Are drunk Students the Irresponsible Ones? Who's to blame in the lengthy ethical alcohol debate?

A pint for a Pound? Wonderful! However how many will you have then? Would you come back the following day? What about the day after?

Currently the UK is facing serious problems with alcohol consumption among students due to the numerous special offers, happy hours and other similar money saving promotions. Of course, it would be perfectly normal to enjoy a night out with your friends every once in a while without having to spend a lot of money. However, what happens if this becomes a daily routine?

UK medical records show that there has been an increase of 33% in A & E caused by excessive use of alcohol among young people since 2005. Furthermore, figures suggest that about 10 million people in England are damaging their health by drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol per day (2-3 units per day for women and 3-4 units per day for men).

Every year, the highly popular student drinking event ‘Carnage’, which consists of a glamourized bar crawl, gains mass coverage for students’ uncontrollable and disrespectful drunken behaviour. Pupils get so intoxicated they have to get taken home in an ambulance and there has been a specific well-known case of a student urinating on a remembrance statue.

Bulgaria is another country facing problems with students’ usage of alcohol. The capital’s main student area for all nearby universities, called Students’ City, encounters numerous crimes done by drunk students, from inappropriate behavior and fights to some cases even resulting in murder. Students’ City has 6 nightclubs open until 5 or 6 am every day. Contrary to Britain’s situation, here students are not offered cheap drinks. They do pay the normal prices in each club (e.g.1 beer – 4.20 BGN), however they benefit from having free entry and staying until dawn in any of the clubs. Nevertheless, the problem with the lack of control when it comes to alcohol does not come from the club. Like in the UK, students tend to buy excessive amounts of cheap alcohol in the local supermarket to consume before they go out but then continue to drink in the nightclub. The result is they reach a state where they can be easily vulnerable, ill, or develop aggressive behaviour. Yet, for many this has become a habit.

Commissar Petrova, head of the police, blames the security of the student halls, as guards tend to let any students into the establishment. Currently the suggested control measures are; better security regulations, installing cameras and having a restrictive hour where students have to be home by. However, she also blames students for their lack of responsibility, and truth to be told it is not like anybody is forcing them to drink until loss of consciousness.

The problem is also not unknown to Germany. Just like in UK and Bulgaria, students pre-drinking in their residencies are frequent practice. Although the consumption of alcohol in Germany is regressing since the middle of the 70’s, 16l of pure alcohol down to 11l, students are drinking twice as much as the average German. The newest German study proves that every second student partakes in “binge-drinking” at least once a month. Every sixth student use to practice “binge-drinking” more than five times a month and is called a “heavy-user”. But the second hypothesis, which was recognised from the study was; the group of the binge-drinkers are less susceptible for depressions and phobias and that they are the least to complain about problems. The indication is, that binge-drinkers are living in consolidated social environments and are even more content then other students.

There is a German campaign: “Federal Centre for Health Education“ which boils it down to an essence: “Know your limit!” which also shares the same message as the English campaign.

The British Medical Association blames all alcohol retailers for their promotional activities as it tempts the students to buy more and consequently, consume more than they should. The BMA is voting for a ban of “irresponsible promotions” of alcohol as well as for increase of the tax on alcohol. However, whether these recommendations are fair to the businesses and to other young people without “an alcohol problem” is an entirely different question.

So, is it ethical to offer students cheap alcohol? And is it the retailer’s responsibility that students don’t know any limits when it comes to alcohol consumption? Or is every student, responsible for his or her own actions? 

N, S, L.C and L.V.M