If you live in a city in Northern England binge drinking is something that you will come across all too often. It is a problem amongst youngsters these days but in most of these cities it always has been. There are many reasons for the binge drinking culture that exists in the UK, and always has. Here are the main reasons.

The Pub

Going down The Pub has always been part of UK citizens social life. Although with the current smoking ban the popularity of Pubs is declining they are still popular. At one time Pubs where literally heaving with customers and were treat as almost a community meeting place. Is there any wonder that drinking alcohol was an everyday occurrence?. The problem has always been that we Brits, on the whole, cannot just go out and enjoy a drink or two but somehow feel a need to get “plastered”, or in other words blinding drunk.

Clubs

Most Clubs in the UK also relied heavily on the sales of alcoholic drink to make the venue viable. This meant that people were served alcohol until they could no longer stand.

Right of passage.

For men in particular getting drunk was, and possibly still is, a right of passage. Proving yourself a man seemed to entail being able to hold your drink however ridiculous an amount it was.

Legal age limit.

In the UK the age when you can legally drink and buy alcohol is eighteen. It was this age even when you could not vote until you were twenty-one. Perhaps the age limit is and always has been set too low.

Culture.

The UK does not have the good weather that countries such as France and Spain enjoy. This may sound a silly point but it is not. In these countries locals enjoy a drink or two whilst out and about and are not all sat huddled in a bar or pub while the rain lashes down outside. Lack of alternatives has meant that British people have grown up with drinking as a foremost pastime. There is the Theatre and Cinemas but even visits to any of these usually sees people going for an alcoholic drink before, during or after the performance.

Governments

The Government as usual takes a two sided approach, just as they always have with cigarette smoking. They greedily take the revenue form alcohol and so have in a way promoted drinking. Recent changes in the licensing laws have meant that the UK now has 24 hour drinking available for those so inclined.

Cheap

Supermarkets sell alcohol at rock bottom prices these days and, as some people are now moving away from pubs, alcohol is bought and consumed at record rates.

In the past.

Some of what I have written is why people binge drink in the UK today. However it is easy to see that, as many British children were brought up in households where the Pub was the main form of entertainment, they were going to follow suit. In my city the Fishermen that worked long and hard on trawlers, fishing in Icelandic waters, came home and played hard. Just about all of them would binge drink and some would waste all their hard earned money this way. I guess it was a sort of compensation for what they had lost doing this work.

Going to the pub to wash away the days trials and tribulations always was been commonplace in the UK. The problem for drinkers has been knowing when to stop. Unfortunately all too many UK residents never know when they have had enough. Some grow out of it, with time, no longer feeling the need to impress their peers by simply being able to consume vast amounts of alcohol..

Perhaps some of it boils down to the traditional British reserve. Maybe people were unable to let their hair down until the alcohol freed them of their hang-ups and reserve. Whatever the reasons, binge drinking in the UK is different these days, but it is not a new phenomenon. One of the noticeable differences is that binge drinking is far more popular amongst young women than it ever was and this is worrying, for many reasons. Drunken young women put their health and safety at risk all too often. Yes women have drunk too much alcohol from time to time but not as openly and excessively as today.