‍You might think that only lifelong alcoholics get liver disease, but regularly drinking too much can increase a young person’s chances of damaging their liver.

Drinking when young people’s brains are still developing can have a long-term impact on memory, reactions and attention span.

If children binge drink, they are more likely to be binge drinkers as adults. Some studies have found a 4x increased likelihood of alcohol harm in adulthood for those who drink regularly before the age of 15.

The hormonal changes children go through at puberty make them more likely to take risks. Alcohol can further impair children’s judgement, leaving them vulnerable. Over a third (34%) of 16 and 17 year olds have walked home alone at night when drunk.

‍Just as with adults, alcohol can reduce a child’s mental and physical abilities, affecting judgment and co-ordination and making them more likely to get injured or have accidents.

‍Alcohol affects rational decision-making skills and they are more likely to take risks like having unprotected sex. This can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

Alcohol can be poisonous to anyone that drinks too much in a short space of time but children are especially vulnerable because of their smaller size. There were 10,569 alcohol specific hospital admissions for under 18s for the period 2018/19- 2020/21 in England – that’s almost 10 per day.

Young people who drink regularly are more likely to have poor mental health, including self-harm and suicide. One in six children under 16 were identified as having a mental health problem in 2021 and more than four out of ten young people who drink alcohol report they are drinking to cope.  But alcohol will only worsen depression, anxiety and poor mental health and is also linked to higher rates of self-harm and suicide.

Research shows that children who start to drink by age 13 are more likely to go on to have worse grades, skip school and, in the worst case scenario, be excluded from school. One study found that regular drinking by age 14 is linked to a 20 point drop in GCSE grades.

Alcohol affects your skin, can cause weight gain and disrupts sleep patterns.

Compared to non-drinkers, underage drinkers are more likely to smoke tobacco, use cannabis and other drugs.

Children and teenagers who drink may behave and react unpredictably. They have less self-control and their brains struggle to recognise “warning signs”. This can lead to aggression and fights. Research shows that their risk of being involved in violence and serious vandalism increases the more alcohol they drink. This can lead to arrest and a criminal record.