How widespread is alcohol consumption among the very young in Italy? The last report of the Ona

2023-08-31 14:29:27

How widespread is alcohol consumption among the very young in Italy? The theme is under the spotlight these days, in the wake of the debate sparked in relation to the latest news events, episodes of violence involving teenagers and in whose reconstructions the alcohol factor also came into play. The Ona (National Alcohol Observatory) of the Higher Institute of Health takes a periodic snapshot of young people’s relationship with alcohol. And according to the latest available data, released in the 2023 report, around 1,370,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 25 drank alcohol in ways that risked their health in 2021. In this age group, which includes from adolescents little more than children to young adults, 18.6% of males and 12.8% of females are consumers at risk, “with decreasing frequencies, but far from the expected value of zero for minors”, note the experts.

There are 620,000 minors – i.e. 16.5% of males and 14.2% of females between the ages of 11 and 17 – who appear to have drunk alcohol and are among the “risk consumers who would have requested and are requesting identification and a motivational counseling intervention, aimed at increasing awareness of the risk and harm caused by alcohol”.

And then there is binge drinking, a practice which in the year in question involved 11.4% of males and 6.4% of females aged 11-25. Among the under 18s, 2.3% of males and 1.8% of females have experienced binge drinking. Among 18-20 year olds, 72.3% of males and 62.2% of females consume alcoholic beverages, 300,000 drink in risky ways, 279,000 get drunk. Among 21-25 year olds around 450,000 are consumers at risk, 19.9% ​​of males and 10.9% of females, 424,000 those who get drunk. Numbers that lead experts to reiterate the urgency of “a national strategy dedicated to young people that aims at the objectives of the European Parliament Resolution for a zero alcohol strategy and those of the WHO”, the World Health Organization, “which for years has identified the context and the youth target as alcohol-free”.