found a further decrease in the consumption of alcohol among adolescents.

The WHO report, called Adolescent alcohol-related behaviours: trends and inequalities in the WHO European Region, 2002–2014, examined alcohol trends amongst 15-year-olds in Europe. It found that there was a significant reduction between 2002 and 2014 in alcohol use amongst young people in 36 countries.

Among these European consumers, it was revealed that the largest decline in alcohol consumption occurred in England, followed by Scotland.

Weekly drinking amongst teenage boys in England has dropped from 50% of the demographic in 2002 to just 10% in 2014. Wales had the second largest decline for boys, from 47.6% to 11.8% across the same period.

For girls, 43.1% in England drank alcohol weekly in 2002, falling to 8.9% in 2014. This was the largest decline for girls across the 36 countries, followed by Scotland which saw prevalence drop from 41.1% to 10.7%.

Consumption of beer dropped significantly most in Wales, Denmark, and England.

This downward trend is matched by the increasing popularity of soft drink alternatives to alcohol, such as functional, non-alcoholic craft drinks.

This has also given way for the rising trend of cannabidiol-infused soft drinks to improve prospects in the soft beverage sector targeting younger consumers.