Teenagers drinking an average of 177 pints a year

[AB Asks]

The shocking figures were revealed after a study in the North West into underage drinking and violence. The report showed as many as 40% of teenagers in the area binge drink. Of those who drank around 40% of them became involved with violence. What do you think? How can we discourage underage drinking? Are messages strong enough school or is this down to the parents?

[Gromit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7317745.stm

[ruby27]

I think all adults should send a clear message about drinking alcohol by permanently abstaining. After all alcohol is a poison which is harmful to the body, so if it became abandoned as a practice, apart from the downright weird who already chew tobacco or sniff snuff, it would go out of vogue.

A small glass of red wine might help with your heart but you can get the same result from dark chocolate. There are other mood altering substances that are far less dangerous.

[Gromit]

The biggest problem is poor nutrition and diet. Todays children are fed crisps, chocolate and pop from an early age. Their brains do not develop properly and the result is that they are extremely dim. Drinking alcohol is in the genes. Sh�te music glorifying violence and nastiness has been imported. All their brothers and sisters have different fathers. You cannot birch them because the EU who run this country will not let you. Gordon Brown will not do anything because he gets �Millions of tax to spend on gay drop-in centres. The police would sooner arrest an honest vigilante that go anywhere near an underage drinker. Some may possibly be from the swarm of eastern european immigrants that have swamped this country, try and deport them all and the do-gooders and PC brigade get upset.

[jake-the-peg]

So that's an average of a half pint a day is it?

Why is it just underage drinkers we're worried about?

Because we don't want to see any action being taken that might affect us perhaps?

Go and look at the British twenty-somethings in the mediterranean resorts this summer and tell me that the problem is just under age drinkers!

It's not just on Holiday either is it? Night Club fights, Domestic violence, alcohol related accidents

This country has a serious drink problem and we stand around tutting about under age drinking

The hypocrasy is breath taking

[ludwig]

lol@ gromit - it's funny because it's true.

[Booldawg]

But this is in the North West! ;-)

[sandrajo]

I blame the parents. Most of them don't know and don't care what their kids get up to now adays. 177 pints a year and who pays for it? the tax payer that's who, this kind of thing makes my blood boil.

To discourage underage drinking and violence the goverment would be better off setting up army type boot camps they seem to work in other countries why not here!!

[LoftyLottie]

Personally, I think it's down to parenting and the lack of family values these days.

How on earth can these underage kids afford the drink anyway. Where do they get their money from - parents?

[keyplus90]

In my view alcohol should be ban all together. So should be the other reasons where there are no parents around or unable to tell kids what is right and what is wrong. Of course these kids then turn into twenty - somethings.