Booze nation
Posted: June 6th, 2006 | Author: Aaron | Filed under: culture, drink, journal, russia |Are extra-large wine glasses turning us into unwitting alcoholics? Patrick Barkham thinks so, here.
I love alcohol, I’ll admit it. I love single-malt Scotch whisky, some bourbons, and Jack Daniels. I adore red wine, especially Rioja’s, and the occasional Chilean. I can quite happily drink white too, hand me a chardonnay or a dry Riesling, and I’ll giggle like a schoolgirl. I also have a passion for good world beers, and to me, a world tour, is half-a-dozen samples from around the globe.
But, and this is the bane of my existence, I don’t drink that often. Maybe once a week, we’ll treat ourselves to a bottle, but usually not that often. And I only drink Scotch at Christmas, when Mrs. tyger treats me to a bottle of Highland Park. You see, Mrs. tyger is Russian, and she has seen too many families destroyed by alcohol. And it’s no use me feeling superior either, two of my uncles were alcoholics, and a trip into to town on a Saturday night, here in ‘ol Blighty, will uncover all manner of beer-fuelled atrocities.
It seems to me that Britons are slowly being pickled by drink. A 20-year-old girl in my office takes pride in her binge drinking, and she’s not the only one I have come across, this is clearly indicative of a rising social trend, not the usual media hype.
There is no doubt that a few years ago, I drank excessively. I wasn’t happy, I was working far too much, and I was terminally bored. But I motivated myself again, or rather Mrs. tyger gave me a few boundaries, and I reigned in the drinking, and started seeing the world far more lucidly. I started debating politics online (always a passion), I stated writing again, and began seeing more of my family. I know I could have become an alcoholic, if I hadn’t pulled myself, or rather been pulled, out of that rut; and I know many people who have had similar close shaves.
I never lecture, or at least I always try not to, but just take a few moments and work out exactly how much you, and your beloved, actually drink. You may think it’s a harmless amount, and you’d probably be right, but you, like me two-years ago, could be drinking too much.
By the way, it’s your round - mine’s a pint of orange juice and lemonade….hic!
Sphere: Related Content
alcoholism is a disease which is riddled throughout families…no one can escape it
and yes, society does very much look on it as “cool” to binge drink.
as someone of a young age i can say without any doubt, that we need to ensure that there is large resources allocated for alcohol-related illnesses and social effects.
I do not know whether strict or liberal laws are required to police alcohol sales. Strict laws are applied in the South, but the effects are still ever-present, a liberalisation in Britain has yet to have any effect.
In my honest opinion, it is the off-licenses and ever-growing number of them thats the problem.
Remember, theres two types of alcoholics, the cronic-(George Best) who just drinks too much, and the social-(Charles Kennedy) who drank too much when they went out.
Off-licenses are increasing the number of cronics and the smoking ban in Ireland has driven people from pubs to their homes for a drink, we shall perhaps rue the day that off-licenses were granted the right to sell.
An interesting point about off-licenses. Personally I think the only thing you can do is improve the education, and introduce alcohol to the young at an earlier age, so the mystique and taboo is broken.
I actually think the liberalising of opening hours will help stem violence and encourage drinkers to stagger their consumption. But, as you say, we’ll have to wait and see.
It’s a culture thing, not a legislature issue.
Yes, it is a culture thing, indeed, in my opinion. One’s mind has much to do in most cases and the use of alcohol - as happens with illegal drugs - helps illusorily soothe the spirit.
And I also agree that education is the main point here. Something to be taught from an early age.
One good news about the non-smoking laws in Spain is that it has been found that about 500,000 smokers have quit.