Does Wales have the highest Binge drinking in Europe?
Introduction
In the duration of this essay, I shall to try to find out whether it is Wales or Northern Ireland that has the higher binge drinking rate in Europe. I chose this topic because I believe that it is a real and growing problem and would like to learn about it for personal reason. I shall try to talk about other factors such as how much it costs us, the damage it does to the body, how the culture of binge drinking is getting more popular, how exactly it is taking over the younger generation etc. While in school, there were special talks in which we were told the importance of healthy eating. When binge drinking was brought up and its dangers, it made me curious about why this fact occurs; eventually leading me to research about it. This topic has appeared on the television a number of time showing how concerning it is , whether people take notice of it is a question in which I intend to find out.
Methodology
Secondary sources will mainly include the internet; however I shall use other research methods such as books, magazines and news articles. The primary source I shall use is the questionnaire in which I shall attempt to ask fellow pupils their views on the topic and their possible solution. With the information I gather, I shall put it in an essay form in order to answer my hypothesis.
In my Questionnaire, I asked several questions revolving around my topic – Binge drinking. Firstly, I began with asking them to state their sex followed with asking whether they knew what Binge drinking was exactly. It seemed that majority of the survey knew what was Binge drinking, apart from one person.
The Research paper on Effects of Binge Drinking
... researched this topic for years. I hope that through my research I can explain to people how dangerous binge drinking really is. ... The topic for my research paper is: are the effects of binge drinking on college students negative? In 2010, about 1,900 college ... fraternities and sororities about the harmful effects of binge drinking. In Haines opinion, binge drinking has not just become a problem for ...
I found this quite surprising leading me to assume that people have been exposed to information more then I assumed. This question was followed with whether Binge drinking was an issue. Once again, it seemed that nearly majority of the survey agreed it was, with one person ticking the “Not really” box. The next question asked whether Binge drinking was seen as much of an issue affecting the society as well as the individual, it seemed that there was one group that held majority – agreeing it did.
This leads me to assume that people are worried of the general image that binge drinking is producing of a city. It seems that people do believe it gives the wrong view of the city (Cardiff), instead of presenting the historic or tourists’ spots, it only shows the images of drinking and disorder behaviour.
The survey was slightly divided with the question whether raising the drinking age would make any difference, it seemed that 6 out of the 18 people thought it would helped while the rest disagreed. It is probably because there is always a chance of someone else producing alcohol, whether they be the parent or friend. It is also common for shops to sell alcohol to someone without asking for I.D. Therefore, it may help tackle down on shops and persist the idea of asking I.D.
The next question led to an equal amount of people dividing into two groups. The question was about what age group they believed was mainly affected by Binge drinking, while 9 people chose 16-18 the others chose 18+.
It is an equal amount, however it surprises me, I assumed that the participants would all or majority would chose the -16 box.
My sample was an equal about of males and females, nine of both sexes; I thought it would be better to have a fair sample. I didn’t ask for age as my main concern was to find about their opinion on binge drinking.
Background information
The Essay on Editorial On Drinking Alcohol People Teenagers
I walked into the house where the 'party of the century' was going to be held. I was psyched to be going. At the time I was a little naive freshman invited to my first official high school party at a senior's house. I was at the party no more than 30 minutes when this boy offered me a drink. Thinking nothing of it, I agreed. He brought back a half-filled cup. Before I took a sip, I recognized a ...
Information about Wales
Wales is part of the United Kingdom., it’s to the west of England. Wales is just over 20,000 square kilometres in size. At its widest it’s 200 kilometres east to west, and 250 Kilometres north to south.[1] The capitol of it would be Cardiff, the population of Wales is estimated to be just under 3 million.[2]
Information about Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it is also one of the four countries in the UK. Its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island’s total population.[3] The capitol of it is Belfast; the official languages would be English, Irish and Ulster Scots. [4]
What is binge drinking?
To my knowledge, binge drinking is when someone drinks a large amount of alcohol in a small amount of time. It seems that the alcohol drank has different effects on the body, as it is travelling very fast. After researching I found the effects in depth e.g. when alcohol enters your brain it has depressant effect. What they actually experience are physical changes such as loss of sensation and a decrease in sharpness of vision, hearing, and other senses. If drinking continues, alcohol depresses the part of the brain that controls breathing and heart beat. Breathing rates, pulse rates, and blood pressure, which increased, now decrease. In severe cases death from alcohol poisoning. Parts of the brain that control muscle coordination may be affected by alcohol as well, this may result in drinkers losing their balance.[5]
I found that most people who suffer from health problems because of their drinking are not alcoholics, but rather are those who drink heavily over a number of years. This is shocking because I never thought of it like that, it seems that most documentaries I have watched tend to actually focus on a particular group rather than the medical issues. It seems that this has an effect on the hospitals, in Wales and England alone binge drinking leads to some 33,000 hospital admissions each year for alcohol-related liver disease. It is important to make people aware of what the risks are; however it gives vital background information to my Individual Investigation.[6]
When the subject of alcohol comes up, the phrase of “we’re just having a laugh” is normally used. The question is when will the human body eventually have enough and break down, but I feel that binge drinking is also actually affecting the country. A doctor once said “Britain is suffering from an epidemic of alcohol abuse, the country’s doctors said, demanding higher taxes and stricter regulation to curb it”. However, it leads to why do supermarkets actually think of this situation. Tesco was one of the stores that actually wanted to make a change by working with the government on new laws to ensure what it called responsible pricing of alcohol.
