Binge drinking

The Regional Lifetstyles Survey, 2005

It is quite scary to see hundreds of drunk people on the main streets of British cities on Friday and Saturday nights - especially young people. Certainly, for people holding more conservative and traditional views it must be completley despicable.

Of course, this custom harms the society in many ways. Association of a good time with consumption of alcohol certainly results in higher risk of addiction and other alcohol related problems. And costs are enormous. According to wikipedia, "binge drinking costs the UK economy approximately £20 billion a year; 17 million working days are estimated to be lost due to hangovers and drink-related illness each year. The cost of binge drinking to employers is estimated to be £6.4 billion and the cost per year of alcohol harm is estimated to cost the National Health Service £2.7 billion." 

MG