Has the Spanish binge drinking? Was it the custom in the past for hundreds of thousands of young people to get together for the sole purpose of catching a fifteen-year-old blind? In today's article we examine the differences between Mediterranean and northern forms of consumption. What does Proyecto Hombre have to say about it? Can Mediterranean consumption free young people from binge drinking?
What is binge drinking?
Do you know the term binge drinkingg? It can be defined, by boat soon, as the fast and intensive consumption of alcoholic beverages. It's probably the National Institute on Drug and Alcohol Abuse of the United States who offers the most concise definition. That is, drink four to five drinks within an approximate period of two hours. In addition, blood levels must reach 8 grams per liter, a figure well above the BAC established by the DGT.
If you want to drive in Spain, your blood alcohol level cannot exceed the 0 grams per liter. Undoubtedly, it is a custom whose consequences especially affect young people. Most of its practitioners are under thirty-four years old. They also tend to get drunk some four times per month. The most worrying thing about this story is that binge eating corresponds to the first taste of alcohol for many adolescents.
A large part of young people do not have the sufficient perception of risk to make a conscious decision. Hence, this pattern of consumption is the germ of the culture of the "Bottle". Neither the punishments, nor the prohibition, nor the fines are going to change their way of acting. For them to understand, there must be empathy on the part of the authorities seeking a change in attitude. Why do they seek their space away from adults while getting drunk? Are there alternatives to this situation?
Mediterranean consumption: a moderate alternative
Project Man, an NGO that fights against addictions, has hit the nail on the head. It has been warning that our model of alcohol consumption is more similar to that of the Anglo-Saxon countries. In other words, the Mediterranean model has been gradually displaced by the binge drinking. But what does this consist of? It is the typical of the sunny countries on the shore of the Mare Nostrum. It is characterized by its social component, when accompanied by a glass of wine or a beer when we eat with friends or family.
Getting drunk is not the purpose per se for drink. Rather, it is part of a nice social event. In this model liquor glasses are also drunk but usually on special occasions. Therefore, we are facing a very different way of understanding alcohol. The study Swimming with crocodiles. The culture of extreme alcohol consumption » comes to interesting conclusions. For example, him 49 percent of the 17 year old swedish youth admits he's been drunk.
Instead, the figure was 10 percent among the youth of Italy, France and Greece. One of the conclusions of this work is that binge drinking is more influenced by culture than by age and sex.
What to do?
The schools they should explain the risks of binge drinking to minors. Maybe it's time to stop sending cops to give talks. The alternative would be to send those who really understand the consequences: health personnel and people with the organism disrupted by alcohol. As long as the focus continues to be collection (fines), the problem will persist. This method will not make young people see reason.
On the other hand, they are Parents who should explain to their children the safest ways to consume alcohol. This way they will learn to reduce the risks by drinking fermented beverages moderately while they eat. It is time to stop normalizing constant and brutal drunkenness as youth entertainment. It is not normal that in 2016 had to be entered 6000 minors by ethyl coma. It is time to make the Mediterranean model fashionable again.
