alcohol

What does Botellón mean for society

Botellón, (Big bottle in Spanish ) is a social activity among Spain's youth, who gather in public areas to consume alcohol as an alternative to going a bar or club. It has been studied by sociologists that define it as: “Mass gathering of young people between 16 and 24 years primarily, to consume the drink that they have previously purchased in groceries, to listen music and dance”.

Heavy drinkers outlive teetotalers

We all know alcohol abuse can lead to negative health outcomes and are aware of the 'a glass of wine a day keeps the cardiologist away' philosophy, but new research has revealed something unexpected: Abstaining from drinking is associated with higher mortality rates than alcohol abuse.

My last drink

My Last Drink: A Student's Views on Alcohol

I consider myself to be a social drinker. What that means in my head is that I’m happy to drink the equivalent of 1 or 2 pints a night without any desperate need to get drunk particularly, but I wouldn’t be too worried if the evening carried on and it did end up that way. I go to the pub with my friends a lot, and generally try to avoid the kind of people who use ‘being drunk’ as a synonym for ‘feeling confident’, or who pre-drink compulsively before nights out like they’re workers on some kind of alcoholic conveyor belt.

Growing up in a culture of alcohol

Throughout my primary school years the headmistress had always preached with ferocity against the dangers and immorality of illicit drugs. However what became apparent to me later on, is that there was a culture of heavy drink amongst the teachers of that school. I also subsequently realised that this obviously had a negative impact on my education and an even deadlier toll on the teachers (unsurprisingly few are still with us).

Cannabis: My least worrying vice

I probably smoked cannabis for the first time when I was about 15. I bought some in school and presumably as a first time buyer I got ripped off.

Living with an ex alcohlic

Living with an ex alcoholic.

I am so proud of the person I live with as they’re a recovering alcoholic. It has taught me so much having this person around. He used to have to have a drink inside him in order to feel confident when communicating and every chance he got to drink he was drinking.

The conventionalisms of drugs, sex, love and alcohol

It is funny how two unconnected pieces of research can relate to the same topic mixing youth, drugs, mental illness, emasculation and risk taking. Both studies are of course full of conventionalisms and made the reader think that nothing new has been brought to the eternal debate between the good or bad effects of drug taking or the eternal role that the hypersexualised attractive woman plays upon the innocent man who cannot resists her charms.

The problem with energy drinks

The increasing consumption of caffeinated energy drinks and alcospeed has been raising concern among health professionals, authorities and even senior figures of the Episcopal Church of Scotland have been publicly criticising the consumption of the popular Buckfast wine, labelling it as anti-Christian. The reason is no other than the effects that the tonic wine seem to cause due to its high concentration of caffeine, equivalent to six cans of coke.

"Three glasses a day, for good health and lively blood"

In the wake of alarming new research about alcohol consumption in Scotland, the Right Rev Bob Gillies, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church has accused the Benedictine Monks in Devon who first brewed Buckfast tonic wine of betraying Christian values.

The fortified wine which had previously been marketed with the slogan “Three small glasses a day, for good health and lively blood” is 15% proof and a 75cl bottle has approximately the same amount of caffeine as six cans of cola.

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