Apparently we are all drinking too much. An article in the Mirror this week highlights several social problems that have culminated in this excessive binge drinking culture. The report highlights several reasons for this - 24 hour licences, the "happy hour" culture that encourages people to down as much cheap alcohol in as short a space as time as possible, unit measures available in pubs and booze promotions by retailers....whatever the percieved reasons behind problem the buck lies with society which means it rests with you and i.....


The culture of binge drinking for 18-25 years olds is increasing, even more worrying is the image that we all see on the news, of gangs of young teenagers well under the legal age of drinking,congregating on street corners. We have to look at the message that we ourselves send to our children when they see parents down the pub at all hours or causing trouble in our towns after one too many on a saturday night. Licensing laws have tightened recently to become much more stringent on retailers with personal licenses bringing more accountability (and potential consequences) to the retailing individual manager.

Add to the that the glamourised images that teenages see in the press and on the tv of so called 'celebrities' getting outrageoursly drunk in clubs and bars, and general breakdown of societies values it is no wonder kids will try and get away with under age drinking. And lets be honest how many adults can hold their hands up and say they never had an under age drink? Probably very few.

Alcohol lets not forget is a drug, by definition it is a poison yet we treat it very lightly. I like a nice cold beer as much as the next man but i know my limits and dont drink if im at work the next day. I also rarely drink in front of my daughter - this isnt a concious decision but generally she is in bed by 8pm and i normally have a drink after that time. Hopefully im setting a good example to her of treating alcohol with a sense of responsibility. We all have doubts over whether we are good parents - but we all have a choice over whether to drink or not, and how much we have - being a good parent to me is being a positive role model, being consistent and most importantly explaining right from wrong.

james