JERSEY’S reputation as an island of heavy drinkers – who can beat almost every nation in Europe when it comes to alcohol consumption – could be changing…
And it is the younger generation “leading the way”, according to Public Health director Peter Bradley, who has said that a documented downward trend in drinking among the Island’s children is reflective of “a changing culture” with a greater focus on socialising without booze.
Professor Bradley made the comments after a major study by the World Health Organisation found that Great Britain had the worst rate of child alcohol consumption in the world, with more than half of children having drunk alcohol by age 13.
By comparison, a survey completed by thousands of Jersey students in 2021 recorded the percentage of pupils in Year 8 (aged 12 to 13) who reported having never drunk alcohol as 65%.
The figure had stood at just 17% in 2006.
The proportion of children in years 10 and 12 who said they had never drunk alcohol had also risen.
Despite this, the most recent Alcohol Profile report – released last year by Public Health – found that “harmful” levels of alcohol consumption remained a feature among Jersey’s overall population in 2022.
It highlighted that the Island was collectively drinking more than any other nation in Europe, except Latvia, with average consumption level among adults standing at 8.1 pints of beer or 2.6 bottles of wine per week.
But Professor Bradley said that Jersey’s young people were “leading the way in reflecting a changing culture locally”.
He explained: “The last Children and Young People’s Survey in 2021 saw that the percentage of young people who have never drunk alcohol has been increasing. This is also reflective in the numbers of those who have tried drinking at age 13 and more importantly, the percentage of all children drinking occasionally or regularly which is on the downward trend.”
He continued: “Jersey’s young people are leading the way in reflecting a changing culture locally, with overall drinking rates falling in this age group over recent years. There appears to be a greater focus on socialising without alcohol and a call from Islanders for more opportunities for children and young people socialising in ways that support good mental and physical health.”
