I started drinking when I was about 11. My dad gave me alcohol when I visited him. It would be several alcopops bought specifically for me not the odd sip of wine that most young people get. By 14 I was drinking with friends and getting paralytic but while they calmed down after the initial burst of insanity of being legally able to drink, I got worse. I was only drinking for 11 years in total, about 4 years problematically and alcohol dependent for about 8 months. That's enough for me. I think I managed to fit a lifetime of drinking into those years.