Health experts have criticised the online drinking game Neknominate, saying young teenagers are at risk of peer pressure to take part.

The craze, which has been implicated in several deaths, involves people filming themselves downing alcohol, nominating someone to continue the game, and posting the video on Facebook.

The Neknominate Facebook page, which has more than 8,000 “likes”, has the headline “it’s not a crime to get drunk”.

The industry-funded charity Drinkaware is calling on parents to take a tough stance against the game amid fears the trend could spread to young teenagers.

Research suggests that children are more than twice as likely to have an alcoholic drink if they have felt encouraged to do so.

More than a third (35 per cent) of 10- to 17-year-olds who use social networking sites have seen photos of their friends drunk.

Sarah Jarvis, who advises Drinkware, said: “Young people often say they feel peer pressure to drink to fit in, but competitions to drink excessively in a short space of time can be dangerous and this should not come as a surprise.

There is another aspect to these online drinking games which is the ‘cybershame’ some young people may experience

“Quite apart from the risk of accident or injury as a result of drinking to excess, there is another aspect to these online drinking games which is the ‘cybershame’ some young people may experience.

“Drinkaware research shows nearly half (47 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds admitted ‘untagging’ drunk photos of themselves that they didn’t want others to see. However, there is still a chance that these photos may be seen by universities and prospective employers.”