Increase in drinking in the last 20 years 49%

[Thantos-Espada]

One of the biggest problems thats currently taking the world by storm.

Binge drinking is one of the biggest money making businesses in the world due to the ammount of people doing it. Millions of £/$ every day spent and used to buy Drink. Witch 50% of the time is pointless drinking, that imposes bad behavior, deaths involving drink driving, and increases litter and the disgustiness of current humanity.


The problem with this is mainly that people are drinking not as a little thing, using it to impress their friends. and to waste their left over money.

sure 3 pints after work or on the weekend, but there are people who are buying drink to get Smashed out their faces, and then go and mess about.


Getting drunk is what i beleive is the main reason behind drinking.

because it allows you to not care, makes you relaxed and happy... but younger and more people are discovering this. kids as young as 13-14 are getting drunk on weeknights when they have school and are causing problems while drunk in the community.


What i wan't to get is peoples opinions on the ages of drinking.

the ammount spent and used to buy drink.

the ammoutns people are drinking.

and the biggest question i have for any one to answer, the reason behind drinking. and the reason why getting drunk is so "Cool" these days.

[Shdo]

i myself only drink in social parties, to cheer things up and having more fun with the friends. right now i didnt drink anything for several months and i really dont mind that. once it become an addiction its bad, otherwise its just an activity.

if people will spend less money on pointless drinking they will solve many of their problems and will save ton of money (sometimes its the same thing)

[Thantos-Espada]

i agree.

the ammount of money spent on Drinking and Smoking throughout the year. if alchol and cigerettes where totaly banned or didnt exist, the world would proberly be a better place.

Unfortunatly many young people, and older people alike waste their money every friday night getting hammerd, they then go into towns and citys and force disorderly actions upon the other partys involved.


Drinking is Ok as a social lubricant, alowwing friend making and meeting new people easier, its also a good relaxn't for stress.


i know not many people here would be the type to start fights but there must be atleast 1 person you know with that kind of attitude meanin that for every person on this forum and equivilant drink and acts stupid in public.


Also its the plain Retardedness of people that drink 30 pints and then think they can drive

I mean wtf >.<

[Rain]

i agree.

the ammount of money spent on Drinking and Smoking throughout the year. if alchol and cigerettes where totaly banned or didnt exist, the world would proberly be a better place.

Unfortunatly many young people, and older people alike waste their money every friday night getting hammerd, they then go into towns and citys and force disorderly actions upon the other partys involved.

Drinking is Ok as a social lubricant, alowwing friend making and meeting new people easier, its also a good relaxn't for stress.

i know not many people here would be the type to start fights but there must be atleast 1 person you know with that kind of attitude meanin that for every person on this forum and equivilant drink and acts stupid in public.

Also its the plain Retardedness of people that drink 30 pints and then think they can drive

I mean wtf >.<

I disagree with that. Banning alcohol has been tried before, it just made people want it all the more.

plus, at least now the industry has some regulation and is "safe" for people, whereas if they make it themselves who knows what will happen

I don't drink nor do I smoke

All my friends get drunk more or less everyday, around 80% of the people ive talked too bring up a story about them getting totally smashed

I don't think that people should drink as much, but its their choice,a nd they'll pay the consequences anyway

I really hate when their choice affects others though (drunk driving and such)

[Shdo]

we have this friend who is an exelent driver and he can drive even when drinking and even then he drink only a third and we wait for some time and eat something as well(that helps).

for example we had this guy in the army that was really heavy in debt and on top of that he was smoking. smoking cost several hundreads a month and with his salary (since army service is considered a duty in my country you dont get paid well and instead get only a symbolic amount, hardly enough for a non combatant like him. he would complain about the problem so we would tell him he should stop smoking and he would say that we dont know what we are saying. i wonder how much debt he got now.

[bradc]

Hong Kong has implement ban smoking to promote a healthy society (backfire like whoa), but people still smoke due to overly stress from work or another way to relief stress. Even one of my college and high school grounds ban people from smoking in certain areas of the building. People still smoke! It hasn't really accomplish much of anything from banning it off the parts of the property. People just smoke elsewhere...

Drinking does the same thing to relief stress and alcohol makes one sleep better at night. Ancient ancestors been drinking alcohol when they first discover how to brew it (rice wine, sake); the alcohol content were much lower, therefore being drink and consumed on a daily basis.

In this day and age the alcohol contents and mixed drinks are much higher. Some people go on binge drinking or drink from a larger mug, I don't see how this helping society much with the binge drinking and larger mugs (customer choices eh?) causing more accidents than anyone can count with their ten fingers and feet.

