Underage drinking in the United Kingdom since 1970: public policy, the law and adolescent drinking behaviour

This paper is concerned with underage drinking in the United Kingdom since 1971 and public policy relating to this issue. Research into youthful drinking and the relevant licensing laws are summarised. Data obtained from surveys and from statistics relating to offences against the licensing laws are presented, which together illustrate the difficulty in enforcing this legislation. It is concluded that there is no evidence that 'underage' drinking has either increased or decreased over the past 20 years, and that the criminal statistics give little indication of the regularity with which the licensing legislation is breached. Reasons for this include difficulty in assessing the age of young people and the complicated nature of the licensing laws.