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

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

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?

"Until you have seen the REAL damage a REAL alcoholic can do to their child/ren, seriously, a bit here and there is fuck all a problem."

Seriously don't even try and go there and Im serious. Your comment makes me sick

As yours do me. As the child of an alcoholic, I am more than qualified to make that statement actually.

if you are solely responsible for young children it surely can't be a good idea to be too squiffy, what if they are ill or something happens in the house, you would need to be in control to keep them safe, get them to help etc. not judging at all here just being sensible.

I do think that part of the problem is that people don't see 2 or 3 glasses every day as a problem. IYSWIM. Drinking every day is unnecessary and not good for you. I say that as a reformed (mostly) drinker. Yes it's a far cry from being unconscious in the gutter but there's a creeping acceptance of increased levels of drinking.

I totally agree custardcake.

Rock there is no issue with having a glass or two 2 or 3 times a week. It's every night that would cause problems. Sorry to hear about your dad, I am sure it makes you more aware of the possible harm alcohol can cause

That's the thing Custard - I don't think it's ok. But I do think everything in moderation is ok.

I certainly don't drink every night, every other night or even every week. BUt I will have a glass or three when I fancy it, whether that be at home in the evening or out for supper with friends or family etc. I would NEVER say that that makes me a 'binge' drinker, occasional or not.

I very very rarely get drunk because I don't (at my age) need the shit hangovers , but once in a while I will, think the last time was a lunch at my mum's with all the family - that was in Feb, so hardly a regular occurrence.

I have seen first hand the horrors that alcohol can do to someone. I am not prepared to go into further detail because, 22 years late,r I can remember it like yesterday and it is deeply distressing, still.

"As the child of an alcoholic, I am more than qualified to make that statement actually."

And how the hell do you think you know so much about me? What an ignorant comment and your making me feel very angry right now

My hangovers get worse the less I drink. It's hardly encouraging And if I drink tonic, well I may as well have a had half a bottle of vodka [weird]

When did MN get so bloody po faced?

I have not professed to know a jot about you actually, but I am the child of a now dead alcoholic, and I have seen up close and personal what it does. BUt that does not mean that one shouldn't have a drink or three once in a while because they happen to have a child in the house.

I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I take umbrage at comments saying that it is irresponsible to have a drink in the house when children are there. It is irresponsible to be a chronic alcoholic with children in the house, pissed from morning through to night, not bothering with your children because getting your vodka/beer/whisky is more important to you than they are. Letting yourself become so ill and dependent on your drinks that eventually you die. On the loo. And your daughter finds you. THAT is what's wrong.

Having a few glasses every now and then IS NOT WRONG. And it is not irresponsible either.

since the tories got in usual

I drink most every night and I am the child of an alcoholic.

What box do I go in?

Well for me it was when I stopped drinking every night Nothing worse than a reformed drinker.

You said you are more qualified; which is assuming I haven't had to put up with alcoholics in my life either. This is not true and unfair.

Im an not getting it, but being around very drunk people makes me feel very frightened now. I do not want my child to feel like that

I never said having a glass of wine is bad- I said getting drunk is bad.

The wooden one for dragged up pissheads, Hully!

Coco, I wasn't assuming that at all. And I am sorry if I have upset you/made you angry. I have seen the absolute worst in an alcoholic and I would never ever want my children to be put through the same thing. But I also think that just because my father was a vile, nasty, cunt of a man due, in the main, to his drinking, that does not mean because I will enjoy a drink now and again, that I am being irresponsible.

Getting drunk is not bad in moderation. Yes, getting totally wankered every night is, in my mind, a bad thing. But please do not assume that we ^^^ up thread are being stupid, irresponsible parents because we enjoy getting pissed once in a while. We are not. Again, I am truly sorry if I have upset you, but your comments made me angry too - I can see things from both sides, and I am generally a very moderate person in my views.

saggarmakersbottomknocker - I got my first hangover at 37 and they got progressively worse as the years added on....

Whose round is it?

Dont worry Rock

I guess we all come to think a certain way because of our pasts.

Yes nothing wrong with odd glass of alcohol, I just personally draw the line at being drunk (with children in your care).

I have a glass of wine on thursdays, fridays and saturdays.

However, once every couple of months I got out with my friends on a proper bender. You might see me slurring my words and crab-walking across the pavement and assume that this is a typical weekend for me. It isn't. It happens rarely.

And I bloody well enjoy it.

Cin-cin!

That's not what you said earlier Coco, you aid that people shouldn't drink at all with children in their care...

cin-cin Bupcakes!

Where's thethers and that bottle of gin gone eh?

thethers?

Every couple of months Buppy

Coco, just chill - seriously it's shit I know, I was there too, but you can't say that we're all being irresponsible for having a drink with our children in our care without a brief supporting statement really; you initially came across as rather sanctimonious and I understand now why you did, but it would have saved us a pile of crap if you'd perhaps worded your thoughts in a slightly less ..... bollocks. I can't think of the right word. But you know what I mean.

ABF - it's your FFS, you're always late to the party.

Aneeeway..

Can we get back to the drunken elephants who eat the over ripe fruit and wreck the crops and the villagers shoot them?

It's awful.