UK should do more to cut teenage drinking and pregnancies, report urges

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3635

Published 9 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3635
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3635

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UK should do more to cut teenage drinking and pregnancies, report urges

Oona Mashta

¹ London

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

The UK government should target its spending on disadvantagedteenagers more effectively, says the Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development, which published a report thisweek showing that rates of underage drinking and teenage pregnancyin the United Kingdom are among the highest in the industrialisedworld.

Relatively high public spending on child welfare and educationin the UK is failing to produce results in many key areas, saysthe report, which compares the wellbeing of young people livingin the 30 leading industrial economies.

The UK spends more on children than most other industrial countries,at just over £90 000 ( ${euro}$ 103 000; $150 000) per child frombirth to the age of 18 years. The international average is justunder £80 000, says the report, Doing Better for Children.