# Binge drinking & young people



## tvdxer

Is binge drinking (drinking large amounts of alcoholic beverages with the purpose of getting intoxicated) popular among young (age 24 and under) people in your country?

In the U.S., binge drinking and partying (which are often the same thing) are extremely popular among college students.  One fad that has popped up in recent years on college campuses, probably due to the age limit of 21 being higher than the realistic starting- to-drink-and-party age of 16 - 18, is "pregaming", where students consume large amounts of alcoholic beverages (often hard-alcohol mixers put in plastic water or soft drink bottles) in their dorm rooms prior to going out to party or to an athletic event.


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## alexacohen

Yes. It is called "botellón" (big bottle) here. And they do it in exactly the same way: They buy big plastic bottles of Coke, Sprite, and the like, and get (don't ask me how) gin, whisky, rhum and mix them up.
The difference is that they don't get drunk in their dorm rooms, but in public parks, squares, gardens, etc. And they don't do it prior to anything: it's saturday, and that's all. Usually the event is organized by SMS.
I don't need to tell you how the public parks, squares and gardens look the morning after.
Some of the young people can be as young as 14th...
Alexa


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## Chaska Ñawi

When I was in university, the tradition was to mix Kool-Aid with 98% alcohol (bought in Quebec) in a bathtub.  If you used grape Kool-Aid, it was called "Purple Jesus", while it became "Orange Christ" when mixed with orange Kool-Aid.  The binge drinking and encouragement to do so were horrendous.  One friend, who had never had a drink before Frosh Week, became an alcoholic within the first year and has battled with it ever since.

There are all sorts of campaigns to discourage binge drinking on Canadian campuses, but the cult is still very much present.  The only saving grace is now that tuition grants have been eliminated, most students are on a much tighter budget and tend to be more careful about their alcohol spending.  Once you have a problem, unfortunately, you no longer care about that budget.


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## tvdxer

alexacohen said:


> Yes. It is called "botellón" (big bottle) here. And they do it in exactly the same way: They buy big plastic bottles of Coke, Sprite, and the like, and get (don't ask me how) gin, whisky, rhum and mix them up.
> The difference is that they don't get drunk in their dorm rooms, but in public parks, squares, gardens, etc. And they don't do it prior to anything: it's saturday, and that's all. Usually the event is organized by SMS.
> I don't need to tell you how the public parks, squares and gardens look the morning after.
> Some of the young people can be as young as 14th...
> Alexa



14? Wow.

When American teenagers have similar parties, they usually take place in private houses or out in the woods where they won't get caught.  Definitely not in public parks / squares (that actually seems kind of disrespectful to me, although American teenagers aren't always the best in cleaning up after themselves either).


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## ireney

No, there's no such thing here. Sure, young people do drink and do not wait till they turn 18 (that's the age limit here) but you are supposed to be able to hold your drink, not get drunk. This of course leads some young people into trying to prove they can drink more than they can really handle (I never said that being proud 'cause you can down large amounts of alchohol is clever did I?  ) . However, I think it is clear that, since you are supposed to be able to drink without getting drunk, such a habbit cannot flourish in Greece (although I don't doubt there are those , of any age, who go out with that purpose in mind)


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## federicoft

Although increasing in popularity, I would say it's still quite an uncommon habit for the Italian youth, especially if compared to its Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian counterparts. Plus, drinking before you turn 15 or 16 is absolutely exceptional and often socially unacceptable.
Drinking is largely seen as a pleasure, which requires maturity and moderation.


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## trail

tvdxer said:


> 14? Wow.
> 
> When American teenagers have similar parties, they usually take place in private houses or out in the woods where they won't get caught.  Definitely not in public parks / squares (that actually seems kind of disrespectful to me, although American teenagers aren't always the best in cleaning up after themselves either).


