“Warning labels like those on cigarettes would be the right step and an additional way of protecting youth from alcohol abuse,” agency president Heinz Hilgers told German newspaper Bild in its Wednesday edition.
German and European Union surveys this year showed rising rates of binge drinking – defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row – among German teens and pre-teens.
An annual government report on drugs and addiction released this week found 26 percent of respondents, children between 12 and 17 years old, reported binging on alcohol last year.
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 study. Some 19,500 German youth in that age group were hospitalized after drinking.
Teens are legally allowed in Germany to drink beer and wine at 16 years old. Hard alcohol is prohibited until age 18.