Emergency Admissions Linked to Underage Alcohol Use Nearly Double

Young people in Guernsey are landing in hospital at nearly twice the rate they were 15 years ago. New data reveals the full scale of the island’s youth drinking problem.

Freedom of Information figures obtained by the BBC show emergency admissions in under-18s rose from 42 in 2010 to 81 in 2025. The numbers peaked sharply at 108 in 2022, the highest point in 15 years. Importantly, the figures cover alcohol, drugs and self-harm grouped together under a single coding.

Liam Doherty founded youth service Apollo. He says the numbers point to a deeper problem that messaging alone will not fix. “We’ve got a long history of binge drinking, and we haven’t educated young people in a sensible way out of it,” he told the BBC.

Why Warning Messages Fail to Change Youth Drinking Culture

Doherty is not only concerned about admission numbers. He argues that youth drinking culture has taken root partly because young people lack compelling alternatives.

“It’s not enough to educate them,” he said. “It’s not enough to say: ‘Alcohol is bad. Alcohol will harm you. You will do silly things on alcohol.’ Young people know this. We know this. But we actually have to do the work, build the relationships and provide the services that will change their trajectories.”

Clearly, telling teenagers that alcohol causes harm is not a strategy on its own. At best, it is a starting point. At worst, it fills a gap where real support should be.

A Youth Drinking Culture Rooted Deep in Island Life

Public health practitioner Amy Sharpe points to a cultural backdrop that explains why underage alcohol use stays persistent in Guernsey. Specifically, she draws on findings from the 2022 Wellbeing Survey and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. Together, these paint a picture of a community where alcohol is woven tightly into social life.

“We do have a culture in the islands that is around alcohol,” she said. “It’s not surprising to see that we’re finding this in young people, and it’s really looking at how we can change this alcohol culture in the bailiwick where alcohol maybe isn’t quite as acceptable, isn’t so socially acceptable to be drinking in these young groups.”

Additionally, Sharpe argues that tackling youth drinking culture needs a broad approach. Physical activity, mental health support and overall wellbeing all matter. Consequently, narrowing the focus to substance use alone will not be enough.

Calls for Better Data on Underage Alcohol Use

One major issue is how the data gets collected. The Committee for Health and Social Care groups alcohol, drugs and self-harm under one code. As a result, officials cannot separate underage alcohol use from other causes without extra work.

Doherty has pushed for a clearer breakdown. “Alcohol usage and binge drinking is very distinct from drug usage, which can be very distinct from self-harm and they may overlap,” he said. “But a hospital admission for somebody attempting suicide or self-harm is very different to somebody smoking so much cannabis that they think they need to go to hospital, and very different from who’s been doing funnels of wine at their 16th birthday.”

Therefore, without more precise data, it becomes harder to direct resources where they are most needed.

What Real Change Looks Like

Both Doherty and Sharpe agree on one point. Shifting youth drinking culture in Guernsey is not a communications challenge. It is a services challenge. Young people need credible alternatives and real support structures.

That means investing in youth workers. It also means building genuine relationships and creating spaces where not drinking feels normal. Furthermore, local institutions must commit to the kind of sustained effort that public health strategy calls for but does not always deliver.

Overall, the figures since 2010 make one thing plain. Without that investment, the trend is unlikely to reverse.

Source: nz.news.yahoo