Teens who binge drink run the chance of becoming alcohol dependent later in life -- as early as their mid-20s -- according to a 10-year study of 2,000 teenagers in Australia.

The study by the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children's Hospital found that one in 12 of the teens developed symptoms of alcohol dependence during the 10 year study -- developing a tloerance to alcohol, feeling a compulsion to drink, or continuing to drink when they knew it was harmful.

The study discounts the theory that binge drinking among teens is a "rite of passage" phase that they eventually outgrow, George Patton, the director of the Centre for Adolescent Health, told The Age. "We don't have much experience (with young alcohol dependents)," Professor Patton said. "Nobody really knows what happens to somebody who is alcohol-dependent at the age of 25."

"They need the alcohol to keep functioning," Yvonne Benomo, medical officer for Youth Substance Abuse Service, said. "So when they're not drinking, they feel dreadful." Benomo said once they become alcohol dependent, the addiction is very difficult to break.