On my 15th birthday I went to the local park with my friends and got totally smashed. That was my first ever real alcohol-drinking experience. Amongst my peer group I was probably one of the last people to start drinking, most started around age 13. By the way, this was nearly 15 years ago.


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## Mariaguadalupe

Regretfully, on the northern part of México, binge drinking/partying is quite popular among young (extremely) young people.  The ramifications being that they begin with alcohol and very rapidly graduate on to other addictions.  The irony is, those kids that don't jump onto the fad, are considered the outsiders or the weird kids. Those who don't imbibe are becoming the minority over here!


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## Etcetera

ireney said:


> No, there's no such thing here. Sure, young people do drink and do not wait till they turn 18 (that's the age limit here) but you are supposed to be able to hold your drink, not get drunk.


Same here.
Quite frankly, not many vendors here care about the law, so they freely sell alcoholic drinks to virtually anyone whol looks more than 18. And how many young lads look older than their 16-17?


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## alexacohen

tvdxer said:


> 14? Wow.
> 
> When American teenagers have similar parties, they usually take place in private houses or out in the woods where they won't get caught. Definitely not in public parks / squares (that actually seems kind of disrespectful to me, although American teenagers aren't always the best in cleaning up after themselves either).


Tvdxer, it is worse than  disrespecful. These young people change the location where the binge drinking is to be held each week, so the police knows there is this thing going on (after all, it's saturday) but don't know where. They choose whichever place they think is going to be more or less deserted... from supermarket parking lots to cemeteries. 
Alexa


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## Musical Chairs

Some people started drinking in high school. They (parties) usually took place at someone's house. Somebody in my school actually got busted by the cops and her mom was fined about $30000 for it (because there were so many people there). In college it's mostly at apartments, frats, or bars. The frats usually have disgusting beer (in my opinion) that I can't stand. Apartment parties have more variety.

I hate binge drinking. I've never done it, I never will, and I have no respect for drunk behavior, especially drunk hook-ups. It annoys me when people (girls) come home and say "ahhh...I got soooo drunk" like they're sorry or they're complaining when they had a choice, and they do it all the time! It's SO DUMB. Most of the time when I drink, it's with meals because the only alcohol I actually enjoy is wine anyway.


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## jonquiliser

Drinking sprees are something of a national, traditional indulgement over here. It's not unknown with kids who start aged 12... I think one particular feature of alcohol consumption around these corners is the commonality of binge drinking as opposed to regular but more limited alcohol consumption. This is not typical only of youngsters. (Obviously, I'm speaking generally and there are plenty of people who does nothing of this or does it all differently.)


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## tvdxer

federicoft said:


> Although increasing in popularity, I would say it's still quite an uncommon habit for the Italian youth, especially if compared to its Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian counterparts. Plus, drinking before you turn 15 or 16 is absolutely exceptional and often socially unacceptable.
> Drinking is largely seen as a pleasure, which requires maturity and moderation.



That seems to be the Italian - Greek - French way of looking at it (which Americans often confuse with the "European" way, forgetting that Britain and Scandinavia are indeed part of Europe). 

Another "binge drinking" tradition among the young, mainly university students, the U.S., which I wonder if exists elsewhere: using a funnel to consume very large amounts of an alcoholic beverage (usually cheap beer, but sometimes the more adventurous will try stronger drink) in a very short amount of time.  Often called a "beer bong".  (And no, FYI, I don't take part in this kind of thing).


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## Musical Chairs

Beer pong is common around here. Other games include one where everyone gets in a circle, says something that they haven't done (like had sex for example), and others who have done it take a gulp of their drink each time.

Binge drinking is definitely not as common in Japan, and I don't know of anybody where I live who does or has done it. Most people don't even drink alcohol normally, let alone binge-drink. My family's surprised that I like wine.


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## veritàNONesiste

As far as I know from the news binge drinking has become a serious issue in Germany too. Teenagers are drinking themselves to death sometimes (these unhappy incidents have 'enjoyed' a rapid increase in occurence recently). In Austria this phenomenon has not become popular yet.


