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| steel driving hammer |
Britons Condemned as Europe's Worst Drinkers
Fri Sep 19, 6:38 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Britons are the worst drinkers in Europe and women are catching up with men in the heavy drinking stakes, the government said on Friday, urging a "more civilized" late-night culture.
A report by Downing Street's strategy unit found that while Britons drink less than most of the continental neighbors, they drink more intensively.
"In the UK, binge drinking accounts for 40 percent of all drinking occasions by men and 22 percent by women," the unit said in a report designed to inform government policy on alcohol abuse.
That put Britain at the top of the binge league table, ahead of Sweden and Denmark, and way ahead of Germany, Italy and France, where binge drinking accounted for less than 15 percent of all consumption.
The strategy unit acknowledged binge drinking was difficult to define but said that for the purposes of its report it meant drinking more than twice the government's daily guidelines.
Those guidelines are three to four units of alcohol a day for men and two to three units for women. A unit is defined as half a pint of medium strength beer, a small glass of wine or a measure of spirits.
The report said that Britons drink less overall than most of their neighbors, including the French, Germans, Spaniards and Dutch. The league table for total consumption was topped by Luxembourg followed by Ireland and Portugal.
But it warned that while most people in Europe are drinking less than they used to, Britons are drinking more.
"If present trends continue, the UK would rise to near the top of the consumption league within the next 10 years," it said, adding that British children under 16 are drinking twice as much as they did 10 years ago.
Women are also drinking more.
"The number of women drinking above recommended guidelines has risen by over half in the last 15 years," it said.
One in four women exceeds the government's guidelines against just one in 10 in 1988.
Government minister Hazel Blears said Britons needed to change their drinking habits.
"We need to create a more civilized late-night culture," she told BBC Radio. "We've got to try to get into a culture where the whole of our entertainment isn't just about alcohol.
"It should be about cinema, theater, about bowling, about a range of things."
The British alcoholic drinks industry is worth 30 billion pounds ($48.55 billion) a year, seven billion of which finds its way to the Treasury.
But it also costs Britain an estimated 20 billion pounds each year in associated crime, health and social problems and employee absenteeism.
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| glencar |
What the article doesn't mention is all the Brits who go on special drinking weekends. They go to Dublin, Prague & other cities & get plastered. |
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| stewed & Keefed |
The Worst Drinkers ?
I think we are really good at it  |
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| sirmoonie |
No kidding, Stewedie. Define "worst."
Quality binging not quantity pissing. God gave us hootch to bash with, not to mash with. The Anglo-Saxons knew that from day 1 and its no surprise their ancestors dominate the world stage in all aspects to this day.
If you want to see someone who really SUCKS at drinking, check out who started the thread. |
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| catwoman |
I can't drink more than two beers an evening. After that I feel like hurling. I guess it's genetics. I have an aunt that is 96 years old -lives by herself, likes the Beatles, and drinks a shot of whisky in her tea each day at lunchtime. It takes me an hour to gulp down a shot (of whisky - LOL - I keep on forgetting which board this is). Each Friday I buy one import beer - Belgian, German, Dutch, Irish (this week it's McEwans - I've never had that before)for a taste test. |
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| Joey |
" If you want to see someone who really SUCKS at drinking, check out who started the thread. "
******************************************************************************************************************************************************** Joey remembering Cleveland 2001 and is now cupping his hand over his mouth , hunching over , and quietly giggling to himself ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
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| stewed & Keefed |
I'll drink to that Moonie,in fact i'm going out this very night to get hammered
So raise your glass tonight to the Brits....The Worst.(just lemonade for you SDH) lol
Lets drink to the salt of the earth.
[Edited by stewed & Keefed] |
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| sirmoonie |
Cheers, aye!
Might have to go out and get bleedin' fackin' pissed meself! Tink oi will. English style pissed! |
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| Mother baby |
Yeah the Brit's!!!! We used to take 'em out to the Port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia when they'd come over to visit us in Portugal. Had to carry out more than one of those guys! |
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| corgi37 |
I am fucking insulted. I though us glorious, well hung, debonair and entillegennt Aussies were the worst drinkers. Or was that skin cancer? I keep forgetting, as i keep getting pissed and falling asleep in the sun. |
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