I see both the government and the next government are presenting plans to deal with the evil of alcohol. While there are health issues associated with alcohol and drunks can put themselves into risky situations these dangers by and large are by and large borne by the drinkers themselves, there are exceptions to this, such as drink driving but they can be dealt with separately. The reason that it is a problem for society at large is because of the antisocial behaviour of people getting drunk in public and becoming aggressive and obnoxious towards other people.
However most people don't behave like that whilst intoxicated, in most countries the scenes observed in British town centres every Friday night are not the norm. Alcohol itself does not make someone violent. Studies* have in fact shown that people become violent and agressive whilst drunk have very particular personality traits whilst sober- they tend to be those who blame their misfortunes on external forces rather than taking responsibility themselves, thus being drunk becomes an excuse to behave badly.
If anti-drinking campaigns emphasise the role of alcohol in turning people into antisocial yobs it could actually reinforce that behaviour by encouraging them to attribute the harm they to to the drink rather than to their own decisions.
* I'll dig up a reference later.
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6 comments:
My city centre has been an Alcohol Free Zone for about five years, with little metal signs on the lamposts to prove it. This has had precisely zero effect on binge drinking ladette lunacy; not that I care since I no longer wish to visit in the in the evenings anyway.
I think the reason binge drinking is a problem for society, is that those who cause problems while under the influence of alcohol are not punished severely enough. They are free to cause problems again and again, so they do. People who commit crimes while under the influence of alcohol should be jailed. The more they reoffend, the tougher their sentence should be.
Indeed.
In fact, it's often used as an excuse for bad behaviour in the courts: 'I didn't know what I was doing, your honour, as I was under the influence..'
Why not, instead, treat it as an aggravated offence? 'The defendant was abusive and violent; in addition, he was drunk..' and slap on an extra few months?
"My city centre has been an Alcohol Free Zone for about five years, with little metal signs on the lamposts to prove it. This has had precisely zero effect on binge drinking ladette lunacy..."
Ah, the wonder of the Official sign.
I doubt all those 'Nuclear Free Zones' so beloved of left-wing councils in the 70s and 80s would have been much use in the event of nuclear war with Russia, either...
I quite like the signs that demonstrate that they've just given up trying to prevent wrongdoing like "Warning" Car Thieves Operate In This Area".
Senior, Julia- Yes, the law does treat alcohol as an aggravating factor for driving dangerously but for everything else it seems to be a mitigating factor.
Agreed. Senior and Julia M make good points.
All this 'binge drinking' is not a social issue or a tax issue or a health issue, it is a law and order thing, that's all.
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