Vocal Voices

I had a shock today when I read our local paper.

Our town has a population of just over 200,000. but our local Accident and Emergency Services are
dealing with around 20,000 alcohol-related admissions every year. 31 men and 22 women died as a
direct result of drinking, over a 12 month period, and 31,000 had hospital treatment.

Then, in a national Sunday newspaper, it said that Department of Health figures show that in England in
2010, there were 188,097 alcohol-related hospital admissions for women.

Doesn't this give cause for concern?

And why is it happening?

because this generation of females think its very trendy to drink
they like young men think having a good time
means you have to get drunk
its called liberated

I was talking to my sister yesterday about this very subject. She worries that my niece drinks a lot - she is 23, single, lives in Central London, works in TV and mixes with a hardworking, glamorous but hard-drinking crowd all working in TV and journalism. Last weekend they all drank for three days solid. J worries about it a lot but my niece just shrugs - it is what they all do

At that age I hadn't the money to drink. I could hardly feed and clothe myself.

At that age I was married with a small child - we had a social life but not OTT as we couldn't afford it

That's what we did but younger.

Then we grew up and stopped, somtimes

I don't think it can be blamed on cheap alcohol - our alcohol is much more expensive than other countries but I don't know if they have the same sort of culture there.

Maybe it is because teens/young adults have more disposable income now - but that is also probably true in other European countries.

Maybe its the happy hours where people are encouraged to drink more in a short period of time - buy one get one free before 8pm sort of thing.

I don't know either.
At 23 I was working in London, good job, decent money. It was perfectly normal to go to the pub for lunch, and after work too. Business lunches at restaurants always included wine, and some people had those every day.
My b/f was in advertising, lunch every day with other agencies, magazines, TV and radio companies - all with lots of booze.

Funny that now drinking at work/during working hours is pretty uncommon, but drinking has increased. I don't think I ever knew anyone who had to be hospitalised due to alcohol

That's very true Di, there was a culture of lunchtime drinking - my first job was for the DHSS in Government Buildings in Acton in the mid to late '70s. We shared the premises with MOD, Admiralty and others and there was a huge canteen there and a subsidised bar. We all sat there drinking and smoking at lunchtime - then went back to our desks and worked. I was telling the young girls I worked with at Osprey about this a couple of years back, but they thought I was pulling their leg - Not only drinking allowed in working hours, but subsidised drinking in a work's canteen bar? Never!!!!

Like Di I don't remember anyone being admitted to hospital in those days through drinking, yet two of the little girls I worked with recently at Osprey had, and didn't seem to think anything of it...

I'm not sure about the happy hour business, from what I gathered working with such young girls and listening to their plans and gossip, they seem to drink at home first - a lot, mainly wine and cider or beer, tanking up on the cheaper stuff - whilst getting ready for a night out, then go out very late on to clubs and such to drink shots and spirits....

We went out to have an enjoyable evening and if we got drunk, well then it happened but it wasn't the main intention. These days getting drunk seems to be the aim, and if you don't get legless you haven't had a good time. A definite sea change I think......

Yes that's it Kaz.
I never, ever drank at home before going out and nor did anyone else I knew. As you say getting drunk may sometimes have been a consequence, but it was never the plan! I started going to pubs with friends when I was 16 but I think I only ever got drunk at parties, not many times either.

The company I last worked for still had a subsidised canteen when I started, in 1995, and attached big sort of lounge where you could smoke. People there said it was only a few years since the bar had disappeared and yes, they too would drink with their lunch.