By Andrew and Mutley.
“Binge drinking”; is it a disease? On the other hand is binge drinking just an unexplainable cultural phenomenon?
When “Diagnosing and dealing with the new British disease” according to the report by John McAlaney and John McMahon around 35% of males and 28% of females (age 16-24) binge drink at least once a year. The report has taken figures from the ONS; the report does not take into consideration the cultural perspective of the British public, where the drinking of alcohol is taken as being a “social norm” for many people. The age group for partaking in alcohol with food is actually; legally a statutory requirement to be at least sixteen in public eateries with a licence, and stipulates an adult must be in attendance and eating. Parents and young adults should also take into consideration the type of alcohol; the law restricts the consumption of which to lower alcohol proofs of beer and wine. Possibly an area which could be implemented by the American policies which promote 2.2% proof drinks for young adults, let us not make the mistake and exclude young people.
Health issues relating to alcohol are also deemed to be an issue in the personal development of younger people; the report does not always look at the positive side of the use of supervised alcohol usage. Neuroscience research does prove that alcohol acts as an inhibiter mainly in the central nervous system. Therefore the monitored usage of alcohol by appropriate professional staff or responsible peers can also be undertaken to enhance friendships. The use of alcohol acts like a GABA (a chemical messenger inthe brain), causing increased chloride conductance causing hyper- polarization, when potassium leaves the neuron and chloride enters (Pinel, 2005). The effect of the stimulation lowers the inhibition levels of the person consuming alcohol; the positive effect of this allows the person to speak freely in a manner appropriate within the company of like-minded individuals. The educational part of the use of consumption of alcohol could be best improved by more interactive promotion of “Drink awareness campaigns”, promoting the positive effects of a cultural past time of many generations of the Westernised populations. According to Dejong (2003) 37% of binge drinkers who abide by the recommended cut off point using the 5+ measurement did not exceed the 0.08 per cent legal driving limit in the U.K and U.S.A. Other research by McLaney & McMahon (2006) suggested the definition of binge drinker has been applied wrongly, stating it does not take into account the duration of the period the alcohol is consumed. Academics are not in agreement over the issue of binge drinking. A restructuring of the issue may be a positive attempt to be promoted could be; “to drink and eat and forget that binging”.
The health problem should be tackling the issues of alcoholism and offer examples, of how people male and female can end up homeless and begging for the next drink. An issue of the next electorate is the supporting of people with alcohol and substance dependency, a Western problem that is better controlled in the public and charity services sectors. Social psychology states our attitudes are arrived from our cognitive, affective and behavioural multicomponent (Zenna & Rempel, 1998, p174-5) cited by Hewstone et al. suggesting the cognitive component of attitude deals with a conscious choice of an individual who weighs up the pros and cons of a situation, according to the beliefs they have evaluated. Research could possibly look at the salient beliefs of an individual which in the majority of the population do partake in the controlled use of alcohol. When “Drink awareness” campaigns are marketed the government and health authorities concentrate on the negative effects of alcohol to try to change people’s affective component of the drinker’s emotions or feelings.
Government’s change and influence local alcohol policies in line with the negative effects of alcohol, this way allows central government to raise indirect taxes. This information is not always easy to decipher from the point of view of the working and even middle classes, the generational classes who actually notice the changes in their change so to say!
When alcohol becomes a burden to society in our own communities then maybe the alcohol tax collected, should be seen to be allocated directly to the services that deal with the main issues. Would the public’s perception of price increases on taxation be better determined by placing any increases on V.A.T alcohol related as a NHS tax? Other suggestions could be the introduction of alcohol related fines according to the cost of agencies involved, again contentious, but rather than cutting the benefits of people, who are trying to conform, sanction those who choose not to? According to Dunn et al (2000) referring to the expectancy challenge undertaken this approach is only effective in those who drink the heaviest. Weitzman and Nelson (2004) went as far as to stipulate only a minority of the population are the heaviest binge drinkers.
All the best at this fact approaching festive season, all I can say from experience is eating before drinking diverts many problems! Don’t worry too much and start worrying about the calories in everything we eat and drink, just learn to moderate. The old school way of thinking is to hit the masses in their pockets, great for those who can afford it, or do not even drink, but for those who learn from mistakes, and moderate. “Enjoy that drink”; but don’t let it become a burden on your health, wealth, friends and family.