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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that alcohol misuse is the elephant in the room in the uk?

204 replies

rogersmellyonthetelly · 21/09/2011 21:17

Ok, so I'm not talking about alcoholics here, people who are alcohol dependant and their families have my sympathy. I'm taking about people who go out and get hammered week in week out, puke on the pavement, behave like boors, injure themselves, assault others and generally cause a nuisance. They also cost a fortune in extra policing, and you only have to walk into any a&e in the country after 9pm most evenings to see the effect its having on the nhs. Yet week in week out, I see supermarkets advertising how cheap their booze is, my local garage has 1 aisle out of 4 dedicated to the bloody stuff, its in abundance in every corner shop. Why is it that in the uk it seems to be that alcohol is perceived as necessary to having a good time? Isn't it time that the government stopped advertising alcohol like they stopped advertising fags?
I'm no stick in the mud, I go out with friends, I have a laugh, a dance and a good time, and I don't drink at all except the occasional baileys which I have because I like the taste. If people want to have a glass or two of wine, or a couple of beers to relax, fair play, but please could someone tell me what is relaxing about waking up with your hair stuck to your face with sick, having pissed in your bed, or worse, pissed in the bed in the police cell, having no idea where you were the night before, what you did and with who?

OP posts:
begonyabampot · 21/09/2011 21:45

I just don't think people realise that it's really not like this everywhere else - not to the same extremes. In some cultures and countries it's quite looked down on to lose control through drink the way it is almost glorified and accepted here.

Irishchic · 21/09/2011 21:45

Obviously i move in very sedate circles!

Reeling I'm on your side!

RoxyRobin · 21/09/2011 21:46

If it's an elephant it's a bloody noisy one. There's always somebody trumpeting about it in the press.

reelingintheyears · 21/09/2011 21:46

I love a celtic tiger.

timetoask · 21/09/2011 21:47

Totally agree OP, I am not from here so Not sure if I am entitled to comment. But I have to say one of the things that really struck me when I started working in the uk were all the pub visits, going for drinks and the number of pints consumed every time.
I love British people though, so friendly and just wonderful. I think the only thing in would change is the attitude to
Also, I blame all the teenage pregnancies on alcohol rather than lack of education. All the sex education goes out of the window when kids get so drunk week after week.

timetoask · 21/09/2011 21:47

...attitude to alcohol.

reelingintheyears · 21/09/2011 21:48

Elephants are buggers for getting drunk on over ripe fruit in Africa.

It's true.

Then they rampage through the crops and the villagers shoot them.Sad

Original poster
rogersmellyonthetelly · 21/09/2011 21:48

It's really not like this in other countries, went to Rome a few weeks ago, we were walking round the city centre, lots of bars, loads of young people, loads of people drinking alcohol, but we didnt see any drunks. It was lovely actually.

OP posts:
ThePrincessRoyalFiggyrolls · 21/09/2011 21:48

Big issues are cheap booze in supermarkets, exacerbated by cheap booze in clubs and bars. This is our problem that we have inflicted upon many other countries. Sadly this has not been helped by any Govt policy with regards to this in the past few years as they don't seemed to have knuckled down on this very well, however they do seem to have knuckled down on those of us that like something decent to drink.

southeastastra · 21/09/2011 21:49

to be honest though, what else is there for teenagers (or even adults) to do in the evenings? cinema is crap these days, theatre way too expensive.

coffee shops etc are shut. i don't know, maybe people are just bored alot of the time and drink to fill in the time.

southeastastra · 21/09/2011 21:50

and rome (!) is bloody hot! and i bet the cafes were open there in the evenings.

i do hate it when people compare us to europe, where the culture is so much more sociable to start with

inkyfingers · 21/09/2011 21:51

I so agree with the OP. I heard a teacher about 47? (has 2 teenage kids) talking about going out on Friday and probably getting really drunk. Hasn't she grown up? Does she care what her DCs think? Do other people have to be their role models?

Also TV/radio shows often talk about heavy drinking as though it's normal. No chance to tell anyone under 25 that it has all the problems they could avoid as OP listed.

Agree freshers' week is a total waste of time, lonely unless you want to get pissed and who's looking out for the students with their new 'friends' who end up in bars/strange town.
So sad about it all.

reelingintheyears · 21/09/2011 21:52

SEA..My local is very sociable and we are even nice to all the foreign students who come in and get pissed.

Thingumy · 21/09/2011 21:52

Europeans drink just as much,just over a longer time in the evening and in the sun.

The lucky cunts.

RoxyRobin · 21/09/2011 21:52

The government rakes in a massive amount of tax from the sale of alcohol - they are hardly going to 'knuckle down' that hard.

Tunicandtrousers · 21/09/2011 21:54

I agree OP - and actually I think that the people who have ' a glass' every night are actually in a lot more trouble then they realise. They ae dependant on an addictive and ultimately toxic substance and there is a strong liklihood that they are exceeding the daily number of units advised. One large glass of wine can do it.

Nobody should be drinking every day. If you read this and are angry with me for saying that, if you resent me telling you you are drinking too much - well you just might want to refect on why that is?

begonyabampot · 21/09/2011 21:54

Was in turkey recently at a low key resort where all the Turkish students and hip young things go on holiday. Never saw any of them drunk or saw any hassle or violence and the atmosphere was calm and relaxed. The differences can really be startling.

usualsuspect · 21/09/2011 21:55

My goodness there are a lot of sanctimonious posters on MN tonight

MixedClassBaby · 21/09/2011 21:55

YANBU. Very interesting report by the BMA exploring the link between advertising and the alcohol misuse here:

www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/alcohol/undertheinfluence.jsp

reelingintheyears · 21/09/2011 21:56

'Hip young things'?

How old are you Bampot?Grin

southeastastra · 21/09/2011 21:56

your local might be, mine ain't! the only nice pubs have been turned into expensive eateries and you have to travel now to find a decent pub with a normal atmosphere (like pub quiz evenings and live music)

ThePrincessRoyalFiggyrolls · 21/09/2011 21:57

I wasn't thinking of somewhere like Rome but more Benidorm Grin

I want to go to Venice or Rome and drink shed loads in the sun and culture and and and all the rest

Tunicandtrousers · 21/09/2011 21:57

Yes usualsuspect I am sanctimonious about this issue - because I am not abusing alcohol or dependant on it. Quite hard for me not to be holier than thou.

How much do you drink btw?

ByThePowerOfGreyskull · 21/09/2011 21:57

is it very very wrong for me to be very tipsy answering this?

well yanbu it is a real problem I don't really usually drink much but have a friend who puts out 12-14 empty wine bottles every fortnight and she is the only drinker in her house. she knows it is too much but doesnt knwo how to stop

reelingintheyears · 21/09/2011 21:58

Oooh SEA..i do a pub quiz every Sunday night.

And there are regular local bands on Saturdays.