Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Alcohol abuse among German youths more than sobering

Recent cases of teen and even child alcohol binges are indications of increasing abuse by younger Germans, as an alarming new report published by a German health insurance company reveals.

Just last week, three children aged 11, 12 and 13 were found passed out at a playground in the city of Paderborn after drinking vodka. The most recent cases of alcohol abuse by minors highlight a steady and alarming increase of binge drinking by German youths.

“We are observing with concern that people being brought into hospital with suspected alcohol poisoning are getting younger and younger. Even kids under the age of 15 are coming to hospitals completely drunk,” Norbert Klusen, CEO of the TK health insurance company, told this weekend’s edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.

TK statistics revealed that between 2007 and 2008 considerably more children under the age of 15 had been taken to hospital because of presumed alcohol poisoning. If extrapolated to all children in that age group this would add up to nearly 2,400 cases of alcohol abuse.

The figures for adolescents under the age of 18 were equally sobering.

A hand reaches to take an alcopop from a supermarket shelfBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: When consumed in excess, alcopops can be just as harmful as other alcoholic drinksAccording to TK’s figures, the number of hospitalizations rose by 174 to 1,765 year-on-year. If projected to all youths in that age bracket, this adds up to some 20,000 so-called “coma bingers.”

Klusen warned that supermarkets, gas stations and restaurant and pub owners had to take on more responsibility in checking the ages of their customers. He said it was a problem “if a bottle of beer, a glass of wine and a cigarette while watching television with the family were always present.”

The health expert of the Social Democrats (SPD), Karl Lauterbach, demanded in the same newspaper that alcohol sales laws be tightened. He said that all adolescents who want to purchase alcohol be required to show proper proof of age. Lauterbach also called for stiffer penalties for retailers and restaurant owners who illegally sell alcohol to minors.

source: Deutsche Welle

More Treatment & Detox Articles

WHO Report States Alcohol Kills More than AIDS and Violence

A recent report issued by the World Health Organization has found that alcohol is more deadly than AIDS and violence as well as various other conditions such as tuberculosis. It is estimated that 4% of all deaths that occur worldwide are caused by alcohol. Such alarming statistics give rise to the need for more alcohol….

N.Y. among highest rates of drug, alcohol use in country

Nearly 1.4 million New Yorkers abuse or are dependent on alcohol, drugs or both. A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provided this and other information about substance abuse and mental health patterns in each state. Rates vary state to state, but all areas of the country are affected….

Challenges in ADHD Treatment

treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

About ADHD and Treatment According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, ADHD is a mental illness distinguished by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in young people and it affects 9 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 17. However, it also diagnosed in adults, as an estimated 2….

Heroin-assisted treatment safe and effective: study

A University of B.C. epidemiologist says there is now evidence to support a heroin-assisted addictions therapy clinic in Vancouver. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative, or NAOMI, study was a Vancouver and Montreal-based clinical trial assessing how patients respond to heroin, methadone and other opiate treatment. The three-year study treated 251 of the most chronically….

Drink link to premature birth

Doctors say women who drink heavily early in a pregnancy – possibly before they know they are pregnant – may be raising the risk of premature delivery. A study of 4,719 Australian women found almost an 80% higher risk for women who drank heavily in the first third of pregnancy, then stopped. However, experts warned….