Why Has Britain Seen a Decline in Under-Age Drinking?

The U.K. has witnessed a significant drop in under-age drinking, a report published Friday by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) reveals. The charity claims that the decline is poorly understood, but the two most plausible reasons are that alcoholic beverages are increasingly expensive and parents are doing a better job of informing their children about the dangers of excessive drinking. The Institute of Alcohol Studies says today's parents are less likely to drink in front of their kids.

However, popular misconceptions are widespread, the charity argues, and more research is necessary into the reasons behind the trend. The report says that there is little evidence to support claims that stricter ID enforcement or the rise of social media, meaning young people spend more time online and less time drinking, have made any real contribution to the reduction in alcohol consumption among 11-15 year olds.

"This report takes an important first step towards understanding why under-age drinking has fallen, which is critical if we are to maintain the welcome progress of recent years and prevent a reversal of this trend," said Katherine Brown, the director of the Institute. "It's terrific to see that better parenting skills and improved family relationships may be contributing to the fall in drinking among children and young people."

In 2003, 61 percent of 11- to 15-year-olds in England had tried alcohol. The most recent statistics reveal that this figure fell by 23 percent to just 38 percent in 2014.

However, Brown is worried that if alcohol is made cheaper in the U.K., more young people will hit the bottle. The U.K. budget in March froze taxes on beer, cider and whisky.

"The influence of the economy and the affordability of alcohol on under-age drinking is perhaps more concerning, given that alcohol taxes have been cut in recent budgets. If alcohol continues to become more affordable, we could see a return to the under-age drinking rates of the early 2000s."

Health campaigners insist that under-age drinking is still a serious problem across the U.K. and much more needs to be done to combat young people's excessive alcohol consumption.

"Drinking among school-aged children is the lowest since records began, but we know that there is more work to be done to change behavior across the whole population," The Department of Health said.

A spokeswoman from Alcohol Concern, the leading U.K. charity tackling alcohol issues, agrees.

"It's encouraging to see the decreasing number of young people who have consumed alcohol, but we know from other research that those that drink are drinking more," she said in a statement issued to Newsweek. "Young people in the U.K. continue to drink more than young people in most other developed countries and in 2013/14 and a staggering 10,000 children and young people accessed treatment last year citing alcohol as a reason. Young people themselves believe that an increase in the cost of alcohol and greater limitations on its availability are likely to be main drivers for change for their generation."

In contrast, adult alcohol consumption in the U.K. is on the up according to figures released yesterday by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre. In 2014-15, there were 1.1 million hospital admissions related directly to excessive drinking; 44 percent of patients were aged between 55 and 74.