10 yr-olds seek rehab for alcohol addiction in Australia

Melbourne, Feb 12 (ANI): Children as young as 10 are seeking treatment for alcohol addiction in Australia, it has emerged.

Five Oz teens and youths die a week in incidents tied to binge drinking. And by 16, one in five teenagers regularly binge drink; by 18 it is 50 per cent, reports the Herald Sun.

A national survey of high school students has found parents have eclipsed friends and all other sources for supply of alcohol.

Every third child aged 12-17 turns to mum or dad for party booze.

A recent study by Odyssey House, one of the country's biggest rehabilitation centres, found 90 per cent of residents named alcohol as their first drug of intoxication at 12 or 13.

Chief executive James Pitts said the short-term risks of alcohol were obvious with about 264 people aged 15-24 dying every year in falls, crashes, fights and other alcohol-related incidents.

"Research indicates that the earlier people start to drink the greater likelihood they will develop problems later in life," he said. (ANI)