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## sinclair001

Is a psychiatric disorder, empowered by cultural settings and is related to binge eating.
When you take a glance to alcoholism as a disease, the definition of *Binge drinking* is the onsumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a row on a single occasion.
Unfortunately, many of these manifestations as Alexa said, ends awfully. We have as a parents and responsible adults the responsability to raise up and advise not only childrens but relatives being aware of all the risks posed by these cultural situations, which usually sometimes can drive to try stronger options "to scape" as stimulant drugs.
Alcoholism, tobacco, drugs, food, sex, all of this are forms of addictions (and social plagues) in our modern life.


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## Musical Chairs

Ha. I know of parents who "raised their kids not to" and they did it anyway.


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## Athaulf

sinclair001 said:


> When you take a glance to alcoholism as a disease, the definition of *Binge drinking* is the onsumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a row on a single occasion.



I've always found this definition of binge drinking absurd. In studies that use this definition, five drinks is usually taken to mean about 1.7 liters of beer. While I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone to operate any sort of potentially dangerous machinery after drinking that much, I think it's ridiculous to view someone who occasionally drinks so much in an evening as sick and abnormal. 

The problem with such unreasonable definitions is not only that they overstate the problems (most of the people I know from back home in Croatia are entirely normal, decent, and hard-working, but would be classified as "bingers" under the above definition, even though that much beer wouldn't even give them a hangover -- and the same goes for many people I know here in Canada too). Another problem is that when you base the propaganda aimed at kids on such absurd notions, they will observe its absurdity when compared to the real life, and at the end, it can easily make them believe that _real_ binging is just as innocuous as having five beers at a party.


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## Musical Chairs

What does "in a row" even mean? No less than a second between drinks?? Because most people don't do that and they still achieve the same results.

Also depends on your body (male or female, body weight, existing problems).


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## tvdxer

By "binge drinking" I didn't necessarily mean the medical definition (which I have heard before), but simply drinking a lot and getting drunk (rather than simply "buzzed" or to be more sociable).  Whether or not five drinks will do that depends on the person drinking.  Of course, there's no clear, set point at which one is "drunk", but I think you understand what I mean.  

As for parents, I think the best way to bring up a child in this regard is to give them a little bit of watered-down wine or beer at a very young age.  They will probably respond with some disgust and this will take away some of the "exoticness" associated with alcoholic beverages.  As they get older, teach them to drink in moderation, to appreciate the beverages for their taste / pairing / history / whatever rather than simply their effects, and that getting drunk is classless and stupid.  Will this ensure they don't binge at parties once they go to college?  No, but they'll probably react to the sudden increase in personal freedom in a wiser fashion than somebody not taught to drink to socialize and not get drunk.  I don't think there's any way for parents to make sure their children won't go off and do stupid things anyway...a lot of it I believe is the group of friends they pick.  I know as a college student that there are certain groups of friends for whom it is customary to party hard, getting drunk not only every weekend but also on "Thirsty Thursdays" and "Wasted Wednesdays", and there are other groups of friends that don't drink or party that much or not at all.


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## Dempsey

Binge drinking at parties is widely accepted here. The more drunk you got the better time you had. A party without alcohol is a boring one. Parties for younger people will consist mostly of Vodka drinks (since they don't have a strong taste) and shot-glasses and possibly beer (It's not wise to mix beer with spirits, though). Stuff designed just to get you drunk.
Once you get older (late 30's or 40's) It's considered immature to get drunk regularly.


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## alexacohen

Dempsey said:


> I'm not a big drinker but as I understand it the goal is to pass out, not puke.


Yes it is.
But then, it seems this goal in particular is very hard to achieve...  as the unfortunate users of our Spanish public parks discover every morning.
This thing is getting so bad here that many big cities had to create an special "cleaning squad"  just to deal with the results of people not achieving their goals...
Alexa


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

tvdxer said:


> Is binge drinking (drinking large amounts of alcoholic beverages with the purpose of getting intoxicated) popular among young (age 24 and under) people in your country?