The Term Paper on Alcohol Binge Drink
Alcohol Alcohol is a widely used substance for both science and in technology. Its name comes from an Arabic word al-kohl meaning ' a powder for painting the eyes'. The term was later applied to all compounds that contain alcoholic spirits. To most people alcohol is consider a downer that reduces activity in the nervous system. Some of the things alcohol effects you is, the alcohol intoxicated ...
In Britain, the annual cost to employers is estimated to be 6.4 billion while the cost to the NHS is in the region of 1.7 billion. Whilst billion more are being spent on clearing up alcohol related crimes and in addition to this, alcohol related problems are responsible for 22, 00 premature deaths each year. I believe this money has been used wastefully furthermore Denmark and Norway have average of premature (alcohol-related) deaths of just 5,000 each year between the two of them, which overall narrows down to the conclusion of self-control. In Britain, they found that there are 1.2 million incidents have been proved to be alcohol-related. [7]
What are the issues regarding binge drinking in Wales?
Cardiff binge drinking – It seems that Cardiff is in danger of becoming the UK capital of binge drinking, according to an alcohol and drugs charity. When compared with other centres – such as Bristol, Edinburgh and Birmingham – Cardiff appears well stocked with super-pubs and may appear over-pubbed, This has affected the number of alcohol related-crimes went from 2442 incidents to just 1552 in the same period.
In Wales alone, each year there are approximately 9,000 males getting arrested on suspicion of drunken disorderly, mostly as a result of binge drinking. It has also led to an increase of deaths or violent acts among young people. As well as horrific violence for example – Anna Lucas (left), from Cardiff, who was glassed in the face while enjoying a night out with her friends. However, statistics in London have proven to out-do ours. Why? The answer probably would be because it is a bigger city with a much bigger population. But the subject of alcohol seems to come back, it was found that there were about 16,000 arrests on robbery, stabbing and assault and 85% of this was under of the influence of alcohol.
The Essay on Binge Drinking College Students Alcohol
Lately the topic of binge drinking among college students has attracted a lot of attention. "Binge drinking is the consumption of at least five or more drinks in a row for men, and four or more drinks in a row for women," according to the Journal of American College Health. (p. 23) A major cause of college binge drinking is the fact that under aged young adults are introduced to college life and ...
Impact of binge drinking
I then began to start looking at the impact binge drinking has on the environment as I personally believe this is important. It raises the question whether it has consequences on society just as much as the individual. In a study that I found on a website, it was said that after seven different males and females drank alcohol, the result was that they were more violent, less friendly and lost the control of maintaining their behaviour. Therefore, it is imaginable that when people drink excessively when they don’t do so normally (resulting in binge drinking), what they are capable of. ??????
Through the media, I came the conclusion that a lot of people who go out on the weekends will go home in a much worse state.This image was extracted from Google; it was taken on a typical Saturday night in Cardiff’s central town. From the image, it is clear that violence can occur from going out on nights and drinking. It would be safe to say that majority of the people would not act in such a manner if they weren’t intoxicated.
Is there a particular age group its popular among? It seems that binge drinking is very popular among the students in Wales. The source notes that it is a feature of student life and amongst UK undergraduates one in two male students regularly indulge in binge drinking exceeding the drinking levels of their peers in the general population.[8]
What is being done about binge drinking in Wales?
Barbara Wilding, the Chief Constable of South Wales, was speaking at the launch of a new campaign by the country’s senior churchmen and police officers to stop people over-indulging in alcohol. “In Wales you are more likely to be assaulted by someone you know than anywhere else in the UK. Our statistics show alcohol plays a huge, huge role in it.” She blamed a culture which exists in Wales where drinking to excess is widely accepted.[9]
The media has got involved by creating documentaries about binge drinking; I personally do believe this is the most direct way to get in touch with people, as the television is a general universal item that people enjoy. The media has also created ways in order the public to get in contact with them relating to binge drinking e.g. “Samaritans Tel: 08457 90 90 90 – local rates Text phone: 08457 90 91 92 E-Mail: [email protected] Web%! 3A www.samaritans.org Open: 24 hours a day Cemotional support for people in crisis.
The Essay on Binge Drinking 7
Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking with the intention to get drunk. Researchers define binge drinking as consuming eight or more units in a single session for men and six or more for women. Due to the long-term effects of alcohol misuse, binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue. Binge drinking has become more popular ...
PAPYRUS www.papyrus-uk.org Papyrus is a voluntary organisation committed to the prevention of young suicide and the promotion of mental health and well being.” Educating the younger generation has been one of the targets in getting people aware of the dangers in binge drinking through talks and presentation is high schools and colleges, whether it has been successful is another factor.
