Design Context: No News is Good News

The article i chose was "Big rise in number of drunken children in A&E" a link to my news paper article can be found by clicking here. My article talks about children getting themselves into hospital by drinking too much and how especially girls are even more likely to be admitted.

Opinions

"I think its the exciting element of breaking the rules that attracts most underage drinkers. Therefore there aren't too many ways to prevent this apart from lowering the age limit which would most likely backfire severely. Maybe making alcohol harder to buy and pushing up the prices in local stores would contribute well to the problem but overall it is a tricky one. We are living in a country known for its drinking culture so i feel some of the blame lies with the older generation; the parents; the adults. If they don't make the serious effort to change, then chances are the youth will follow and the cycle continues."

"As long as alcohol remains as heavily promoted as it currently is, young drinkers will continue to consume far more than they otherwise might of."

"Perants need to realise they are role models, their behavoure has more impact then what they tell their children"

"This report shows the devastating impact that alcohol has on young people who drink too much have"

"Everyone has a part to play in this. Parents, police, education and socail services need to work together."

"Underage drinking is something the parents need to crack down on before it gets out of hand or into the polices."

"Underage drinking is a part of growing up, to reduce it you need to tackle the social aspects behind it."

"I think perants can encourage underage drinking in some circumstances but i think you have brought your kids up well and there responsible theres often nothing wrong with underage drinking."

"If you allowed your children to drink and eductated them about it then maybe you wouldn't get people sipping white lighting in the parks at the age of 13."

"Underage drinking should be acceptable in moderation"

"You have to learn somewhere it is in kids nature to draw on walls and stuff they will do it without alcohol anyway."

"I use to do it so its alright i suppose..."

"If their was a way to get the perants to makes sure the u18's moderate the drinking then it could be more acceptable and safe."

"Underage drinking is getting out of hand because the children find it exciting and new, the perants should allow the children to drink at home on occasions to take the excitement out of it. Schools need to take a different approach on educating the pupils."

"Its the government, schools and perants fault for not educating the children enough"

"All the age laws make drinking illigal and exciting for the u18s"

"They are sort of a lost generation, because of the culture they have been brought up in. Their views on alcohol has been pretty well established."

Facts and Figures

Number of underage drinkers admitted to hospital rose by 32% between 2003 -2007.
92,220 under 18s were admitted to hospital between 2002-2009.
36 under 18s admitted every day to hospital
Girls are 1.3 times more likely to be admitted to hospital
2004-2009, 23,347 females were admitted to hospital
2004-2009, 18,159 males were admitted to hospital
under 18s consume 6.9m pints of beer per week
under 18s consume 1.7m bottles of wine per week
630,000 11-17 year olds drink atleast twice a week
Underage drinking costs the NHS 19million pounds a year
8,799 under 18s needed specailist care to tackle drinking problems
28% of 14-15 year olds cause damage while drinking
1 out of 10, 15-16 year olds got into trouble with the police due to drinking.
1 out of 5 teenagers drink and drive
11% of teenagers engage in unprotected sex due to drink.
5000 teenagers get admitted to hospital due to drink related reasons.
death from liver disease has risen in 24-25 year olds due to starting to drink at an early age