SUPPORT workers are sending out a vital message to young people experimenting with alcohol - it has a stronger effect than you think.

Chiefs at York Alcohol Advice Service (YAAS) have released a raft of statistics to reveal the impact drink can have if it is misused.

The figures, revealed to coincide with this week's York Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, show that - on average - young people drink the equivalent of about five pints (or 10.4 units) of beer in every session. This is more than double the figure of just a decade ago.

Research also indicates that 62 per cent of drinkers are choosing alcopops. This makes them by far the most popular drink of choice for drinkers in their mid-teens along with cider and lager. But health bosses advise at least two drink-free days every week and Anne Coady, of YAAS, says that many of us, especially when drinking at home, don't realise how much alcohol we are actually consuming.

She said that heavy drinking, early in life, can lead to huge problems later on.

"If you have a tumbler full of a spirit at home, that can be up to four units (the equivalent of two pints of lager)," she said. "People often just don't realise the amount of alcohol that goes into one drink. The people we have coming to us often started using alcohol at 12 and 13-years-old. Alcohol is a problem that doesn't go away."

But while the figures reveal a grim message, it's not all bad news. For while 24 per cent of 11-15-year-olds will have had alcohol in the last week, 76 per cent will not.

And 14 per cent of 15-year-olds have never touched alcohol in their lives. During York Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, alcohol workers are handing out credit-card sized information about alcohol called "Know About Alcohol".

To find out more about alcohol use and its problems, phone the advisory service on 01904 652104.

Updated: 11:06 Saturday, May 17, 2003