Binge Drinking...
 

I was discussing binge drinking at a meeting a while back, and one of the comments I got was to the effect that students wouldn't drink so many beers in such a short time if it were legal. They need to get away with it fast, or the parties are short, or God knows what other reason...

Any thoughts? This has been bouncing around my head for a while.

--T

OK, plenty out there on it over the years of this board.

But... the question.

If it were legal to drink at say... 18, would there be less binge drinking?

Yes.

I hear those British folks don't drink much.

-Rudey

You're not going to change the legal drinking age...

So instead: plan a lot of workshops on Evil Alcohol, Responsible and Mature Alcohol Management, get members to rotate duty as Designated Drivers, card your members at the door to any event, show them graphic images of what happens when you drink and drive, bring in the university police and convicted DUI's to scare them, and keep them in line.

Fun, isn't it?

Nope, the Brits/Irish (I live in Northern Ireland...theyre both), DO drink quite a bit, but the culture of binge drinking/drinking games doesn't exist. It's far more social. Also, DUI rules here are STRICT and enforced (you lose your DL on the first offense), so everyone takes a taxi. The pub is considered an extention of your home, a social center. You'll see everyone from uni students to moms with prams in the pub at all hours of the day. The lunchtime pint is a deeply held tradition as well.

I rarely make statements like that without a followup.

A google search brings up 390,000 results for British "Binge Drinking".

Binge Drinking spreading from Britain to other parts of Europe:
http://www.time.com/time/europe/html/051219/story.html
That same article states "Alcohol is estimated to be a factor in 20-30% of British accidents and 47% of violent crimes."

From Wikipedia:
In the UK, the government has introduced measures to deter disorderly behavior and sales of alcohol to people under 18, with special provisions in place during the holiday season. In January 2005, it was reported that 1 million admissions to UK accident and emergency units each year are alcohol-related; in many cities, Friday and Saturday nights are by far the busiest periods for ambulance services.

In 2005, the Licensing Act 2003 came into effect in the UK, partly intended to tackle binge drinking. Some observers, however, believe it will exacerbate the problem, especially with the advent of 24 hour licensing.

The culture of drinking in the UK is markedly different from that of most other European nations (although it is very similar to that of the Republic of Ireland). In mainland Europe, alcohol tends to be consumed more slowly over the course of an evening, often accompanied by a restaurant meal. In the UK, by contrast, alcohol is generally consumed rapidly, leading much more readily to drunkenness. While being drunk in mainland Europe is widely viewed as being socially unacceptable, in the UK the reverse is true in many social circles. Particularly amongst young adults, there is often a certain degree of social pressure to get drunk during a night out. This culture is increasingly becoming viewed by politians and the media as a serious problem that ought to be tackled, partly due to health reasons, but mostly due to its association with violence and anti-social behaviour.

British universities are a major culprit for binge-drinking in amongst their students. One university in the South East of England makes over £1.2 Million per annum from alcohol sales in the student union bar alone. The student unions have endless drinks promotions, and are fuelling the problem. British women are turning to binge-drinking in larger numbers than ever before.

The French soccer player David Ginola commented:

"I was amazed when I came to this country at the way the women here behave,' he said. From London to Newcastle to Leeds to Manchester I saw women vomiting in the streets. It is disgusting the way they behave. In France the women will only drink a little bit. In this country the women try and keep up with the men, drink for drink. The women behave like men in sex as well as drink. In France they are much more sophisticated and modest. That is why I will not bring my children up here. I don't want my daughter to be an English woman."

-Rudey
--So you are wrong?

Here's an interesting article from Time on this subject.




"Across the European Union, 13% of 15- to 16-year-olds have been drunk more than 20 times in their life, and 18% have "binged" — drunk the equivalent of a bottle of wine in one sitting — three or more times in the last month."

What do you think the percentage for US 15-16 year olds would be?

Lord... I can't imagine anything like that.

Maybe I'm naive? I do have a really well-behaved 15-year-old.

And a google search brings up 1,520,000 for American binge drinking.

Edit to fix number transposition.

oops.

That's a good way to not admit you were wrong (you were wrong in this post too given that the number of google hits is 1,170,000), but the post, the laws, the news all speak for themselves on how bad British binge drinking is.

You were wrong. :)

-Rudey
--Throwing in Irish/English slang into your posts every now and then doesn't make you an expert on British binge drinking.

I got 1,190,000 plus another 649,000 for Amerincan and binge-drinking (hyphen included).

and googling it once doesn't make you an expert either.