Why drink?
You want to fit in. If you can get hold of alcohol it gets you giddy and you don't feel so self-conscious. Young people say they binge drink and get drunk because:
. They think it's having fun
. You escape the everyday - letting yourself go and forgetting the frustrations of the day
. It gives you 'Dutch courage' - finding the self-confidence to deal with social situations
. You dance better

You drink it, even though it tastes pretty awful at first, because it's something one or more of your mates does and is encouraging you to do. You might want to be one of the 'lads'. It's a little bit naughty and can be an enjoyable thing to do with friends. You don't think it's a problem. Getting drunk can be an unplanned consequence of a night out, but often binge drinkers go out with the intention of getting drunk. You have a few drinks before leaving home, mix drinks, drink through a straw and gulp it down so that you can get drunk more quickly.

You do risky things and unlawful things that come with binge drinking and see this as part of the fun. You get sick on the pavement, knock over a few bins or fences and move a few gnomes and who really cares? Some people pride themselves on getting 'wasted' every weekend.

"You don't have to know the reason for it. You just do it anyway. Everybody does it, it is the way the world is." (Male, 18 to 20 years old)

"We are a culture that goes out and gets drunk, and we don't go out to drink, we go out to get drunk." (Female, 21 to 24 years old)

Why you shouldn't drink too much
Alcohol is a poison. Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is a depressant. It blocks the way in which neurons detect chemical messengers and alters the balance of some chemicals. This lowering of brain activity leads to slurred speech, balancing problems, slower reaction times and difficulties in remembering. There is an increasing concern about alcohol misuse, which is happening more in the UK than other countries. More people of all ages are suffering from short and long term health problems caused by alcohol. In the short term emergency services are seeing more alcohol related accidents. There are clear risks involved. One drink all too easily leads to another and this can become a problem, especially if you are buying 'rounds'. You can easily become far more drunk than you intended and this can lead to all manner of situations that you later regret.

Excessive drinking has become common and not worth the price of feeling vile for quite a long time afterwards. In the alcohol industry an insider has said that companies deliberately target young people by sweetening ready-to-drink alcopops to mask the taste of alcohol and appeal to the "younger palate". More and more young people are experiencing the consequences of alcohol misuse: violence, arguments, being mugged, facial injury, sexual assault, unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancies, exposure to sexually transmitted diseases and injuries. If drinking excessive amounts of alcohol continues then there are longer term consequences to your health of liver cirrhosis, cancer and fertility problems. Alcohol influences crimes such as public order offences, drink driving, criminal damage, assault, theft and even murder.

If you must drink, do so sensibly - give your self a limit and stick to it.
It is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or be bought alcohol unless they are 16 or 17 and having a meal in a bar or restaurant. According to the Department of Health men should not drink more than four units of alcohol a day, and women should drink no more than three. These benchmarks apply whether you drink every day, once or twice a week, or only occasionally.

Twice the recommended amount and beyond is classed as 'binge' drinking. You cannot save up a week's worth of units and drink them all in one night!

Advice:
. choose drinks that are not too strong
. drink water before you go out
. drink water or a soft drink between each alcoholic drink
. eat before you go out and while you are drinking
. don't drink in 'rounds'
. don't add shots to drinks
. don't take part in drinking games
. organise how you will get home and what time, before you go out
. don't accept lifts with people you don't know too well
. don't try to walk home when you're drunk
. if you have one, leave your credit card at home
. only take out a certain amount of money
. keep to around four units:
A pint of beer is around 2 units.
Strong lager is around 5 units.
A pint of cider is around 3 units. Strong cider is around 5 units per pint.
Alcopops and shots are around 1½ units.
A glass of wine is around 2 units.

Government statistics about drinking alcohol (now slightly dated)
. Regular drinkers are having more health problems and dying younger - for example, deaths by liver cirrhosis have nearly doubled in the past decade.
. Alcohol-related accidents and illnesses land around 150,000 people a year in hospital.
. Around 40% of A&E admissions are alcohol-related, and as many as 70% of these occur between midnight and 5 am.
. Alcohol is associated with between 15,000 and 22,000 deaths every year.
. Up to 1.3million children in the UK are affected by parental alcohol problems.
. Under-16s who do drink are drinking twice as much today as they did 10 years ago, although overall totals have changed little.
. Around 50% of people who sleep rough are reliant on alcohol.
. In a year, there were over a million incidents of alcohol-related violence.
. Almost half the victims of violent crime say their attacker was under the influence of drink; and 45% of victims of domestic violence said their attacker had been drinking.
. There is no such thing as a typical heavy drinker - though young white unemployed men are disproportionately likely to misuse alcohol.
. Skilled women drink more than other women and unskilled men drink the most heavily of all men.
. The average UK drinker consumed the equivalent of 8.6 litres of pure alcohol per year - that's an increase of 151% since 1951
. Alcohol taxes raise £7bn a year. The value of the drinks market is estimated at £30bn to the UK economy and the trade employs more than half a million people.

Websites and phone lines

Alcohol Concern's Alcohol and Families website includes a toolkit which provides information and guidance including details on how children are affected and what professionals can do to help.
Telephone: 020 7928 7377
Fax: 020 7928 4644
Email: contact@alcoholconcern.org.uk
Website: http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/

Down Your Drink
Down Your Drink is a free and confidential website which is designed to help people develop safer drinking habits.
Telephone: 0800 917 8282
Fax: 020 7332 0127
Website: http://www.downyourdrink.org.uk/

Drinkaware Trust
The Drinkaware Trust website was devised by The Portman Group and offers information about alcohol and how to ensure we look after our health and well-being. You'll find all kinds of information. Find the answers to your questions - become more drink aware here.
Website: http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

Drinkline
Tel: 0800 917 82 82

Al-Anon
Support for anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else's drinking problem.
Tel: 020 7403 0888
Website: http://www.al-anonuk.org.uk