Teenage binge drinking

The American comic WC Fields measured the cost of living by saying drink had gone up another dollar a quart. By any measure, the price of alcohol still has a way to go before it affects the behaviour of teenage binge drinkers. Yesterday a survey of 32 countries confirmed what we already suspected - that adolescents in the UK are among Europe's worst in terms of levels of binge drinking, drunkenness and alcohol-related problems. More girls than boys are binge drinking. By their own admissions, drunkenness has contributed to high rates of accidents and unprotected sex. And not only are teenagers getting drunk more often, they are drinking larger amounts when they do.

The story is miserable and familiar. That does not make it any easier to solve. Yesterday's report, from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, brought fresh calls for an increase in the price of alcohol. The government has already backed away once on this issue this month, by rejecting the advice of Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer for England, and succumbing to the argument from the drinks industry, which accused him of penalising the sensible majority of drinkers. And it is unlikely to be any braver now, as it braces the nation for a new age of austerity. The figures on the rise of alcohol-related disease are chilling, but the answer is not just to prevent cans of lager being sold at 50p.

There is a distinct whiff of Victorian moralism in a tax hike which would affect the poorest and most vulnerable most, while leaving the middle classes free to indulge in their favourite tipple and call their own intake moderate - whatever that means. And if increasing the price in bars and supermarkets was the only thing that was done, teenagers would simply get their hands on the rough stuff. A two-litre bottle of white cider contains about the same amount of alcohol as a half bottle of whisky. The real concern is how to stop increasing numbers of young people from self-destructing. The answer must lie beyond the immediate price of drink.

Much of the problem is cultural. So are some of the answers. Young people need better education, the real chance of a job, and better places to hang out. They need parental control and, where that fails, groups to which they can turn. Centres that stay open on Friday and Saturday nights provide alternatives to antisocial behaviour - but none of this comes cheap. Another report published yesterday will get less attention. Ofsted noted a significant improvement in youth work services in the last three years. Stopping teenagers from ending up in A&E departments each weekend will take more than simply slapping a higher price on booze.