The number of children and young people from Bavaria who had to be treated in a clinic for alcohol poisoning was lower in 2022 than it had been for a long time: for the first time in more than twenty years it was below 2,000. Exactly in 1985, girls and boys between ten and 19 According to the most recent data from 2022, people came to hospitals with alcohol levels that were too high. That is around four percent less than in 2021, as the health insurance company DAK Bayern announced, citing data from the State Statistical Office. This means that the downward trend continues.
Since the surveys began in 2000, the number of young binge drinkers in the Free State rose continuously until 2011. The trend reversal came in 2012. There was a significant decline in the first pandemic year of 2020. Experts attributed this to the fact that young people had fewer social occasions for excessive drinking due to the lockdowns and contact restrictions as a result of the Corona measures. The downward trend continued in 2021 and 2022.
New way of dealing with alcohol due to the corona pandemic
A spokeswoman for the Federal Center for Health Education explained that the young people may have “tried out a different approach to alcohol during the pandemic and maintained these habits.” To put it into perspective: Before the pandemic, on average between 2016 and 2019, almost twice as many young alcohol patients were treated in Bavaria between 2016 and 2019, with almost 4,050 cases each year. According to the most recent data from 2022, there were 1,095 boys and 890 girls among those affected from the Free State. For the latter, the decline was significantly higher at minus 6.8 percent than for boys at minus 0.9 percent. #
Alcohol is harmful to teenagers in small amounts
The continuing trend is encouraging, said DAK country manager Sophie Schwab to the German Press Agency in Munich. “But despite the falling number of alcohol poisonings, one young person is still one too many.” Bavaria’s Health Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) pointed out that alcohol, even in small quantities, can have dangerous health consequences for children and young people. “Alcohol can have a lasting impact on the development of the brain and other organs and thus severely disrupt the physical and mental development of young people in particular.” The DAK has been organizing the “colorful instead of blue” poster competition for years under the patronage of the ministry. The next deadline is March 31st and there will be cash prizes of 12,000 euros.