Is it popular?  Boy, I think it was _invented_ here...

Venezuelan boys and girls (kids, really) just love pouring huge amounts of alcohol into their tiny stomachs solely for getting drunk, and I mean really, really drunk.  It's quite a show: groups of 12, 13, 14-year-old kids skipping classes at school, in order to gather up on a deserted place and drink 'til they don't know who they are, where they are or why they're swimming in their own stomach's content...

PS: There was a thread that dealt with the topic, some time ago.  It was about youngsters and alcohol.  Take a look: alcohol...


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## sinclair001

Athaulf: 
The idea of the definitions is to settle a common language as per to assure the homogeneity in those settings handling with alcoholism.
The idea to quote the definition (as below) is to serve as a reference to the growing community of people searching information as per this issue. I agree with you that sometimes definitions are "extreme", but are the only way to reach a consensus between people directly dealing with alcoholics. And believe me, it is not a fetch.
This link talks about alcoholism in children. 
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cach...n+a+single+occasion"&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=co
Finally, I agree with your point, this issue has a lot of cultural stuff.
Sinclair001


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## Athaulf

sinclair001 said:


> Athaulf:
> The idea of the definitions is to settle a common language as per to assure the homogeneity in those settings handling with alcoholism.
> The idea to quote the definition (as below) is to serve as a reference to the growing community of people searching information as per this issue.



But if the definition is absurdly inaccurate, I don't see any value in the provided information. Settling for a "common language" makes sense only when it comes to things that people indeed have in common. Calling people "bingers" and alcoholics because they've had five beers on a Friday night is not only ridiculous, but also insulting, because it means that many normal, healthy, and responsible people are being portrayed as sick, abnormal, untrustworthy, violent, and everything else that people normally associate with heavy alcoholism. Such an attitude is akin to claiming that people who produce 5-6 posts a day on a forum such as this one are extreme internet addicts who should be treated as mentally ill just like schizophrenics or psychopaths.


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## ireney

Moderator's note:
 Personal opinions and anecdotes used as examples of cultural traditions trends and habbits are fine.
 Please read the rules and guidelines as well as the question posed on the first post before posting your next reply.


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## Dempsey

alexacohen said:


> Yes it is.
> But then, it seems this goal in particular is very hard to achieve... as the unfortunate users of our Spanish public parks discover every morning.
> This thing is getting so bad here that many big cities had to create an special "cleaning squad" just to deal with the results of people not achieving their goals...
> Alexa



Sounds like a big problem. Is public drunkeness illegal in spain? Here the only (legal) way to get really drunk is to do it at somebodies home.


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## alexacohen

Dempsey said:


> Sounds like a big problem. Is public drunkeness illegal in spain? Here the only (legal) way to get really drunk is to do it at somebodies home.


I haven't got the least idea if public dunkenness is forbidden in Spain or not. What is forbidden is driving if you are drunk.
What those kids are doing is highly dangerous. Fourteen yeras old is far too young to be lying on the grass bathed in your own vomit.
It doesn't mean it's good at 30, either, but at least a 30 years old person knows what he is doing. Or he should, anyway.
Alexa


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## Jigoku no Tenshi

Venezuelan_sweetie said:


> Is it popular?  Boy, I think it was _invented_ here...
> 
> Venezuelan boys and girls (kids, really) just love pouring huge amounts of alcohol into their tiny stomachs solely for getting drunk, and I mean really, really drunk.  It's quite a show: groups of 12, 13, 14-year-old kids skipping classes at school, in order to gather up on a deserted place and drink 'til they don't know who they are, where they are or why they're swimming in their own stomach's content...
> 
> PS: There was a thread that dealt with the topic, some time ago.  It was about youngsters and alcohol.  Take a look: alcohol...


