Binge drinking and student culture
Alcohol licensing laws are set to change this year, with pubs and clubs being able to apply for longer opening hours, effectively introducing the opportunity for 24 hour drinking.
While 'binge drinking' as a term has been somewhat overused in the media of late, it is a trend among Britain's wider population that is already accelerating into a much greater social problem. Although the possible consequences have been debated, what effects will the new legislation, if any, have on the nation's students?
Students have always had a relationship somewhat synonymous with alcohol, with university bars providing cash-strapped students cheap prices and various promotions meaning they frequently drink to excess.
With many of those studying at university taking advantage of the cheap promotions, coupled with the fact that they are unlikely to have early morning commitments, it is hardly surprising that many find their weekly consumption exceeding the recommended 21 units. Often, this trend will only last as long as they remain studying, but a number of those starting to drink to excess at an early stage of their life will meet complications which last much longer into their working lives.
The effects of alcohol
A report carried out by a group of scientists for the Lancet medical journal concluded that alcohol is a factor in over 60 different diseases, including cancers of the mouth and liver, stroke and heart disease and is as harmful to people's health as smoking.
Researchers are suggesting that one way of helping to reduce the risk of an increase in these diseases is to raise the cost of alcohol to the consumer, something which would undoubtedly meet opposition from the British public and which the government would have great difficulty in implementing, particularly around the country's university campuses.
However, increasing the price of alcohol by 10% would lead, researchers suggest, to a 7% decrease in the number of deaths in men attributed to alcohol, whilst women's mortality rate would drop by 8.3%.
Although drinking amongst students is admittedly higher than the average person, many graduates, once in work and finding they have less time to spend socialising, will drastically cut down on their alcohol intake. Admittedly, a number of those drinking to excess at such an early stage of their lives will find it difficult to adapt to life away from the carefree existence they have enjoyed while away from responsibility, and turn to alcohol as the answer to their problems.
The new laws
However critical people are of the new laws, the government is meeting opposition to the new legislation with suggestions that there is no evidence the new licensing laws will lead to an increase in drink related diseases. Already in the UK, 25% of the population are drinking to a dangerously high level and it is estimated that around 3 million people consider themselves alcoholics, a figure not taking into account the vast amount of people who fail to see that they have a problem with alcohol.
The government hopes that the new legislation will help to curb the binge drinking culture that appears to have escalated in Britain over the last few years, moving the country away from its yobbish relationship with drink to a more sophisticated continental approach. However, one area the government is failing to address in all of this, is the root of the problem – why do people in Britain feel the need to drink so much?
In an article published in The Times on January 26th a group of Norwich police were followed on their duties during a typical Friday night in the city centre where only five arrests were made out of an estimated gathering of 15,000 and the mood was positive for that time of the week. However, whilst burglaries and car crime have dropped in Norwich, violent crime has risen by 16%, a figure the police blame on the increase of alcohol consumption.
Residents who live near pubs and clubs are perhaps among those who are most concerned with the new laws, with 67% of people who were asked in a BBC survey believing that there would be a rise in anti-social behaviour as a result of 24 hour opening.
In a similar poll conducted by the ICM, more than half of the men interviewed believed that longer opening hours would result in Britain becoming a worse place, while 70% of women shared the same opinion. Perhaps some reassurance can be sought from the fact that the British Beer and Pub Association has stated that, as far as they are aware, not one pub is considering opening for 24 hours.
It would appear that pubs would welcome the new legislation as it brings greater flexibility, allowing for an extra hour or two to be added to closing times at their busiest periods. Many student bars adhere to the licensing laws already in place, meaning they are open all day until last orders at 11pm. Most students can already take advantage of the fact they can start drinking earlier in the day than most, so longer opening hours would probably not bring huge benefits to students on the whole. University night clubs are already packed and extremely popular amongst students, and staff working at these premises would be unlikely to welcome the extra work which longer opening hours would bring.
The author's experiences
Having been at university for the past three years and taken advantage of the fact alcohol is provided cheaply to students on campus, I have been lucky enough not to experience the violence or disruption excessive alcohol consumption can lead to in other areas of the country.
This is probably due to the fact university students, when together, do not face the same hostility that bringing different groups together in town centres can lead to after an alcohol-fuelled evening. The government's new legislation would mean greater freedom of choice when it comes to choosing when to drink, but surely there has to be a limit when this same freedom of choice can lead to the disruption caused to others.
To adapt a phrase from a well known beer advert: If students did pubs then they'd probably be the best pubs in the world. Perhaps, then, the government should hand over its licensing legislation to the group of people who can actually handle their drink without causing widespread disruption if it wants it to be a success.
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