Girls drink alcohol ‘as often as boys’

Girls are drinking alcohol as often as boys for the first time,
research on young people’s lifestyles has revealed.

But the number of young people who had drunk alcohol in the week
before they were questioned fell from 25 per cent in 2003 to 23 per
cent in 2004.

Smoking, Drinking and Drug use among Young People in
England, which surveyed 10,000 children and young people,
mostly aged 11-15, also finds that fewer young people take
drugs.

And it highlights continued progress in reducing the number of
young smokers.

In 2004, 9 per cent of those surveyed were regular smokers, below
the government’s target of 11 per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds by
2005.

• More figures available from www.dh.gov.uk