Do teenagers think before they drink?

Teenage girl's drink twice as much alcohol today as they did a decade ago, according to a new survey, and children who drink heavily are much more likely to do so as adults - which explains the shocking 300 per cent rise in liver disease among young women over the past seven years.

Men should not drink more than four units a day (two pints of lager) and women no more than three units (three glasses of wine). Like many teenagers, 17-year-old Londoner Lia McQuiston keeps within the daily limit during the week, but on saturday nights will drink three times this amount.

Health experts are particularly concerned by binge drinking, which damages the liver far more than moderate drinking, especially in young women.

So what do teenagers today really think about drinking, especially those that started young? Lia reveals how alcohol affects her and her friends' lives...

'I've only ever been really "out of it" a few times. I'm usually in control and only get drunk to the point of being sick about once every three months. At a big black-tie event I might think: "What the hell? I fancy getting drunk."

Not long ago I went to a friend's 18th, organised by his parents, and everyone was saying: "We're going to get absolutely slaughtered tonight." In that situation, everything is provided. There's champagne to start, and wine and beer through the night. But big nights like that don't happen very often.

All my friends drink, and have done for several years. My mum has never had a problem with me drinking, and I often drink with her. And no one else tries to prevent it - in fact, my boarding school has a bar where we can drink and I'm rarely refused in pubs and clubs.

It's true that teenagers have always enjoyed getting drunk, but I don't think there is such a stigma attached to it any more, and that makes it more acceptable - which in turn means people get drunk more often and at a younger age.

Sometimes I hate the feeling of being drunk and out of control, but mostly I enjoy alcohol. To an extent I suppose-I associate it with havinga good time because it's present at a lot of the big, sociable events where everyone's in a happy mood.

I first tasted alcohol at a wedding when I was about eight. I'd often be given a small glass of champagne on special occasions, and if my mother had a dinner party I'd always be given my own little glass of wine. Alcohol was never just for grownups - which was good because it meant it wasn't a forbidden pleasure.

I was probably 12 or 13 when I first started going out drinking with friends. I was at day-school in London and my mum was stricter than she is now. It wasn't alcohol she was concerned about, though, it was more who I was with and where I was going. I'm her only child, so there was no one to pave the way before me, but she's always trusted me to stay in control. She knows I wouldn't get totally drunk, although that has happened, obviously.

If I'm having dinner at home I'll drink wine with my mum, but never copious amounts. I'll have three or four glasses, but I've never really got "under the table" in her presence, and I'm open with her about the times I have been. But on a normal saturday night I'll probably have the same amount of wine, followed by a Bailey's or a couple of vodkas and orange.

I do think about my health sometimes. My mum always says that drinking ages you. She'll say: "Don't you worry about your liver?" I do get badly hung-over, so I think I probably do have a weak liver. But she says it kind of jokingly, and I don't think the amount I drink would ever damage my liver.

I think I'm too young for alcohol to have affected me irreparably, but having said that I am aware that if you want to stay young and have fresh skin and a healthy body you should drink less.

Drinking will never be a problem in my life. Ultimately I imagine it will perform a similar role as it does for my mother, and I'll basically drink at dinner parties. Maybe when I'm 30 I'll start taking more notice of the advised maximum amount, but at the moment I don't give much thought to the recommended limit. To be honest, I don't think many people in their teens are all that concerned with the risks of alcohol.

I had quite a relaxed upbringing. My mum, who is a cufflink-designer, had me when she was 24. Her brothers and sisters were all younger than her and we lived together in my grandmother's house, so they felt like my siblings. It was a really lively atmosphere, always full of people. My parents separated when I was three, but they've always got on very well and we often all hang out together.

My first holiday with friends was camping in Cornwall when I was 14. My friends' parents were around but we were free to go and do our own thing. We'd go to the beach, have a bonfire and a barbecue and hang out.

We didn't drink spirits at that age, but we got drunk on cheapskate wine and disgusting cider that gives you a terrible hangover. At that age I was still gauging my limits, so I probably got more drunk, more often.

The first time I got really off my face was at my friend's 15th birthday. We went to a pizzeria and drank sangria, then wine, then vodka. I locked myself in the loo at my friend's house and passed out for about three hours, but it felt like five minutes.

I'd been sick, so my friends were worried about me, poking me under the bathroom door with a wire to try and wake me up. When I opened the door they threw a massive bucket of water over me. That is probably the drunkest I've been, and the worst I've felt.

We were never refused when we tried to buy alcohol, especially outside London. I think I look older than 17 and I'm served about 80 per cent of the time, although to this day if you go to a place in London without fake ID it can be a problem getting in. Leicester Square is less strict than the Chelsea pubs and clubs because it's much more crowded.

Drinking is often a part of an evening, but not in an excessive way. I enjoy it and I don't just drink to get drunk. But I do always drink at the weekend. Last Saturday, for example, there was a party and I drank a bottle of wine and two or three Jack Daniel's and coke.

Sometimes a group of us go to London for a big night which usually involves a pub, then a club. I've been regularly drinking in pubs since I was 14 or 15. The school has a bar, staffed by pupils, that serves wine and beer to sixth-formers. There's always a teacher on duty and they give us a guideline of three drinks each. They don't really worry if you don't stick to it, though, as long as you don't get paralytic, which in general people don't.

If we want to get really pissed, we go to the pub. I don't drink nearly as much as some of my friends. I'm in a mostly male environment at school and most of them drink a lot. One guy in particular can drink nine pints and still seem pretty sober.

But I don't even go to the school bar every week. Last night I had a bath and watched telly instead. I don't think: "Oh, here's an opportunity to drink. I'd better make the most of it." And my friends don't think that if you're not drinking you can't possibly have fun. For example, loads of people who drive don't drink, and they seem to have just as good a time. Perhaps that's what I need to do - drive more, drink less.