Call me cynical but...as someone who lives in the UK...I don't believe the 16% figure. I'd like to see this corroborated by a few more studies first.
Generally the trend in the UK is:
- Fewer children reporting that they 'have ever' had an alcoholic drink.
- Stable or slightly higher figures for per head annual consumption
- The proportion of children drinking at 'harmful' levels remains pretty consistent
Personally I have always found it interesting to look at historical figures and trends for alcohol consumption. The figurus go up and down...what you seem to get consistently is 5-10% of the population getting in serious trouble with booze. The rest is just changes in general drinking patterns and the attitudes of society.
P