Brits have a huge problem with alcohol

[SteveLpool]

AIBU to think that this country has a particularly acute problem with boozing, alcohol, drinking (whatever you call it) compared to our peers in Europe and the rest of the world?

I've worked and travelled abroad quite a lot and i never had the issues i am having now being back at home in the UK with regards to being the odd one out at a bar or a pub just because I'm not having alcohol.

Sometimes a few of us will get together after work and I'll have a diet coke or even a soda water and lime.. when my choice of drink is known ("is there vodka in that????") there becomes an aura of uncomfortableness (if that is even a word) like I've committed a crime.. soon afterwards the comments come..

"what's in that?"
"why arnt you drinking"
"are you a lightweight"
"just have a couple"

I have a theory of why this is for Brits in particular.. We as a people are quite emotionally & socially reserved therefore inhibitions MUST be lowered to have any form of good time..

The med countries for example like Italy and Spain have more of a coffee wine bar culture because they are quite outgoing and introverted.

For the record I'm not against alcohol, I'm big on my fitness and gym and I'm not prepared to ruin my gains for a few hours in a dingy British pub.. I save my boozing for when i go away on holiday.

I agree that it’s not a healthy relationship in the UK with alcohol, but we are in France and alcohol is everywhere here aswell. And I would say very ‘normalised’ to drink in the day with meals etc. If someone invites you for an apero, if you don’t drink alcohol they get really arsey. Smoking also widespread still and so are scratch cards and gambling. I don’t know any close friends or colleagues who’ve used scratch cards in the UK but here I know several women who regularly do them! I find it really odd. Xx

Nope you’re wrong. There are plenty of countries which are worse than U.K. It’s the people you mix with clearly and I really don’t think you can have travelled as much as you say.

OP, you only have to look at Google to see how many other countries are way ahead of the UK when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Brits aren't even in the top 10.

Are you in the pub all day to observe these people's drinking?

The point I was making is Europe has its issues with alcohol too. I'd imagine a daily regime of strong lager starting at 7am is still making someone pretty ill long term.

I also think there is more to it. History (many Croatians experienced war), education, poverty etc seem to play a big part.

Even in the UK...when I lived in the North East the working men clubs were full each evening; I think its cultural thing. Living in the south, I couldn't tell you where my nearest one is and don't know anyone that goes in there.

When I was in Spain, from lunch time I was expected to drink wine and they were very off when I asked for a soft drink.

Them paper boxes don't deserve to be called crate.

This is crate😁 durable, allows you to take your glass back to shop, great building material for seats etc. (Image off google)

I have to agree with some other posters. The amount used per capita is lower than in other countries, it's the spectacle what's problem. Chig, chug, until you limp around with your trousers as a hat.

The ski resorts in Austria in the area I am in have no end of problems with people on holiday getting off their faces and having fights. They are actually in the main not Brits - the Swedes have a bad reputation as do the Norwegians. Groups of young Dutch men are very bad for drinking and rampaging around.

I agree with you that there is a huge drinking problem in the UK, but I don't agree that it's any worse than any number of other countries.

Top countries with highest alcohol use

As far as the use of alcohol is a concern, the top countries in the world with the heaviest adult drinkers are as follows:

Belarus
Lithuania
Grenada
Czech Republic
France
Russia
Ireland
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Germany

The OP has certainly never been to Russia 👀

I save my boozing for when i go away on holiday.

So you binge drink in other people's countries* *@SteveLpool ?

It's up to you how you like to drink but the moral ground you're clambering on is not as high as you think.

It’s gotten worse since people stopped going to the pub so much. The problem drinkers I know don’t set foot in the pub.
It’s also probably who you are socialising with, I make a proper effort to not go to meals/drinks with people who are proper drinkers as I am susceptible to being lead astray and due to my own issues with binge drinking I can’t risk it. I now generally socialise with people who don’t drink at all, or who like one or two at most.

This!

South Koreans and Japanese (men mostly) are often found slouched in a drunken coma on the street. Probably different factors such as their unhealthy work culture etc but none the less ... the view that its only a British problem is ridiculous.

Surprise surprise another Brit bashing thread.
Now we are all hopeless alcoholics 😉

You are allowed to drink in parks around here - our local park cafe even serves alcohol (including a really nice frozen margarita). Lots of people have picnics with beer or wine. It’s not a particularly posh area, but nobody is staggering around drunk - those men are actually standing outside Nando’s with a can of special brew.

Alcohol is very much part of culture everywhere in Europe. However...

It's a big public health problem in much of Northern and North Eastern Europe - often, like a pp said, associated with domestic violence. I don't know the reasons for this.

I agree that younger generations drink less - they seem to have a healthier approach to their body and TBH drinking to excess is not good for you.

There is more tolerance to drunkenness in the UK. Someone so drunk they can barely walk, swearing loudly, looking for a fight and about to throw up often elicits smiles and understanding - in other countries they would be seen as disgusting and maybe potentially dangerous. Again, why? I don't know.

Interestingly we (I am aware tv is not reality) watched few Korean things on Netflix and realised how muh drinking heavily featured in so googled and yes, they seem to drink quite a lot. I think it's 12l per capita?

As a foreigner (Canadian) who has lived most of my life in England I can say this is definitely true OP. Where I come from people would be ashamed to drink so much that they vomited, whereas here it's seen as funny and normal.

I also think the culture of drinking is changing, as others have said. Younger people now seem to be more health conscious and don’t drink in the way many youngsters did in the 00s.

In my own group of friends I have also noticed many people (we are early 30s) have stopped drinking almost completely in the last 5 years or so.

I do think the UK does have a bad relationship with alcohol but from what I can see the worst are people my parents age - early 50s up who drink several bottles of wine over a week and that’s completely normal.

Most alcoholics I know are never or rarely in the pub. They can't afford it and drink copious amounts at home instead.

I also know several people who think nothing of a bottle of wine or two every single night and don't consider they have a problem at all. Working from home & not having to drive in the morning seems to have really increased it.

Not to mention age, disability and benefits.

think the heavier drinkers are more likely to be 35+. Younger people are growing up with different ways to interact and socialise. I don't see them going to pubs in the same number as we did when I was teenage/20's. But obviously I can only compare what I know - other areas might be different. I'm not saying it doesn't still happen, young people going out for a night 'on the lash' - of course it does. But when I was that age, it was damn near every weekend. I'm not seeing that happening in the same way nowadays.

Agree with this. From about 16 onwards (because no one ever asked for ID back in the dark ages!) I was out on the lash from Thursday to Saturday, and occasionally a week night too. My teen goes out probably once a month. Some drink, some don't. A lot of the teens and 20s I know don't drink anywhere near as much as we used to.

I think younger people are also conscious and afraid of any drunken behaviour being captured on camera and shared via TikTok, Snap Chat, Insta etc, which could then come back later in their careers.

Anyone above 30-35 would not have had to deal with that pressure.

It's not just the "getting shitfaced" thing..
It's the "few pints after work" everyday.

The majority of people simply don't do that though imo. And the under 30s even less so. Yes the UK has historically had a excessive drinking culture (so have other countries). But it's decreasing.

So despite the actual statistics that state otherwise, it's 'definitely true' is it?