1 in 2 weekend ambulance calls out related to alcohol...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/6262963/Two-thirds-of-Scottish-ambulance-weekend-call-outs-linked-to-alcohol.html

The above link refers to an article published in the Telegraph regarding the number of Scottish ambulance weekend calls out that are related to alcohol. The article discusses the statistics that suggest that two thirds of weekend ambulance call outs are directly related to alcohol.

The Scottish Ambulance Service complained that these cases were delaying medics' response times to real emergencies and gave it's backing to 'any initiative' that would see the numbers drop.

“SNP ministers hailed the figures as support for their controversial plan to introduce a minimum price for alcohol, mooted at 40p per unit”.

“This would increase the price of cheap lager and cider brought in shops and supermarkets, but most beverages purchased in pubs and clubs already cost more than this threshold”.

“Cathy Jamieson, the Scottish party’s health spokesman, said: “This situation cannot be allowed to continue because if ambulance crews are attending to drunks they may not be available for a genuine emergency.”

Robert Brown, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: “Alcohol-related call outs are largely preventable if, as a nation, we can adopt a more responsible approach to alcohol consumption.”

 

 

Freshers week drinking - problem or right of passage?

Over the last few weeks numerous reports regarding 'freshers week' drinking have been aired on the television, heard on the radio and read about on the internet. Some stories have focused on the fact that first year university students can go out on a pub crawl expecting to buy a pint for a £1 and a shot for as little as 20p. Other broadcasts have looked at the 'chaperone' service that pub crawl leaders (older students) are offering, I.e. having fun and drinking responsibility, and whether it is actually possible with low drink prices and inexperienced teenagers. Whilst others argue that going to 10 pubs at a pound a pint is not drinking responsibly. Some news reports have touched on the facts that some of the older student population drink as irresponsibly as those in their first few weeks despite having more experience of drinking and university life.

The problem with generalising about freshers week is that whilst there appears to be a general trend in 18 year old students getting heavily intoxicated, this is not limited to freshers week and nor does it extend to all new students. The mentally of 18 years old moving into halls having never been away from home before and never experienced drinking alcohol before can perhaps mean that they are not equipped to cope with the inevitable (?) binge drinking that is likely to ensue, but surely that applies to everyone, regardless of whether they go to uni or not? Do you think that first week university binge drinking is a major problem, or like some of the students (new and old) that have been answering blogs all over the UK – is it just a right of passage? And if so, are you agreeing that the beneficial consequences (sociality, experience....) outweigh the negative consequences (alcohol poisoning, hospital admissions, accidents...)