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binge drinking...your sips of thought?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
:)

Here we are again with the bbc news reporting on binge drinking...do you know your limits?
Why are the young people always on show? Adults have drink problems too.
Do you think the government should raise the age to 21 before you take to a pub or club?:chin:

Comments

  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    Hey, I think this is one for politics and debate.

    On the topic of knowing your limits you might find this video from TheSite.org interesting. :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks helen....will have a look later tonight as I need to get ready for work. Got youth work training.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    becks27 wrote: »
    Do you think the government should raise the age to 21 before you take to a pub or club?:chin:
    No.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do I know what my limits are? Yes, although I readily admit there was a time when I didn't. The way I found out was by drinking some alcohol on a night out, then drinking slightly more on the next one and so on, until I knew what I could and couldn't do. I know for instance that I'm absolutely fine if I stick to one drink, but when I start mixing drinks, (for example, switching from beer to vodka) that leads to drunkenness. Imagine a more cuddly and loud version of me and you get the image of what an intoxicated Stargalaxy is like.

    Why are the young people always on show? It certainly seems like that. It's definitely disturbing the way that people are drinking more younger and younger, and it's an entirely legitimate subject for news organisations to report on. The reasons are partly to do with the way we deal with alcohol in the UK. In many European countries, alcohol is often consumed by children in moderate quantities whilst the family eats their dinner. Such conventions don't exist in the UK and we're all the worst for it. It's not often I say this, but we certainly have a lot to learn from other countries in this respect.

    Do I think the government should raise the age where you can buy alcohol to 21? Absolutely not. Such a move would be draconian and totally disproportionate - hence why New Labour are so keen on it. The age limit of 18 is fine as it is. Aside from the massive cultural shift that this country requires, we also need the current laws to be strictly enforced. I believe that any store which is caught selling alcohol to minors should lose its licence to sell alcohol with immediate effect. Such a deterrent would make sure alcohol does not get into the hands of those who should not be able to buy it. I'm not totally sure what else could be done, but I'm open to suggestions.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hmm maybe i should take a video camera around some proper "pubs" and make a documentary on the sensible and non smashed/drunk young people that i can find. Because it can be done!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    people like to let go- young people like to enjoy and let go on the bottle!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    becks27 wrote: »
    :)


    Do you think the government should raise the age to 21 before you take to a pub or club?:chin:



    No, but they should make consuming alcohol in a public place an offence and they should stiffen the penalties for people who commit a crime whilst under the influence of alcohol.
    On the Isle of Man the standard fine for being drunk and disorderly is £1000. Hence, they have the lowest rates of drunken behaviour in the country. It isn't rocket science, an £80 fine isn't really going to affect many people, one as high as £1000 would make people think twice.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The whole binge drinking figures are designed to be shocking.

    5 pints in a session makes you a dangerous and irresponsible drinker, which means ive only ever been a binge drinker - ive never been in a drunken fight or verbally abused someone or taken a day off work after a drinking session.

    Personally i think they pulled a figure of the acceptable amount to drink in one go out of their arses.

    It costs the UK 6.4billion in lost productivity?
    How do they come to that figure?
    If alcohol is so bad and costs us so much why not ban it totally like all the other drugs?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru

    It costs the UK 6.4billion in lost productivity?
    How do they come to that figure?
    If alcohol is so bad and costs us so much why not ban it totally like all the other drugs?



    Time off sick, time spent in hospital, police man hours, medical costs e.t.c.

    Trust me, if alcohol were discovered today, it would be banned outright. It's effects are far more harmful and potentially dangerous than any other, except perhaps crystal meth.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If alcohol is so bad and costs us so much why not ban it totally like all the other drugs?

    Because it's socially accepted drug that's been around for too long and become too ingrained in our society. Go look up Prohibition in America to find out what happened when they tried to do exactly that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Because it's socially accepted drug that's been around for too long and become too ingrained in our society. Go look up Prohibition in America to find out what happened when they tried to do exactly that.

    I am familiar with prohibition :p

    The question is what can we do about alcohol costing us sooo much money as a country other than moan about it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am familiar with prohibition :p

    The question is what can we do about alcohol costing us sooo much money as a country other than moan about it?

    More of the same, try to educate people to not be so stupid with it. What else can you do? Increasing prices means that people will just drink more at home first/sneak drinks into pubs.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Increasing prices means that people will just drink more at home first/sneak drinks into pubs.

    yer i deffinatly agree with take, half the people i know that go out are already pretty hammered when they hit the town (so they drink large amounts of alcohol in a few hours before they go out because its cheaper) surely that is going to cost the NHS more in the long run?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i am a recovering alcoholic, and this is my standpoint on binge drinking:

    there is absolutely no way i can have any kind of alcohol in a small or moderate dose. if i have one, it ALWAYS leads to another, and another, to an unhealthy amount. the other day i relapsed after 5 months being clean, had 2 litres of white wine, which would have been okay in the past because i had a high tolerance (even though im female and on the thin side) but because i hadn't had a drink in so long, i passed out, vomited twice all over my boyfriend's bed, swore at him while he gave me a shower, don't remember most of the night and had the second worst hangover ever the next day.

    binge drinking is a huge problem these days, and a lot of people don't seem to be able to socialise without it when they go out because it is a social lubricant. it's important to switch between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, sometimes just having something in your hand can take away some of the social anxiety.

    i'm not sure about the UK, but here in australia they have almost doubled the price of alcopops (those 5% mixed drinks) because of the amount of binge drinking. this is a good idea, however it can lead to people buying hard liquor instead and getting even more wasted. i think the only way to combat this problem is to increase the price of ALL alcoholic drinks, and maybe get the bartender to give you a stamp on the arm every time you have a drink, and after you've had more than a few then you shouldn't be allowed any more.

    i may sound a bit prudish but seriously, binge drinking can lead to alcoholism, i was at the stage where i couldn't go to school without having a drink beforehand, and i would sip from my drink bottle full of wine throughout the day. i now have gastritis because of my drinking and i don't even want to think of the state of my liver. be careful with drinking everyone!
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