Binge drinking has long been a worrying trend among young people. Many ended up in the clinic because of alcohol poisoning. But that has changed massively. The number of alcohol poisonings has fallen.
Binge drinking among children and young people caused a stir for years – now many of them obviously don’t feel like it anymore. According to a study by the commercial health insurance company KKH, the number of alcohol poisonings among 12 to 18 year olds fell to a record low in 2022.
In that year, around 10,680 children and young people in this age group were treated in a clinic nationwide for acute alcohol poisoning, the health insurance company said. That is five percent less than 2021 – and even 13 percent less than 2020. And compared to the pre-Corona year 2019 with around 17,950 people affected, the number fell by at least 40.5 percent.
Lowest level since 2006
This means that the number of cases of alcohol consumption among adolescents treated in hospital not only fell for the third year in a row, but also reached the lowest level since the first survey in 2006. The health insurance company registered the most young binge drinkers with alcohol poisoning, namely around 22,260 cases extrapolated, in 2012.
The health insurance company evaluated data from its own 12 to 18-year-old insured persons for inpatient treatment of acute alcohol poisoning – and extrapolated the results to the nationwide population of this age group using figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
This means: According to the data from the fund’s own insured persons, the proportion of all those affected by alcohol poisoning who were treated in hospital in 2022 was just under 0.07 percent. Extrapolated to the total population of over 84 million people, that is over 58,000. According to the results, the proportion of 12 to 18-year-olds was just under 18.4 percent among its own insured persons – so the fund came up with around 10,680 cases nationwide, and there were 212 among its own insured persons.
According to its own information, the KKH is one of the largest nationwide health insurance companies with around 1.6 million insured people. According to the study, in the pre-Corona year of 2019, the proportion of young people among those affected was over 22 percent, in 2008 and 2009 it was even over 26 percent; at the start of the survey in 2006 it was over 24 percent.
“No reason to give the all-clear”
The Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) defines binge drinking as the consumption of at least five alcoholic drinks at a party.
“It is very pleasing that fewer and fewer young people are apparently exceeding their alcohol limit,” said KKH psychologist Franziska Klemm. However, there is still no reason to give the all-clear because the numbers remain worrying: “Every young person with acute alcohol poisoning is one too many,” she emphasized.
Social motives and peer pressure often play a role in binge drinking, binge drinking or binge drinking. In addition, according to her, alcohol is still trivialized in society – after all, it is supposedly fun, puts you in a good mood and gives you self-confidence. For minors, hard liquor is also about the appeal of what is forbidden.
Excessive consumption is dangerous for adolescents
According to previous information from the German Center for Addiction Issues, significantly more alcohol is still consumed in Germany than the global average. Alcohol as a supposed cultural asset is widely accepted in society.
The problem: “Excessive alcohol consumption is particularly dangerous for adolescents and is associated with particular risks for healthy development,” explained Klemm. In addition to possible alcohol addiction, there is a risk of damage to the brain and organs, as well as accidents and violence.
At the beginning of the year, the Federal Government’s Addiction and Drug Commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, advocated that young people aged 14 and over should not drink alcohol in public, even when accompanied by their parents – which is permitted in Germany: “If children and young people are next to their parents sitting, the effect of alcohol is and remains the same and catastrophic at this age.”