This document provides information and sources for a documentary on underage drinking in the UK. It outlines potential interviewees, locations to film, and statistics from sources that show most underage teens drink alcohol and get it from their parents, many think underage drinking is normal, and there are thousands of alcohol-related deaths among underage people in the UK each year.

1. Research for Documentary

2. Interviewees:
• John Harper on the issues with underage drinking at his youth
project, BYP
• Nerys Turner on helping people with alcohol addiction

3. Locations:
• Hill Cliff Church where John works, in the youth section of the church
• Warrington General Hospital where Nerys works
• College when asking underage students if they drink for the montage
• Alex Park after teenagers have been drinking there (may need empty
bottles etc)
• The view from Hill Cliff

4. http://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/teenagers/dr
ugs-alcohol/underage-drinking/
• On average, UK children have their first alcoholic drink at 13 and, by just over 14,
hundreds have been drunk for the first time.* A survey of 15 and 16 year olds carried out
recently by the Drinkaware Trust** revealed that:
• 60% regard drinking as a normal part of growing up
• half of all 11 to 15-year-olds have already tried at least one alcoholic drink with their
friends
• half of 16 and 17 years olds drink at least once a week
• And despite age restrictions, 10% of 12 to 15 years-olds say they buy their own alcohol,
according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies. 63% of 16-17 year olds have bought their
own booze in pubs, nightclubs and bars. Beer and lager are the most popular drinks
among under 18s, with spirits, wine and alcopops also popular.
• This source gives statistics of how many underage teens drink and how the majority think
it is normal to drink underage when growing up.

5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25047079
• Over a four-year period, just 16 people were convicted in the UK of
buying alcohol for a child, it added
• On-the-spot fines of £90 can be issued for people who help children
buy alcohol, while those convicted of the crime can be fined up to
£5,000
• This source shows that even though there is a punishment in place
when buying alcohol for under 18’s, not many people get convicted
for it.

6. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
388826/Parents-responsible-underage-drinking.html
• A total of 48 per cent said they had got the drink from their parents, while 23 per cent of those getting 'very
drunk' at least once a month said their main source of alcohol was their parents.
• Despite the illegality, 89 per cent said their parents did not mind as long as they did not drink 'too much'.
Three per cent said parents let them drink 'as much as they liked'.
There was a 'strong association' between drinking and crime. Some 26 per cent of those who drank one to
three times a month had committed a violent offence.
• Regular underage drinkers were also more likely to take drugs
A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said: 'It's important to remember that alcohol is a dangerous substance
when misused, and there are no "safe levels" at which young people can drink without risking their well-being.
• 'An average of 13 under-18s a week end up in hospital because of drinking too much, not to mention the
fact that alcohol can lead people to make risky decisions.'
• This source shows that most teens get alcohol off their parents and the majority of parents are fine with
breaking the law and letting their children drink. It also shows how dangerous it is to drink underage and
how many teens end up in hospital from it a week.

7. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/binge-drinking-
british-girls-second-2866305
• Teenage girls in Britain are the second biggest boozers in the
developed world, a study reveals
Demos found that among 11 to 15-year-olds who had drunk alcohol
over the past month, one in five said it had been brought for them by
their parents.
"The younger people are when they get drunk, the more likely are
serious health risks in later life.”
• This source shows how teenage girls in England are the worst for
underage drinking in the world, and again shows its parents who buy
them alcohol.

8. http://www.thinkb4udrink.org/going-out/
underage-drinking/
• Nationally each year it is estimated approximately 5,000 young
people under the age of 21 die as a result of binge drinking; this
includes deaths from road traffic collisions, suicides and from other
injuries such as falls, burns and drownings.
• This source shows there is a very high number of deaths a year linked
to teenagers drinking alcohol and getting into trouble from it.