European countries ranked by how often they binge drink in a major new report… and guess how British drinkers measure up

British women have come close to the top of a new European ‘binge-drinking league’, raising concerns that warnings about the health damage of alcohol are being ignored.

Current NHS guidelines recommend no more than six drinks per week, with this amount spread over seven days.

Yet a quarter of women in Britain admitted to regularly consuming that much or more in one session – defined as ‘heavy episodic drinking’ in a new report.

Only Danish women were more likely to use the bottleaccording to research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

While 45 percent of British men admitted to drinking alcohol regularly, they finished fifth in the rankings, behind Romania, Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg.

This meant that Britain was third overall on the drinks list.

Even more worryingly, British teenage girls under the age of 15 drank more than almost any of their European peers.

A shocking one in ten (12 percent) of 13-year-old girls in Britain admitted to being drunk ‘at least twice’ – despite the legal drinking age being 18.

Only Bulgarian young women fared worse: 14 percent claimed to have binged.

By comparison, nine percent of British boys of the same age said the same.

Meanwhile, three percent of 11-year-old boys and two percent of girls of the same age admitted to drinking.

Research has shown that adolescents who drink heavily are less likely to achieve good school results and develop an alcohol addiction later in life.

Commenting on the findings, experts warned that drinks companies were mainly targeting young women with advertisements that presented alcohol consumption as a feminine practice.

The study looked at the drinking habits of adults in 38 countries and found that adults in Turkey drank the least, with only one percent of women and five percent of men regularly bingeing.

In conversation with De TimesProfessor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said drinking among girls is ‘a real cause for concern’.

In 2022 – the most recent annual figures are available – the rate of premature deaths from alcohol-related liver disease in women was 6.5 per 100,000 people under the age of 75 – higher than the rate in men.

That year, 3,929 women died prematurely from liver disease, an increase over the past two decades.

Professor Gilmour added: ‘While it is unclear what exactly is driving this trend, changing cultural norms and cleverly targeted marketing campaigns are likely to play a role.’

Dr. Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said this is the case at every level underage drinking was harmful.

Speaking to The Times, she said: ‘There is still a widespread belief that parents should introduce their children to alcohol to teach them to drink.

‘However, research shows that the earlier a child starts drinking, the greater the chance that he or she will develop alcohol-related problems later in life.

‘That’s why it’s so important to delay starting to drink for as long as possible.’

The NHS recommends that people drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week – the equivalent of six pints of beer or six medium glasses of wine – spread over at least three days.

In Britain, under-18s cannot legally purchase alcohol, but over-16s can drink (but not purchase) beer, wine or cider with a meal if accompanied by an adult.

However, official health guidelines state that ‘children under the age of 15 should not drink alcohol’ due to the damage it causes to developing organs and bones.

Meanwhile, in addition to liver damage, heavy alcohol consumption has also been linked to an increased risk of a variety of cancers, including breast, head and neck cancers and cancers of the digestive system, including colon cancer.

The OECD hinted that Britain’s less fair attitude to liquor laws was part of the problem.

The report states: ‘Heavy episodic drinking is a particularly harmful pattern of alcohol use.

‘To tackle the substantial burden of alcohol-related harm, EU countries have implemented several policies and interventions aimed at reducing consumption and promoting responsible drinking.

‘These include taxes, availability restrictions and advertising rules.

‘However, the effectiveness of these measures is often limited by inadequate implementation, limited resources and industry resistance.’