The solution lies in creating meaningful identities

Above: when the Coalition government came to power last year there were hopes that they would start to tackle the entrenched behaviour of binge drinking, especially among young people. Although heavy drinking had been an area of concern for decades, the previous Labour government unintentionally fuelled binge drinking through repeal of almost all drinking laws, expecting to create a "European cafe-style culture" where low-cost alcohol was freely available whenever and wherever someone wanted it. It soon became clear that the policy reforms had backfired and led to unrestricted uncontrolled drinking at levels dangerous to health.

At the same time the "night-time" economy quickly assumed prominence, especially in urban areas, and therefore the Labour administration hesitated to reverse its policy (plus an understandable reluctance to admit they were wrong, and a practical inability to take away a freedom once it has been granted).



Above: article in The Times in August 2010 where Sam Lister and Marcus Leroux present a very troubling statistical picture of the impact heavy drinking is having on society. I have reread this article several times over the last five months. 860,000 hospital admissions per year caused by drinking (up 69% on 2003), a 500% increase in mortality from alcohol-related liver disease, an annual total cost to the nation (through drink-related crimes; absent days from work; costs to the NHS etc) of £50 billion.



Above: article in today's Guardian by Denis Campbell, reporting on a survey published today that reveals the terrible effects excessive alcohol consumption is having, particularly on young people.



Above: the solution to binge drinking is usually seen as higher retail prices, and this policy is being tested in Scotland. However, I am not entirely convinced. Recently I read Violent Night, Urban Leisure and Contemporary Culture by Simon Winlow and Steve Hall.

Some quotes:

There are serious problems besetting young people - anxiety, drugs, violence, suicide, loss of traditional forms of identity, consumer pressure.

In the past society was comprehensible by the majority of individuals, especially in terms of functional roles, identities, and transitions into adulthood.

Today "society" has been replaced by "consumerism" - a megalithic system whose principle political-economic strategy is to infiltrate the dreams and desires of the individual and promise their easy fulfilment in the shape of exotic and seductive lifestyles.

The imagery of the night-time economy has become the exclusive signifier of a pleasureable and hedonistic experience, attracting millions of young people into a mutually understood realm of excess, freedom and debauchery predicated upon the physical delights of sex, drugs and dance, and spiced even further with the risk of violence or some sort of encounter with the law.

In idealized "nights out" entire friendship groups appear to be in the mood for good times, jokes are funnier, alcohol and atmosphere more intoxicating, the music is better, the opposite sex more attractive etc.

There are serious forms of anxiety in youth cultures regarding the construction of identity in a cultural world where the ability to see oneself as part of a broad historical process has been virtually eliminated.

Therefore it doesn't look as if higher prices is going to solve the problem of binge drinking.

The solution lies in creating meaningful identities for young people as "part of a broad historical process" (in other words creating a mythological narrative to replace the one created by consumerism).