Hello Everybody!

I was thinking in saying that in my country it's not that popular, but now that I remember How it was when I was teeanager, I must admit, that it is very popular

Amongst Teenagers it's because it's forbidden and they think they're having fun, well they are, but it's more that than anything else, but as we become grown-up, we have 2 choices, being moderated or being the same, well those who become moderated, usually drink a little, only for a social reason.

For some of us drinking it's like a hobbie, waiting for a reason for getting drunk, there are some avenues where it's done something similar to the Botellon in Spain, but it is always the same place, and the cops come every half an hour, every week, and say "Please, citizens, the people who are drinking near the cars will be arrested, please leave the avenue" and all the people hide their beers and other drinks and the cops leave, but once they're gone, everybody keeps drinking.

There a lot of choices, you can go to the beach, going to a friend's house, or going to a bar/cafe, or just stop near the liquor store and drink

In the last Easter the goverment tried to put a Dry-law (a law for forbbiding drinking if it's not the same in english), but it was only limited to sell alcohol in some hours, and not having it in the cars, although there are some other laws doing the same but are useless, unless you're already drunk, this time People complained, but in the end we do all the things without drinking too much, and in the end we had less car accidents, and people realized that alcohol is not needed for having fun

I wonder if it depends of the culture per se, or if it depends of the illusion created about how if you get drunk, you'll have more fun, because one thing it's haveing a couple of drinks for forgeting your own shyness and laughing for almost anything , you know for being tipsy, and other it's getting drunk just for drinkink until you pass out

In my country, we usually drink for the purpose of becoming tipsy, but there are always a few people who drink for the purpose of passing out; however, this is seen more throughout teenagers than adults.


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## tvdxer

One thing that surprises me is how young kids start in many of the countries mentioned in this thread.  In my (not personal, mind you) experience, few kids drink before 14, and even then, most don't really start "partying" until around the time they get their driver's license (16 - 17).  The real hardcore drinking starts when they go off to university, since there are no parents around then (most parents do not tolerate their high school aged kids getting drunk).

It just seems odd imagining 12 - 13 year olds out partying and getting drunk.  Heck, 12 isn't even teen yet and barely adolescent.

What do parents think of their minor children drinking / partying / getting drunk in your country?

===

I noticed I forgot to mention the American high school / college tradition of the "kegger" in my first post.  This is quite similar, though not exactly the same, as the Spanish botellón.  Kids will find an isolated place somewhere (up here in Northern Minnesota, gravel pits, clearings under power lines, and open spots in the woods seem to be the most common settings) where the party is less likely to be "busted" by the police, somehow procure a keg of cheap beer or have a 21+ do it for them, or provide drinks some other way, nvite their friends, who usually arrive by car and drink, sometimes to the point of getting dangerously drunk.   Often there's a bonfire and music from somebody's car / truck audio system.


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## alexacohen

tvdxer said:


> It just seems odd imagining 12 - 13 year olds out partying and getting drunk. Heck, 12 isn't even teen yet and barely adolescent.
> 
> What do parents think of their minor children drinking / partying / getting drunk in your country?


Tvdxer:
As a mother of 12 year old twins, I am terrified.
Alexa


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## Jigoku no Tenshi

tvdxer said:


> One thing that surprises me is how young kids start in many of the countries mentioned in this thread.  In my (not personal, mind you) experience, few kids drink before 14, and even then, most don't really start "partying" until around the time they get their driver's license (16 - 17).  The real hardcore drinking starts when they go off to university, since there are no parents around then (most parents do not tolerate their high school aged kids getting drunk).
> 
> It just seems odd imagining 12 - 13 year olds out partying and getting drunk.  Heck, 12 isn't even teen yet and barely adolescent.
> 
> What do parents think of their minor children drinking / partying / getting drunk in your country?
> 
> ===
> 
> I noticed I forgot to mention the American high school / college tradition of the "kegger" in my first post.  This is quite similar, though not exactly the same, as the Spanish botellón.  Kids will find an isolated place somewhere (up here in Northern Minnesota, gravel pits, clearings under power lines, and open spots in the woods seem to be the most common settings) where the party is less likely to be "busted" by the police, somehow procure a keg of cheap beer or have a 21+ do it for them, or provide drinks some other way, nvite their friends, who usually arrive by car and drink, sometimes to the point of getting dangerously drunk.   Often there's a bonfire and music from somebody's car / truck audio system.





