Letter: The young don't drink too much

JIMI GETS "lashed" every weekend. Steve spends pounds 140 each weekend on drink. And Sharon knocks back the pints to keep up with the lads.

But hold on - are all young adults really into excessive binge drinking on a Friday night? The answer lies in your own reports ("Stressed out young hit the bottle", 31 October) even if the opposite is suggested in the headline.

We find out that Colin gets home by 7.30pm after a couple of pints. Catherine's giving the lager round a miss, sipping a soft drink instead. In Leeds, "few stay for more than three or four". And, bless me, average consumption for 18-24 year olds is, as you correctly point out, just 15.2 units a week. Jimi and Steve probably drink that all in one go - not a good idea, if they want to stay fit and avoid being accident victims on the way home. But most young adults are clearly well within the sensible drinking guidelines of two to three units a day (for women) or three to four a day (for men).

As usual, the minority of alcohol misusers are grabbing all the headlines. But most young people are smart enough to know how to relax, unwind, have a lot of fun and enjoy their drinking without crossing the line into senseless drunkenness.

JEAN COUSSINS

Portman Group

London W1