Longer pub hours ‘will cut bingeing’
Dismissing bans on alcohol advertising and tax hikes on alcohol products as little more than attempts to gain votes or short-term political approval, Professor Adrian Furnham of University College London said education and better adult behaviour towards drink were the only ways to encourage responsible drinking among young people.
Prof Furnham, who was among the keynote international speakers at a conference on 'Youth Culture and Binge Drinking: Reasons, Ramifications and Remedies' in Dublin yesterday, said binge drinking is on the increase in Ireland and Britain where it is seen as "heroic" to get drunk.
Recent research indicates the average binge drinker is male, between 18 and 21 years of age and comes from a family of heavy drinking. He is also likely to live on a college campus. In Ireland, however, as many females as males binge drink, but he said research has yet to show a reason for this.
"Southern Europeans like the French, Italians and Spanish drink about the same amount as the Irish and British but have a much healthier attitude to alcohol than us.
"They don't really binge drink, but enjoy alcohol in a social setting. Here the aim of drinking alcohol is to get drunk. We don't take alcohol with food, or water and it is almost heroic to get drunk," said Prof Furnham.
He said it was surprising most Irish children say they have tried alcohol at around 10 years of age when in Europe it was usually closer to five. "They introduce their children to a sip of wine with their dinner and with lots of water, instead of kids sneaking a bottle from the drinks cupboard with no supervision."
Prof Furnham said research indicates parents, peers and personality are the three key influences on whether you binge drink take more than five or six drinks at one sitting.
"You learn behaviour from your parents. If they see alcohol as something bad and forbidden then the first thing that child will do when he gets an opportunity is to try it. Parents have to model good and sensible behaviour towards drink and make it less of a taboo," he said.
Research and data from the US, Europe and Australia shows that, paradoxically, the more liberal the attitude, the more sensible and restrained the drinking when compared to cultures that prefer rigid restrictions and controls.
"Liberalisation of drinking laws encourages people to drink more sensibly. It's not the amount of alcohol that changes, it's the time it takes to drink it," he said.
Pointing out that recent liberalisation of pub opening hours in Ireland had to be reversed due to increasing levels of public disorder and absenteeism in the workplace, he said the system probably wasn't in place long enough for people to get used to the easier access to alcohol.
"In the short-term people probably will go crazy, but they soon get used to the longer hours and adopt a healthier attitude to drink. It has worked in Scotland, which would be comparable to Ireland in terms of consumption levels," he said.
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