Do the British drink too much?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Why do we Brits drink so much? :beer: :beer:

We’re facing an epidemic of cirrhosis.

Booze-related admission to mental hospitals up 300 per cent in seven years.

A child of ten in A and E with alcohol problems.

Alcohol related violence and health problems cost this country £20 billion a year. And what’s the government gonna do about it - put warning labels on bottles or extend pub opening hours?

Would raising the age limit from 18 to 21 help control our love of liquor? (no ;) )


Compared to the other European countries (such as France) we drink much more. However, other countries that have dreary weather such as Norway and Russia also have drinking issues.

What are we like compared to USA and Australia? I always get the impression that the Aussies love to get pissed!

Any thoughts?

[Drew]

Raising the limits just makes it more lucrative, considering underage teenagers find it easy enough to find alcohol now, what's the change going to make, considering it's already pretty expensive?

Perhaps the reasons why people drink should be found out and then these problems looked at?

[tannat]

What are we like compared to USA and Australia? I always get the impression that the Aussies love to get pissed!

Any thoughts?

Having worked in the beverage industry(wine/beer/liquor) for a number of years, I've always been a proponent of responsible consumption..


I've not been around enough Englanders to pass an opinion, but you have to be careful with how you measure such a metric...

Have admission standards for drinking been loosened (more $ fro those hospitals)?

Damages incurred one year might not be directly comparable to those of another.

Regarding ages-if kids want it they will FIND a way to get it (I was the one who always made the purchase for our underage crew ;) )

[AndySpeed]

Can you imagine the changes to the university lifestyle if the drinking age was raised to 21?!

[Ian McC]

Yes yes we sure do, now hurry up Jon it's your round! :beer:

[AndySpeed]

also my final exam is tomorrow and i intend to binge drink from 5pm (when it finishes) until I can drink no more, probably after emptying the contents of my wallet in a club in Lancaster :D

[tannat]

Having worked in the beverage industry(wine/beer/liquor) for a number of years, I've always been a proponent of responsible consumption..




Although I quite enjoyed many a night of 'altered reality states' while in college... :D

[jso1985]

raising drinking ages or putting more limits to alcohol consumption don't help much, anyway the people will still drink(and a lot if they can).

As anything I think it shoulnd't be done in excess, I love to "travel to the parallel universe"( :D ) once in a while but I also understand the big problems that could cause me if I'd do it more often

[Ian McC]

It's like a desert in here, someone get the drinks in :D

[jso1985]

care the re-open the virtual pub? :p :

[Rollo]

Why do we Brits drink so much? :beer: :beer:

What are we like compared to USA and Australia? I always get the impression that the Aussies love to get pissed!
Any thoughts?

When you go out with an American for a beer, they mean that literally. A in the singluar, beer. Australians do try a bit with their "schooners" of 15oz. but nothing compares to the Great British pint of 20oz.

Why drink so much? Because it's fun!
The liver is evil and must be punished :D

[stevie_gerrard]

to be fair, the standards these days of alcohol limits are not great, theres a rule where kids from the age of 16 or something can have a drink of alcohol at home due to parents permission. But the amount of bad examples i hear of, kids as young as 13/14 soon get started. No matter whether u change the limit or not, ur not gonna change the fact that kids will start drinking earlier and earlier due to the lack of discipline at home, and that will encourage a binge drinking society, which we are already seeing today.

[Jaws]

When you go out with an American for a beer, they mean that literally. A in the singluar, beer. Australians do try a bit with their "schooners" of 15oz. but nothing compares to the Great British pint of 20oz.

Why drink so much? Because it's fun!
The liver is evil and must be punished :D

You are quite correct Rollo, the Pint is the best!! To be honest, I think Aussie beers are pretty inciped, lack flavour and are mass produced and bland. Coopers is a great drop though.

I loved the beers in England, however, the Aussie climate does lend itself to a beer that can be wacked down fast.

Erm yes some Aussies drink a lot :beer: :beer: :beer:

[klm-607]

I've always heard that Scandanavian Rally fans (especially the Finns) drink ALOT more than the Brits or even the Irish. Is this true?? I enjoy my pints for sure, but can't deal w/hangovers anymore, so I'm much more disciplined than I was in my late teens to mid twenties.

[Ian McC]

The liver is evil and must be punished :D


Aah yes, my favourite phrase! :D

Seriously though, these days people go out on a Friday and Saturday evening just to get drunk, as to why we have ended up like this I have no idea.

[Mark]

And yet all we hear from the pressure groups is "more tax", "make it more expensive" :rolleyes: . So the vast majority of us who can drink responsibly have to pay more because of the minority who get off their face? :mark:

[fandango]

The first question is: how much is too much?

Do you count the units per week? Or units per "session"? Or do you just go by how drunk you get?

One big difference here is that it's just not acceptable to be drunk in public. If people here are out having a drink and they get tippsy they change to water. So, when you see a crowd of tourists sitting in a bar steadily getting rat-arsed most locals just can't undestand how anyone can allow themselves to get into such a state. It's okay for teenagers, who have to experiment, but there comes a time when the escapism needs to end.

At the risk of being unfair, my experience of drinking with Brits is that they often undergo a major personality change with alcohol. They seem so reserved at first, all polite and proper, and then suddenly they're singing, they're your best mate and keep telling you much they "lurv the aaaarish".

Too much? yeah, probably.
A bad thing? well, it's often a good laugh, so the odd time doesn't hurt too much...

[Woodeye]

You think that the Brits drink much?

Ever been to Finland? :D

[jim mcglinchey]

was' the problem, eh? I always know when I've had enough....'cos I fall over , throw up and then hit a policeman.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

You think that the Brits drink much?

Ever been to Finland? :D

Maybe it's just countries with crappy weather that drink to much ? :beer:

[Woodeye]

Maybe it's just countries with crappy weather that drink to much ? :beer:

Maybe. Because when the weather is bad, there's not much else to do.

And then when the weather gets better, that's when the party really starts. :beer:

[millencolin]

the best way i can measure if Australians drink more/less than the English was at the Ashes series this year.

I was at game one, and its safe to say that when it comes to drinking, the aussies won. We drank a lot more than the Barmy Army, and im quite proud of that too! :p :