According to the young people who took part in this project, alcohol is very much part of British youth culture. They talked about alcohol to a much greater extent than smoking or illegal drugs. Young people talked about their attitude to alcohol, their concerns regarding medication and drinking alcohol, the advice they got from their doctors and their own experiences.

Alcohol

Many young people found that the 'culture of drinking' was hard to handle when they were teenagers basically because they wanted to fit in with their friends and do what others were doing. Also several indicated that as teenagers they didn't understand the seriousness of their condition but many remember that as teenagers they were worried about what would happen if they went out drinking alcohol. As one young woman pointed out when she was a teenager she was going out with friends, trying to get into pubs and experimenting, but she found it difficult to get advice and information from her medical team because she used to go and see them with her parents. So it wasn't easy for her to ask “What would happen if I go out and get drunk” [Interview 02] Several said they have learned from experience how much they can drink and now they either drink in moderation or not at all. In a few cases excessive drinking resulted in serious medical problems which required hospitalisation. 

She thought that alcohol didn't affect her but one time she drank a lot and ended up in hospital with acute pancreatitis. She hasn't drunk alcohol since.

She drank a lot of vodka which triggered a sickle cell crisis. She still remembers the pain and says that after that she can't stand alcohol.

Many young people pointed out that it is difficult to know what will happen if you drink alcohol because everybody reacts differently to it. Even within the same chronic condition there are often variations and the medications and treatments could be different. For instance one young woman with epilepsy indicated that alcohol does not seem to affect her while another girl with epilepsy, also in her twenties, has noticed that she needs to be careful about the amount of alcohol she drinks because otherwise she will get myoclonic jerks. These symptoms are controlled by medication but doctors told her not to drink too much alcohol because it stopped the medication from working. Nowadays, she drinks very little.

She does drink alcohol and it doesn't affect her but she was worried about her epilepsy and alcohol when a teenager.

In her teens it was difficult for her to accept that for medical reasons she couldn't go out and get drunk like her friends did but now she doesn't mind and drinks very little.

Many of the young people we talked to said they drink very little alcohol or none at all. Some said their consultants have warned them against excessive drinking because alcohol in combination with certain medication can heighten liver damage. One young woman with rheumatoid arthritis has a radical view on drinking alcohol and smoking and says that those who smoke or drink are 'unworthy of treatment'. One young man, also with arthritis, thinks that the message should be to make young people aware that if they are on medication they need to be very careful with alcohol. He usually has only one or two drinks.

Argues that people who smoke and drink do not deserve their free treatment. Says that people who have given up smoking and drinking feel much better afterwards.

Says that young people on medication ought to be very careful when drinking alcohol. He is not affected by it but only drinks in moderation.

Young people felt that they were also affected by the attitude of the friends they went out with. Several said that they feel comfortable going out with friends that do not put them under pressure to drink. Those who do not drink any alcohol when they went out with their friends said they could relax and enjoy themselves without drinking. But sometimes they found it difficult to explain to those they do not know very well why they do not drink any alcohol. Another girl said that for her the problem was that her friends would end up drunk and she will be the only one sober. Of course, it can be funny to see your friends drunk. 

She is generally open about her cystic fibrosis and thinks that is it better to tell others the reason why she does not drink alcohol to avoid awkward situations.

One young woman with type 1 diabetes is grateful to her nurse for giving her information and advice about drinking - early on. She says that this has influenced her attitude because it has made her aware of the short and long term consequences of drinking alcohol.

She says that the advice and information given to her by the diabetes nurse have been most useful and as a result she is less inclined to drink or to smoke.

Smoking

Most of the young people we talked to did not smoke and did not approve of smoking - just a few have experimented with cigarettes. Those who experimented with smoking did so in their teens. A young woman with sickle cell disease said that the problem when you are a teenager is that you want to do things like smoking or drinking alcohol because your friends are doing it and it can boost your image within the group. One young woman with epilepsy said that she still smokes on a regular basis.

Many of the young people we talked to commented on the difficulties of avoiding smoky places when going out with friends to pubs or clubs or, when working in restaurants or bars -which some of the young people were doing during their A levels and university years. One young woman with cystic fibrosis says that when working in a restaurant she was affected by the smoke and had quite a few IV treatments during that time. A young man with mild asthma said that he is not too affected by smoky atmospheres. 

He says that his asthma would of course get worse if he were to start smoking and stop doing exercise. He drinks very little alcohol and tries to avoid smoky places.

Says that she has wised up and advises other young people to understand that if they smoke or drink alcohol they will get more sickle cell crises than those who don't.

Illegal drugs

One young woman who was diagnosed with epilepsy in her teens talked to us about her experience of taking illegal drugs before her diagnosis. She said that when she was diagnosed she was going through what she describes as a 'very rebellious' phase, partying a lot and into taking drugs. After her diagnosis she understood that having epilepsy she could not take illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. However she acknowledges that she still wanted to take drugs so she compensated by continuing to drink a lot of alcohol. She found it difficult to talk to health professionals about her drug taking because her parents didn't know about it. 

Her first consultant was someone she did not get on with and she felt judged by her when she disclosed that she had taken ecstasy the day she had her first seizure. But her lack of good communication with health professionals meant that she didn't have any one else to seek advice and information from about drinking alcohol or smoking cannabis. In retrospect she thinks that for sometime she went on denying her epilepsy and cursing it because it prevented her taking drugs but now she says that her condition was like a 'blessing in disguise' because it prevented her from becoming a drug addict. 

Talks about her initial reactions after she was diagnosed with epilepsy and says that the NHS is not well prepared to deal with the issue of drug taking and drinking alcohol among adolescent patients.

Discusses friend's attitudes, learning from own experience, giving up illegal drugs and the lack of communication she had with doctors.

For more on Alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs see our Youthhealthtalk site on Epilepsy, Diabetes Type 1 and Depression and low mood.

Last reviewed April 2010.

Last updated April 2010.