Under-15s booze advice backed

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Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson told parents an alcohol-free childhood was "the safest option" to safeguard health.

For those aged 15 to 17, any drinking should be under the watchful eye of a parent or carer or in a supervised environment, he said. If this age group does drink, it should be infrequent and certainly on no more than on one day a week, he added.

The guidance states the brains of children under 15 were still developing and drinking alcohol could do serious damage.

He said: "This guidance aims to support parents, give them the confidence to set boundaries and help them engage with young people about drinking and risks associated with it.

"More than 10,000 children end up in hospital every year due to drinking and research tells us that 15% of young people think it is normal to get drunk at least once a week. They are putting themselves at risk of harm to the liver, depression and damage to the developing brain."

The guidance, which is open to consultation and could be changed, is the first of its kind for parents in England.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the Government had a "responsibility" to provide straightforward information for parents. "The decision about when young people should first drink alcohol is clearly best taken by their parents or carers," he said.

"But we know that parents want more information about the harms associated with drinking to help them make this decision. Government has a responsibility to provide straightforward information and guidance, which is exactly what we are doing."

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said the guidelines helped parents who had, for too long, received "mixed messages" about whether they should give their children a little bit of alcohol or not. "There are many more factors that influence young people's drinking than just what their parents say. The easy availability of alcohol at pocket money prices is far more important," he said.