To celebrate his 18th birthday, Mark Shields of Prudoe, Northumberland, apparently downed three pints of lager, five double whiskies and three double shots of liqueur within 40 minutes. His father found him dead the next morning.
Around the country, young people like Mark are, if not literally drinking themselves to death, putting themselves at risk of accidents, health problems and sexual exploitation due to alcoholic inebriation.
Education gap
Last week, doctors highlighted fears that the Government's plans to relax licensing laws will mean greater numbers of people becoming affected by liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, at a far younger age.
The Government's smoking, drinking and drug habits survey of 11- to 15-year-olds for 2004 shows that almost one in four young people claim to have consumed alcohol in the past week, a figure that has remained more or less stable since 1988.
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