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What I find most striking is that most European countries have a bigger alcohol problem than America. I might not have guessed that right away. I wonder if it
by Hawkee 14y ago
What I find most striking is that most European countries have a bigger alcohol problem than America. I might not have guessed that right away. I wonder if it's mainly due to the stronger Christian influence in America.
- themgt 14y agoThe fact that they all live longer, healthier lives than Americans might suggest that they don't actually have a bigger alcohol "problem" That said, UK drinking culture is abysmal
- aioprisan 14y agoor the fact that there are no drinking laws in most of Europe (or hardly enforced). As a 16 year old, no one will deny you a beer in Germany or France, but good luck getting a drop in the US in most places.
- mseidl 14y agoWhy would a 16 year old be denied a beer in Germany? Sixteen is the drinking age for beer and wine. And then 18 for hard alcohol. I think the drinking age in the USA is a joke. At 18 you are responsible enough to be given a gun and kill people in the military, but you are not yet responsible enough for alcohol.
- tripzilch 14y agoUHh what? We do have drinking laws, except they're at different ages. In the Netherlands it's 16 for beer and wine and 18 for hard liquor (>15% ABV, except wine, port, vermouth and sherry).
- hristov 14y agoNot really Christian, but puritan. Alchohol is actually a big part of Christianity. It was only the Puritans that were against it. That is probably why the Puritans were kicked off to America. But I suppose alchohol is just treated differently in Europe. It is considered almost like food. A beer or wine is part of your dinner, it is not something that you only drink on a special occasion or just to get drunk.
- daliusd 14y agoLithuanian here (see charts where we are in regard to alcohol). No, it is not considered food here. We really have big problems with cheap alcohol here that you can get anywhere. In US you have various problems getting alcohol (different rules with each state but generally you can't go to any store and buy bottle of Vodka). I will simply give another link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_ra... Yes, I know correlation does not mean causation, but correlation is strong here.
- DanBC 14y agoThe UK has a severe problem with alcohol. There are a variety of drinking cultures. There's the well known youth culture of daily drinking, and drinking to excess at weekends. This is drinking to get drunk. This problem drinking is encouraged by 'VDEs' (Vertical Drinking Establishments) which use tactics to get people drinking more. There is a lack of seating and tables. That fits more people in, but also you're always holding your drink. This makes you drink faster. Music is loud, so you're not talking as much, which also makes you drink more. But there's the other less known problem drinking among adult professionals who drink a couple of glasses of wine every night. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_chart.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_cha...) One 200 ml glass of wine at 11% is 2.2 units. 5 of those is 11 units, which is close to sensible limits of women. 10 of those is 22 units, which is over sensible limits for women, and close to sensible limits for men. This isn't alcohol with a meal, and it's not traditional binge drinking, but it's linked to the rise in younger people with cirrhosis.
- 14y ago