Drinking on special occasions worth celebrating, something I don't mind; since I find myself drinking on occasions and not on daily basis. Can't stand the smell of cigarettes, I had one for cosplaying and had a bit in my system, it wasn't light at all but nicotine is just tasted disgusting.

I don't drink outside of the house or relatives... I guess is better be safe than sorry.

[IngenuityGap]

I go in and out of phases where I drink. I'm a big wine lover so that's what I tend to stick to, if I'm going out to the bar I'll hit something heavier. I tend to stay away from beer since the weight tends to pack on quickly with it. Right now I'm in a not drinking phase, and have probably been in this for 8 or so months.


One of the big things is, if you make something forbidden, people want to try it. The idea of social regulation (ie Prohibition) really never works as people will work around the system to get what they want. Kids tend to drink heavy (or what they think is heavy anyway) and frequently when they are in that 14-17 stage because of the novelty. But for most the party scene wears thin quickly and those headsplitting mornings aren't as charming at 24 as at 18.


You see a sharp increase in drinking during first year of university as most are away from home for the first time and tend to go wild. Especially if they have a hefty student loan sitting in the bank account and four years is a long ways away.

In the end personal responsibility is the only solution for a higher drinking rate. But, then again, as long as people take pride in how much they can consume there will be accidents, deaths, and horror stories. Honestly, the best way to get yourself off the idea of drinking all the time is to work in a liquor store. Watch the guys who come in daily with their hands shaking.


A professor from the U of A would come into the store I worked at and get a bottle of cheap vodka daily. His hands shook worse than anyone's I've ever seen.

[kiera2]

and the biggest question i have for any one to answer, the reason behind drinking. and the reason why getting drunk is so "Cool" these days.
These days?

Hate to break it to you mate - drinking is no more or less 'cool' these days than it has been at most other times in history. The reason it seems that way is because you yourself are currently a teenager, and therefore surrounded by people who are just discovering alcohol and haven't learned to control themselves around it yet.

My friends went through the same phase in their late teens. We're now in our early-mid twenties and know better than to go out and binge until we throw up. We've learned to enjoy a nice pint of beer (singular) at lunch, or some wine at dinner, without the need to get drunk. Believe me, most people will eventually the same healthy relationship with alcohol, once they grow up a bit.

Of course, there have always been stupid people, young and old alike, who have nothing better to do on weekends than waste their money getting pissed. But they're a minority. And I've yet to see a single statistic in this thread saying that proportional drunkenness or damage caused by alcohol have increased in recent years.

If anything the advent of hard-hitting drink-driving advertising laws and campaigns have made people more aware of the dangers of driving under the influence. This is certainly the case in Australia - In 1989, the year that the TAC commenced its campaigns, 114 drivers and riders died in road crashes with an illegal blood alcohol concentration. This figure had dropped to 52 in 2007 (Source (http://www.tacsafety.com.au/jsp/content/NavigationController.do?areaID=6&tierID=2&navID=6366E99D7F0000010002585EDF36EE29&navLink=null&pageID=452)). And this despite an increased population and more cars on the road.

[Thantos-Espada]

i understand^^


that makes sence... that people learn their lesson over their years and gain knowledge with age.

but what about the damage they cause while their young?

[Rain]

thantos- I worry about the damage they cause to other people, but if its the damage they cause to themselves, i couldn't care less

There are no guarentees that drinking will ruin you life/health but the risk is greatly increased

People who choose to drink accept that risk, so if it ruins their lives they have no one else to blame. I have the same viewpoint with smoking

As for the problems they can cause for society. First I think i would remove the drinking age completely (or reduce it to a far lower level). Next i would make the penalities for something like drunk driving insanely high. Hopefully this will help reduce the the danger imposed on others by drinking

[kiera2]

but what about the damage they cause while their young?
I personally think the best way to prevent that is proper education. Teach kids well below the drinking age all about alcohol - about what it does to the body, and about how to avoid letting it cause damage to themselves and others.

In Australia and the UK, it's legal for kids below the drinking age to consume alcohol provided it's either on private property, or being consumed with a meal with a parent or guardian present. Personally I think this is a perfect way to give younger people the opportunity to learn about alcohol in a safe environment, without lowering the drinking age.

For me, and many of my friends, it meant we were having a glass of wine with our families at dinner on special occasions totally legally from our early teens. And my mother in particular was always very up-front about drinking - she was happy to buy alcohol for me to take to house parties, providing I promised not to drink more than I knew I could handle.

So by the time I was 18 years old, starting university and legally allowed to drink, I was already fairly used to the effects of alcohol and knew more or less what my limits were. (That's not to say that there weren't a couple of occasions where I went overboard, but I didn't go anywhere near as crazy as some people do when at 18 they find themselves suddenly living on their own and able to drink as much as they like.)