German teens top in drinking
German teenagers, including a large number of girls, are at the top when it comes to drinking.
The number of adolescents hospitalised for alcohol poisoning in Germany more than doubled in 2007, up from 9,500 at the beginning of the year to more than 23,000 by the end, according to figures released by German Federal Commissioner for Narcotic Drugs.
About 3,800 of these patients were between 10 and 15 years old. Teens who start drinking alcohol regularly before the age of 15 have a four-fold increased risk of becoming alcohol dependent.
The German Federal model project to combat alcohol abuse - "Hart am Limit" (Close to the Limit/On the Edge) - starts in the emergency ambulance.
The authors of a new study on the subject consider that it would be desirable to supplement this with a brief motivational intervention, based on the principle of motivational interviewing.
The objective is to tell the adolescents that they bear responsibility for changing their own consumption behaviour.
Studies in the US show that just one to four sessions can yield a lasting effect, said a release of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, which also carries these findings in its current issue.
