A World Health Organisation (WHO) report based on data from 280,000 children in the world has found that over 10% of Maltese children aged 11 have had alcohol.
The report, titled 'Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children', states that 10% of Maltese 11-year-old girls have had alcohol, while 14% of Maltese 11-year-old boys have had alcohol as well.
Meanwhile, the percentage of Maltese 13-year-olds who have drunk alcohol was 36% for under-age girls, and 29% for under-age boys, a report in The Times of London says.
The study looked at trends of under-age drinking across 44 countries in Europe, Central Asia and Canada, examined by WHO. The report highlighted that children in England are more likely to drink alcohol compared with other children, being named the ‘worst in the world’ for under-age drinking.
The percentage of English girls aged 11-years-old who have drunk alcohol was that of 34%, while 35% was recorded for English boys. Among 13-year-olds, 57% of English girls have had an alcoholic drink, and 50% of boys in England have drunk alcohol, compared with a global average of 33%.
This makes England in the “top of the charts” globally for child alcohol use at the under-ages of 11 and 13, with health experts warning that this is a “major public health threat,” which is damaging brain development, and increasing the risk of violence and drug abuse.
The country which followed England with the highest percentage of teenage drinkers was Hungary, recording 51% of girls who have had alcohol, and 47% of boys aged 13.
For 11-year-olds, the country recording the highest percentage of boys who have had alcohol (after England) was Moldova with 33%, while 26% of Bulgarian 11-year-old girls came second to English girls of the same age.
The country which recorded the lowest percentage of under-age drinkers was Tajikistan, where 1% and 2% of girls and boys aged 11 have drunk alcohol. Tajikistan also recorded the lowest percentages of 13-year-old girls and boys who have had alcohol, amounting to 1%.
The global average for children aged 13 who have had alcohol was that of 33% for boys and girls, while the average for children aged 11 was 13% for girls, and 18% for boys.
The WHO report also looked at vaping, finding that it was most common among children in the UK than in most other nations, including France, Germany, Spain and Canada.
The study also found that children from wealthy households were the most likely to drink, with experts warning that they “mirror” the behaviour of affluent parents who indulge in frequent glasses of wine.
Teenage girls in the UK were also found to be more likely than boys to get drunk, vape and smoke, which the authors of the report suggesting that this reflects a worsening mental health crisis in girls since the pandemic.