More teenage girls going to hospital because of alcohol than boys

Though it sometimes seems there are more teenage boys out there experimenting with alcohol, recent Department of Health statistics reveal that three times more teenage girls in England are being admitted to hospital for alcohol poisoning than boys.

To put that into context, a total of 4,939 girls aged 14 to 17 were seen by doctors for alcohol poisoning over the last five years, compared to 1,776 boys - an increase of 90% since 2003.

Girls’ lower tolerance to alcohol and their often smaller size both help to explain why there is a big difference in hospital admissions. The fact that many of those girls were probably out with boys, trying to match their consumption, could also be the reason why they ended up in A&E.

But let’s not forget, alcohol poisoning is only one of the reasons why teenage girls get hospitalised because of drinking - there’s also the accidents that can happen while under the influence and the fights and arguments that can lead to injuries.

If you take these incidents into account as well, the total number of alcohol related hospital admissions in England in the last five years was 24,000 for children under 16, and 13,000 admissions for young people between 16 and 17.

Sons and daughters

While some dads wait for their son to turn 18 so that they get down the pub for that first father and son pint and a chat about sensible drinking, it might be harder for them to talk to their daughters about alcohol.

Why is this? It’s most likely that they are less prepared to talk to their daughters about something that can potentially make them more vulnerable and at risk from the associated dangers, such as unprotected sex. With underage sex ranking as the number one concern for parents of teenage girls in a survey conducted by the Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCFS) last year, this comes as no surprise. 

There’s also the reasoning some parents have that when they were young, boys were out getting drunk, so nothing’s changed – boys will be boys, and all that. The notion of girls going out drinking themselves all the way to A&E via an ambulance was however not as common place as it is now.

Talking about it

So if it’s something that you haven’t felt the need to do before, now could be the time to start drawing from your own experiences of alcohol and introducing casual conversations with your daughter.

Worried that this could seem like a lecture to them? Our dedicated Talking to under 18s area for parents offers tips and advice on how to go about this the right way. Our alcohol and under 18s overview also provides insight into that age group’s relationship with alcohol.

Sources:

Drinkaware

Page last updated by

Matthew Bateman, 19 May 2010.

Page checked on

26 Aug 2009