Binge drinking - a British monopoly?

Question

Maybe it's just a provincial town thing, but most weekend nights my hometown is alcohol-fuelled carnage, and it's not just the lads. Similar story in a lot of places I've been in the UK. I've travelled a bit, not a lot: US, Canada, Australia, NZ too so anglo-saxon type cultures and never saw anything quite like it anywhere else, just people having a good time without big dollops of random violence and people passed out in shop doorways etc. Is it really just here?? If we're sinking into a murky pit I want to know we're not completely alone.

Answer 1

If you visit a random US college campus, you will see quite a bit of alcohol fueled carnage.   I used to see people passed at in odd places in college, puking in the streets, and basically behaving like animals.  Actually, animals behave better then they did.

Answer 2

It happens everywhere there is alcohol. I've seen it in France and Germany and the people were not tourists.

Answer 3

i am proud to say i can't stand venturing into town on a weekend. would prefer to go down the local or get a cheap crate from the co-op. i'm 20.

Answer 4

I think part of the British problem is we never complain or protest like other countries but bottle it up and take it out on each other when we should all be having a good time.

The simplest way of keeping the working class down is to get them to turn on each other.If the drunks on Saturday night put that much energy into fighting to keep this country British then the country wouldn't be in the state it is but like everyone else they'll leave that to someone else to sort out.

Answer 5

there is binge drinking world wide , but the brits are definately world champions, and they don't even have to try, it just comes naturally, from thursday to sunday the streets of the uk. are like the wild west, full of people of all ages who's only intention is to get wasted, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns and villages, and when abroad they excell them selves, and do an even better job,wev'e always had for some reason this attitude that the only point in going out is to get as pissed as possible, why i dont know , i was just as bad when i was younger ,but like a lot of people i stay home nowadays, and why not a case of 20 bottles for £10.get a few mates round and have a good crack

Answer 6

Surely it can't be a British monopoly. If the ingredients are there: alcohol, young people, crowds, nightlife, a relaxed view, then this type of binge drinking must exist in many other countries.

Answer 7

I think it's worldwide, in Australia it's worse during the hot summer months ( the silly season we call it ) our government has recently increased the cost of Alcopops which is the favourite for our teenagers, a lot of people have criticed them for doing so but at least they are addressing the problem of teenage binge drinking which in a lot of cases is learnt from the parents.