Official Says Britons Like Getting Drunk Too Much

[matcom]

<snip>

LONDON (Reuters) - Attempts to wean Britons away from binge drinking toward a more continental European "cafe style" culture may never work because too many like getting drunk, a cabinet minister said Sunday.

"I don't know whether we'll ever get to be in a European drinking culture, where you go out and have a single glass of wine," Labor Party chair Hazel Blears said.

"Maybe its our Anglo-Saxon mentality. We actually enjoy getting drunk," she told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview.

Britain introduced extended drinking hours last November in a bid to tackle the country's binge drinking problem where people consumed large amounts of alcohol in a short space of time.

Proponents of the changes to the licensing laws had argued it would usher in more civilized drinking habits like those of France or Spain.

But as pubs and clubs prepare for the second New Year's Eve under the new laws, there has been little sign that people are drinking more responsibly.

Blears said the continued binge drinking culture was worrying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070102/od_nm/britain_drinking_dc

[billyskank]

1. It is quite true

Excessive drinking is a big problem in Britain.

[Writer]

3. I know a Brit who gets hammered at least three times a week...

but after several pints he manages to stay upright. It's really quite remarkable.

[xchrom]

2. well first of all -- give it some time.

second you have to hang tough on drunken disorderly, drunk driving, etc --

you have to take a multi facted approach -- which the brits do -- but give it time -- this is only the second year with the extended hours.

[noonwitch]

4. My best friend spent a year living in London

She said all of her coworkers got sloshed daily, at lunch and after work. According to my friend, this is the british way.