Research about to be published in Drugs Education Prevention and Policy makes a powerful case for finding better ways to describe how young people drink on a night out. Authors Profs Richard Hammersley and Jason Ditton argue that the rate of drinking is a key consideration: only a minority (13%) of respondents in their study (n=291) were drinking at a rate that would get them drunk, but 80% expected to drink more that the recommended daily limits that evening.
The attention by the media and policy-makers on public drunkeness associated with young people on a night out, they argue, obscures the public health message - too much alcohol, whether you get drunk or not, is bad for you. They suggest the pattern of drinking their respondents described should be termed a 'bout'.
Sunday Herald story here.
Prof Hammersley: Centre for Behavioural Aspects of Health & Disease, School of Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University
Prof Ditton: School of Law, University of Sheffield
Comments