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The city has a “minor” drinking problem.
One-third of underage New Yorkers admit to hitting the bottle, and half of those say they’ve thrown back five or more drinks at one time, according to a sobering new study by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Staten Islanders are the city’s biggest underage lushes, with 37 percent confessing to an alcohol-rich diet and 20 percent saying they’re binge drinkers, the study found.
White kids drink more than minorities, with 42 percent responding they had at least one drink in the last 30 days, compared with 39.9 percent for Hispanics, 28.6 for blacks and 14.3 percent for Asians.
While health officials say the numbers are troubling, New York kids drink 10 percent less than their counterparts across the country — possibly because there’s more for them to do.
“Research demonstrates that the diverse, vibrant environments (arts, sports, other cultural activities) of urban landscapes such as NYC appear to reduce the likelihood of youth initiation to or use of psychoactive substances, such as alcohol and drugs,” the Health Department reported.
Staten Island teens say the lack of anything going on in the most suburban of the boroughs may explain why they’re tops in the city for underage imbibing.
“It’s boring on Staten Island, so, of course, everyone will get high and drink,” said Victoria Nespica, 15, who is “waiting until college” to drink.
“It’s really easy to buy alcohol, and I know kids whose parents are totally fine with them drinking. They don’t supply the alcohol, but they stock the fridge with it, and the kids take it out.”
Nearly half of underage drinkers also reported being sexually active, compared to 18 percent for nondrinkers. Only 5 percent of nondrinkers said they’d used marijuana, compared with 35 percent of drinkers.
Hard-drug use was also more prevalent, with 9 percent of minors surveyed saying they had tried cocaine and 11 percent ecstasy, compared with less than 1 percent for nondrinkers.
Although underage drinking has been reduced over time, more needs to be done, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said.
“Children and teenagers should not be drinking alcohol, but many are drinking regularly and drinking dangerous amounts,” he said. “We have to make the risks of alcohol known to children and their parents, but we must also address the access and marketing of alcohol to children.”
Additional reporting by Ikimulisa Livingston