BMJ  2008;336:1036-1037 (10 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39569.487998.DB

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Fifteen children a day attend Scottish emergency departments as result of drinking alcohol

Bryan Christie

1 Edinburgh

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

About 15 children a day in Scotland under the age of 17 are arriving at hospital emergency departments drunk and in need of treatment.

The extent of the problem has been shown in an audit carried out at all 21 emergency departments in Scotland over six weeks. It found that 648 children under the age of 17 needed help for the effects of drinking alcohol, including 15 aged under 12 and one as young as eight. They had consumed an average of 13 units of alcohol—the equivalent of six pints of lager—in the 24 hours before attendance.

William Morrison, a consultant in emergency medicine who chaired the group that carried out the survey, said the figures tell a stark tale of Scotland’s serious alcohol problem.

"Many people will be shocked to learn that so many children, even as young as eight, are being treated in emergency departments for alcohol misuse, . . . [Full text of this article]


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