Parents, did anyone see the channel 4 documentary about teens who drink and end up in hospital?

Dammit, I really wanted to watch that and forgot to record it. It sounded interesting, and I'll be looking for the next part.

I think the main problem is the 'glamour' that surrounds drinking. We see celebrities falling out of cabs, out of their head, and of course they are 'role models' to our youth. What is shown in our soaps doesn't help - according to them, we celebrate with champagne, commiserate with straight whisky, relax with beer, drown our sorrows with vodka. Each of our major shows have a regular pub which is always busy and most people spend just about every evening in the pub! At least shows like, 'Friends' was based around a coffee shop. The UK's social circuit seems to circle around bars and clubs. It's our society and embarrasingly, our culture. I think adults need to have a more sensible approach to drinking before it will filter onto our youth, and like you say, raising the price will help immensely. Not all drink, as some of us do like a sensible bottle of beer at the end of a rough day, but the only reason people buy 'White Lightning' cider (dirt cheap) is to get drunk, not for a relaxing drink. Get rid of the cheap crap! Somewhere down the line, it's the adults buying it. A 16 year old cannot walk into tescos and buy it themselves, so who's the idiot supplying them with the means to put themselves into hospital? And the complete disregard for the NHS is appalling - I think if someone is known to regularly need medical treatment for drinking or smoking, they should be paying it out of their own pocket. After all - they can afford the habit in the first place, right? It's woefully unfair that children and adults alike die every day while sitting on an NHS waiting list and morons like that abuse the system.

Hey huni,

Yes I did watch it and I was disgusted. Especially the lads who were laughing about the crash and drink driving - IDIOTS.

The worst part is I used to be one of those idiotic teens - I would buy two litres of cider for myself by saving my pocket money for ONE DAY! So I am in agreement there that the price of alcohol needs to go up!!

I don't think it would work though - they always find a way of getting it - I'm sure shoplifiting would then increase.

I am only 20 myself, but I feel so old now, I can't understand what I found so enjoyable about it- nor can I understand for these teens now - I guess it all starts in secondary school - there is not enough discapline, the children grow up disobeying and disrespecting their parents.

We need it to be corrected from school age - I am all for bringing back the cane- People want to thumb me down for that then great - go ahead by all means.

Childen as young as the age of 9 are starting to drink -because there is just not enough discapline.

Something needs to be done soon. I hate to think what the future brings for our children.

xxx

I think we plce to much emphasis on 'teenagers' drinking! We need to see the Britain has a serious drinking culture problem with adults being just as bad as teenageers. I am only 20 and I have a 1yr old. I went out for my first night out in months last week and couldn't believe how bad it has got.

I saw two girls on the floor being sick, a catfight with 3 girls, one girl shouting that she had been drugged and her boyfriend running back into the club to get whoever done it and then getting beaten up by the bouncers, and someone walking about with a massive gash on his head.

I was terrified and it will be my last night out at a club in a while. we need to focus on getting more policing on the street at night times to stop this! Managers of pubs and clubs should have some responsiblitity over the things that happen in their clubs or as a resulted of leaving and should pay some sort of tax towards the NHS as should the people who are drunk and disorderly!

ETA : Can someone tell me when this is on? I would like to watch the rest of them...thanks

I agree with raising the price of alcohol. It's crazy that you can buy a HUGE bottle of Lambrini or whatever for under a fiver. And who actually drinks that crap other than people who just want to get off their face? I don't understand why we in Britain have such a binge-drinking culture whereas in other European countries it's not like that.

Next week on that program they're looking at teen pregnancy. Can't wait to see what they have to say. On the preview clip it was of a teenage girl heavily pregnant, standing outside the maternity unit smoking. I hope they don't just play up the stereotypes like this though.

Well to be fair stuff like that does show the extreme side.

But alcohol can be pretty bad. I agree price raises isn't a bad idea. They put a tax on alcopops here in Australia. Everybody was negative about it but surprisingly a drop in the sale of alcopops has been recorded and not accounted for in increases of sales of other alcohol. I think it's a really hard and complex problem to counter. Maybe it's a shame we have such good A&E because their behaviour is a form of natural selction...

Harriet

I don't believe government intervention or price raising will do a thing. alcohol consumption on a whole is acceptable in society. It is the culture that needs to changed. This is not a new problem it is as old as history itself. Most people turn a blind eye to it. It is in most cases lack of parental involvement with their kids. It is teaching about alcohol awareness from a young age and containing that teaching through the teen years.

I don't see why they are trying to make out that teens are a drain on the NHS when it is actually foreigners!!

Was in antenatal on tuesday and me + 3 others out of about 30 women where the only ones that could actually speak english!

Think they should do a programme about that.

the answers is education and installing morals and respect for others and yourself this has all been forgotten or push aside in life and this is the consequence, DISCIPLINE and respect is the answer installed by decent parents.but now days are themselves still children, most of the time too young to have the responsibility of parenthood, also it is all to easy to live now no one has any worries of going without as they know we have a free benefits system where if you don't work it doesn't matter as you will be given money left right & center to live on rent free so have no drive to work as they won't be left homeless or starving.

aim a mother of 3 girls and one on the way been married for 8 years but am scared stiff for my children in the Future it is very worrying Society has no boundary's

Im 16 and i agree it is really bad.

I think a way to resolve this would be to lower the drinking age. I know its sounds stupid but your teenage years are a time to test boundaries. If the drinking age was lowered its would be boring and half of the kids wouldn't do it anymore.

Britain and America have the highest drinking ages, and funnily enough also the highest teenage drinkers.

Its the same with teenage pregnancy. Lower the age!

Yeah and to make it more expensive i agree is a good idea.

I saw it! the girls foot was awful eerrrgghhh the girl who nearly lost it :( and i was CRYING loads when the lad died :( x

added info: same here they do a great job! i work in the hospital too, i dont actually work around patients but i do all the ordering, we do loads for trauma!