Personally, I have my own views in how binge drinking can be reduced. Firstly, there should be an increase of taxation on alcohol. It seems that it is a cheaper then it was a couple of decades or so ago. Secondly, it’s currently acceptable to go out and get drunk. However, in previous generations it was severely frowned upon and brought social repercussions. People should be educated that it isn’t something to be proud of and the risk associated with it. Lastly, more people should be prosecuted for drunken disorder emphasising the point that being drunk isn’t an excuse.
What are the issues regarding binge drinking in Northern Ireland?
Binge drinking seems to be affects Ireland just as much, after reading articles[10] I found that it becoming a large part of the Irish culture. This would be backed up with incredible evidence like “58 out of every 100 occasions by a man and 30 out of every 100 drinking occasions by a woman is a binge drinking occasion” It seems reading medically, binge drinkers are more likely to become alcoholics in the future. This led me to research how many people actually die of alcohol related disease in Northern Ireland; the answer was roughly 150 people a year. And a further 650 die because of injuries or diseases related to alcohol. This may differ from binge drinking however it does show how much of an issue it is in Northern Ireland. Binge drinking isn’t only affecting the older generation, but like in Wales, it seems very popular among students. Those students with part-time jobs are more likely to spend their wages on drinking on the weekend. It would affect them economically, as pubs in Ireland take advantage of opportunities by charging a lot of money for drinks. Pints can be priced at 5 or 6 euro sometimes. This truly is extortion. And the fact that people pay these amounts enforces the idea that Ireland has a serious problem with binge drinking.
Binge Drinking Students Alcohol Icap
Binge Drinking We all know what it is like to wake up in the morning, your head is aching, and your body feels like it was hit by a big garbage truck. College students worldwide know this feeling. These are the results of binge drinking. Why do they do it? Binge drinking is defined for men as drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks, and for women as drinking four r more drinks ...
I next started to look for graphs of some sort of percentage relating to binge drinking among people in Ireland.
The table below shows the percentage of heavy drinkers in different countries. Though it is not specifically about binge drinking, the category of heavy drinkers would probably overlap somewhat and gives us an idea of context. As we can see, Ireland has a very high percentage of heavy drinkers amongst men and women, making drinking a clear problem in Irish society. The figure for female drinkers is particularly worrying. There are no figures here for Wales but it does show figures for England, which are also fairly high, though not as serious as Ireland’s.
The following graph is specifically about binge drinking and shows figures for Ireland and the UK and other European countries:[11]
In this graph, I found that Ireland has the highest percentage. There seems to be a major gender difference. I found that men binge drink so much more than women, nearly 50% of men binge drink a week. This takes my view to another level, making the topic an even bigger issue. Leading back to my question, it seems at the moment it seems Ireland does have a bigger binge drinking rate. The graph does not have Wales however it does have UK, it is surprising how Ireland has a higher binge drinking rate then the UK overall. More – Europe, UK etc
This led me to research more, finding more evidence that supports the graph.The study conducted for Ireland’s Health Promotion Unit further found that 48% of all men and 16% of women in Ireland binge drink at least once a week. Ireland is the highest of all European countries in terms of binge drinking.[12]
These proportions increased markedly to 59% of 18-24 year olds and 43% of 25-34 year olds. This statistics obviously show how high binge drinking is amongst the people of Ireland, clearly the evidence is starting to state Ireland has having more binge drinkers than Wales.
Northern England – 28%
Midlands 19%
South East 24%
Scotland 18%
Wales & South West 33%
Ireland 64%
“More than 36% of men and 27% of women between 16 and 24 binge drink at least once a week. Not only is your health at risk but you’re in danger of sexual assault, memory loss, unsafe sex, choking on your own vomit, alcoholic poisoning, and violence”[13] – this quote shows how binge drinking varies between the sexes in this age group as well as how common with the word “at least” which lets me to lead there are people who would binge drink more then once a week. It seems to binge drinking is a custom random than something that people do with a reason.
Conclusion
I have come to the conclusion that Ireland has a much high rate of binge drinking. There are similarities between the countries concerning binge drinking e.g. it seems to be highly popular among students. Known officially as Risky Single Occasion Drinking (RSOD), it has become a growing problem. In the 16 – 24 age group, 36% of men and 27% of women binge-drink at least once a week, according to the Office for National Statistics.
‘
———————–
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/culture/sites/aboutwales/pages/geography.shtml
[2] www.wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_population_of_Wales
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland
[4] ^ “Northern Ireland Census 2001 Commissioned Output”. NISRA. 2001. http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census/Excel/commissioned_output/EXT20032908c.xls. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
[5] http://www.funonthenet.in/forums/index.php?action=printpage;topic=108502.0
[6]
[7] http://www.answers.com/topic/alcoholism
[8] alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/43/4/492
[9] www.dailymail.co.uk/news/…/Police-warn-Wales-violent-place-infamous-binge-drinking.html
[10] http://www.shvoong.com/social-sciences/1744482-binge-drinking-ireland/
[11] http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/papers/europe/phproject/bingedrinking-report.pdf
[12] http://www.aim-digest.com/gateway/pages/binge/articles/ireland.htm
[13] –