alexacohen said:


> Tvdxer:
> As a mother of 12 year old twins, I am terrified.
> Alexa



Well, I have to say that it can be due to the older friend who acts cool(or that's what they think) and that need of being like that, and that feeling of act like a grown-up people and being courious, so I remamber when I was in middle and high school, the "cool" gang, go to some house and smoke cigarrets and drinking beers, but they were just a few ones, most of us most of the time, just go home, and later, go out and do sports, or watch TV, play musical instruments, learn languages, anything, it was the "cool" people who used to do at that early ages.

When we are at least 14-15, it usual to start going to night parties, and that's when drinking becomes a more regular thing (just a little or more when we think that is still a little), but you know, our parents won't find out!, or at least that's what we believe, and God keeps our soul if they do!, but before that age it's 1) being curious, as a kid who steal a beer from the frige just to know how it's to drink a beer since all the adults do it, 2) there's someone  old enough to do it and it's an influence to the others.

It also depends of the place, when I've been in some towns and beaches I've seen, teenagers drinking as there is no tomorrow, but that's a spring-break kind of thing,  it's not everyday, but for some, it's religion. Talking about the "cool" gang, they weren't a alcoholic gang either, that booze sessions most of the times are just for a season until, they are mature enough to know that they're wasting their lifes, so we all eventually become social drinkers that become tipsy on the parties, but there will always bethe ones who can't control thenselves


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## Sepia

It is not my impression that this is a big problem or any big issue in Hamburg. A bigger problem, I think, is the use of extacy, the increasing popularity of alco-pops. Sometimes I see teenagers drinking them, riding the commuter trains, and I sort of have the impression they don't even realize what they are drinking. At least not how strong it is. More often than not they look like anything but kids that drink alcohol with the sole intention of passing out.


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## Lingvisten

Here in Denmark, we have a long and "glorius" tradition of youth drinking. According to recent and past studies, Denmark is the country in the world with the highest percentage of youth binge drinkers. Kids normaly start of at age 12-14 and the drinking culminates in the high-school age with binge drinking 2-3 times a week for most students. When people go to the university (if they do go) the drinking becomes more controlled. legal age for purchasing alcohol is 16, but kids always finds a way, letting older friends and strangers by for them. Drinking in public places are allowed but now very common. before 18 most of the parties take place in private homes, after 18 in clubs and bars. One of the biggest beer-companies has even succeeded in making a holiday (not official of course), out of the launching of the christmas beer (calling it J-day) in the start of november. On this day almost everybody from 14 to 30 goes bingedrinking (a lot of drunken teens everywhere). Hope this doesn't sound all to apocalyptic. Drinking is just somehow a national danish tradition.


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## tvdxer

Lingvisten said:


> Here in Denmark, we have a long and "glorius" tradition of youth drinking. According to recent and past studies, Denmark is the country in the world with the highest percentage of youth binge drinkers. Kids normaly start of at age 12-14 and the drinking culminates in the high-school age with binge drinking 2-3 times a week for most students. When people go to the university (if they do go) the drinking becomes more controlled. legal age for purchasing alcohol is 16, but kids always finds a way, letting older friends and strangers by for them. Drinking in public places are allowed but now very common. before 18 most of the parties take place in private homes, after 18 in clubs and bars. One of the biggest beer-companies has even succeeded in making a holiday (not official of course), out of the launching of the christmas beer (calling it J-day) in the start of november. On this day almost everybody from 14 to 30 goes bingedrinking (a lot of drunken teens everywhere). Hope this doesn't sound all to apocalyptic. Drinking is just somehow a national danish tradition.



