Germany edition

Seven-year-old boy found on sidewalk with alcohol poisoning

Published: 9 Nov 09 08:54 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20091109-23119.html

A seven-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was found on a Berlin sidewalk with extreme alcohol poisoning, the police reported on Monday.

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Residents in the city’s Spandau district alarmed emergency services around 6 pm on Sunday when they found the boy trembling and vomiting on the Schönwalder Straße sidewalk, police said.

He had a blood alcohol level of 0.2 percent, or 2 promille, and remains hospitalised in intensive care.

Initial investigation has revealed that the child drank alcohol at a playground with his nine-year-old brother after acquiring the beverages from other youths there.

According to a government study released in May 2008, there has recently been a sharp increase in youth drinking in Germany.

Some 26 percent of German children in the study reported binge drinking – consuming five or more drinks in a row – in 2007. That was up from the 20 percent who reported binge drinking in 2006.

The number of hospital visits due to alcohol overconsumption among Germans aged 10 to 20 has also more than doubled since 2000, according to the report. Some 19,500 German youth between 12 and 17-years-old were hospitalized after drinking.

Teens are legally allowed to drink beer and wine in Germany at 16, though hard alcohol is prohibited until they turn 18.

DDP/DPA/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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Your comments about this article:

18:25 November 9, 2009 by dyandra32

Correction....the US is #24 PER CAPITA. You can not compare large countries, like the US, with smaller countries the size of a large city. Also, I would have to wonder about the validity of this list considering that Liberia, the Sudan and Iraq are not on the list. Does genocide not fall under the category of murder?

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22:11 November 9, 2009 by OPB

Why has this erupted into such a big issue? If the child survives this ordeal then he will clearly remember not to do so again, shame on his parent(s) for not teaching him otherwise but he'll learn his lesson for sure.

Report abuse »

02:23 November 10, 2009 by RaptorX

fear of guns in US, fear of depressions and stress in Germany... is the same thing dressed in different colors...

still, the kid was outside in dark time, with his 9yr old brother, drinking alcohol... something is wrong anyway you put it.

Report abuse »

05:31 November 10, 2009 by slobo

An alcoholic at seven...interesting...I was an alcoholic at thirteen...that was 55 years ago...

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03:32 November 11, 2009 by dancer66

This is so sad and disturbing. I don't think a child that is loved and well cared for by his family would do something like this. Children are a product of their environment. I think the parents should be held responsible.

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