Is alcoholism and excessive drinking a problem where you live?

[Tulloni]

Just wondering if anyone else lives in an area/country where this is a problem?

I live in the UK and over here it is quite a big problem nationwide. Britain has a terrible binge drinking culture where it's considered socially acceptable amongst certain groups, especially amongst young people/students, to mix drinks and go from one pub/bar straight to another and just drink yourself to death. Sometimes town centres can resemble warzones! It's not uncommon to be walking down a street late Saturday night and early Sunday morning and see broken bottles and vomit on the pavements and gutters.

I don't want to make it sound like Baghdad or Kabul but these places do get a little intimidating. It doesn't help that pubs are always doing all kinda of '2 for 1' offers which just exacerbates the problem as poor students go out more often for the express purpose of getting wasted! It's quite sad really, if you go to some other European countries you don't get this problem as often though I am sure you probably do get it elsewhere in Europe.

I admit I like a drink but I believe in moderation. Not in drinking to excess!

[Chimpy]

Yeah alcohol culture in the UK is terrible. The vast majority of young people think they need to drink excessively to have a good time. And it gives us a bad name abroad since our teens and 20-something lads and ladettes go to holiday destinations and take the binge drinking bad behaviour with them.

Imo it's not the alcohol that does it. It's just badly behaved irresponsible reckless kids who use the alcohol as an excuse - "Ah I was drunk I didn't know what I was doing". Yeah, right...

[Pix]

I don't think it's that bad anywhere I've lived, though one neighborhood was comparable. I can certainly share plenty of experiences with obnoxious and downright menacing drunks and I'd say it's a problem (I got where I refused to go out on Friday and Saturday nights because of people unable to handle their drugs of choice). But what you've described reminds me of SantaCon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SantaCon

[Wolfpack]

I have known quite a few people who have fell into binge drinking,getting to the point of not knowing how they manage to get home,we're they live and even find themselves covered with bruises and not know we're or how they got them.Weekend after weekend repeat over again.

[Chimpy]

In the UK, it's every night, in every town and city. People don't think they have had a good night out unless they've caused some mischief at best, criminal damage or violent crime at worst.

Then they compare notes the next day - "Did you see what I did last night, it was fuccckkking insane man!! I was soo off my head. Fecking excellent night man. Wrecked now."

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Most of the states have laws about being publicly drunk and public drinking. One can drink at home, or at a bar but not on the street.

Nevada is an exception...but then its a state of sin and Aliens (Area 51) so anything goes. California has a 2 Am shut off for bars and alcohol sales... I lived in a dry county in Kentucky - and the next county over stopped selling alcohol at 3 am and didn't sell alcohol on Sundays.

Understand most of these laws are left overs from the Prohibition Era...

The UK, as far as I understand, allows public drunkenness and drinking... You folk are wild.. which is why we in the colonies just had to separate ourselves from you...

[MisterTinkles]

I long for a time when checkers and chess are the national games of choice, where knowledge and brains are worshiped, and where being good to yourself and others is the acceptable norm.

[Woollyhats]

All anybody here does is go to the bars... I live in a city that has no other (popular) attraction unfortunately.

The stories I hear listening in to people in my classes... apparently butt chugging is more common than you'd think!

The restaurant I work at actually closes 3 hours earlier than it used to specifically to avoid the "Bar Rush" -- and we have some pretty nasty guests, so they must have been really bad.

I drink a bit, but only socially.

[Woollyhats]

I long for a time when checkers and chess are the national games of choice, where knowledge and brains are worshiped, and where being good to yourself and others is the acceptable norm.

I might love you

[Sylph]

Yeah alcohol culture in the UK is terrible. The vast majority of young people think they need to drink excessively to have a good time. And it gives us a bad name abroad since our teens and 20-something lads and ladettes go to holiday destinations and take the binge drinking bad behaviour with them.

Imo it's not the alcohol that does it. It's just badly behaved irresponsible reckless kids who use the alcohol as an excuse - "Ah I was drunk I didn't know what I was doing". Yeah, right...

I can't speak on the behalf of the other islands, but a good majourity of people view us as partying, sun-worshipping, weed smoking, tee-pee house having, ocean wading people and for some reason its become " cool" ;I - yet that's such an uncommon stereotype.

Like, I look at us and see it as normal, people don't usually drink to excess here, its pretty rare and because we in specific are so small, we tend to have an eye out for each other, so being reckless is not a majour issue.

But looking out(yes at the UK), it looks like y'all get too carried away and is what we call(adopted from Americans) "White Boy wasted" = which is basically when you drink till you black out.

And I often wonder...what is wrong with the rest of the world ;0

And tho I know better, I have to admit, it does look like UK people in particular have no inhibitions. But obviously that's just thanks to the rep of the sloppy assed British brats that drink like fishes.