What do the parents of the 12-14 years old think of this?

In the U.S., most parents would recoil in shock at the thought of their 12 - 14 year old kid drinking.  Even the idea of high school drinking is scary for a lot of parents.  Interestingly, once kids go away for university, drinking becomes much more acceptable, even though they may be three years underage.

It's also interesting that drinking becomes more controlled once kids go to university.  In the U.S., I would say your average kid starts drinking at age 16 or so, but drinks only once in awhile until they get into university.  It seems like binge drinking rates explode during the early university years and actually decrease towards the end, when the drinker in question is "legal" (and more mature).


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## Sepia

Statistically the UK is the country in the EU with the worst drinking problem among young people. 

Statistically worst simply means the most deaths caused directly by alcohol.


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## Lingvisten

Of course most parents don't whant to see their kids drinking at the age of 12, and this is in my eyes, way to early. Parents start to realise that their kids drink at parties, when the kids are around 14, and many try to "introduce" them to alcohol at family parties at that age, to make the transition more smooth. When people get to the high-school age the grip of the parents is so loose, that I've never heard about high-school kids who weren't allowed to binge-drink by their parents (If you are 16 you are considered capable of taking decisions like an adult). At the end of high-school there is a parent-and-school supported tradition, that people all day drive around on the back of a truck (don't know if this is the correct word) from the one parent to the others houses, at every house there's beer, champagne, spirits and of course lots of food. On this day most graduates get very drunk. The student put marks on their arms to count how many beers they had during this ride, wich often goes from 11 AM to 12 PM. A friend of mine, on his graduation ride, manage to consume 60 beers (that just sound crazy to me). After the ride there's party at the high-school until next morning. After this, the need to binge-drink every weekend goes away (for most), and maybe this is just due to an early peek in drinking. On overall drinking, Denmark (although high ranking) is several spots lower on the list.


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## ayupshiplad

I think we have the worst reputation, and perhaps deservedly...however, as a Scottish youth I think it's a bit exaggerated. Sure, everyone drinks, but say at a party of about 100 people, maybe about 5 will throw up because they've drank too much.

When it comes to drinking games, I think the most popular here is 'Never-have-I-ever...', in which one person will say "Never have I ever X" and whoever has done X has to take a drink. 



> Statistically the UK is the country in the EU wit hthe worst drinking problem among young people.
> 
> Statistically worst simply means the most deaths caused directly by alcohol.


 
I hope this isn't irrelevant, but I think one of the biggest problems in the U.K with binge-drinking isn't necessarily death, but with rape. Forget drink spiking, if you've had enough alcohol then most jurors think you were 'asking for it'- only 2% of rape suspects are prosecuted in the U.K. I think it's altogether more serious then just ending up throwing up every once in a while, especially for younger girls.


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## Lingvisten

I don't consider youth drinking a problem for most kids, the problem is (my wife add), for girls, that one little mistake when drunk, can stigmatize you for the rest of your youth. I must admit, when i remember my early youth (not so long ago ) that there was a lot of girls getting the label "cheap", because of a stupid mistake made on a drunk. This label would last all the way through school and high-school. Boys can more easily handle the mistakes or even turn them in to something positive. A boy having sex with a lot of girls is cool, a girl having sex with a lot of guys is cheap.


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## avok

We dont have binge drinking here in Turkey. People who drink drink modestly...


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## mic234

You can find a report on patterns of binge drinking in the UK by Kate Fox at SIRC web page (Sorry I am younger than 30 messages old here and I am not permitted to send URL - but Google fed by SIRC will help with pleasure). If you explore the address a bit you will find a lot of an interesting stuff.


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