Underage drinking

[sheeplady]

Well, I think that addiction is much more complicated than access. There are plenty of people addicted to illegal substances, and it's likely that potential alcoholics (who probably have more of an addition disorder than anything else) would just move onto another substance and/or obtain illegal alcohol.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The problem is a society that promotes intoxication as entertainment. It doesn't say "Oh, you people who might be prone to addictive behavior stay away." It says "PARTY HEARTY!," shows them a bunch of gyrating co-eds in halter tops, and then prints in teeny tiny letters at the bottom of the page "drink responsibly." Not doing much good there folks.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, "Please drink responsibly", "please gamble responsibly" are some of the most laughable phrases in history when presented by drinking and gambling firms. These companies want you to drink more and gamble more, why pretend otherwise? Business has nothing to do with social responsibility. It is solely interested in making money, and that's as it should be. "We care". Why on earth would a business care? Social responsibility is all bs, all lies, marketing to make you spend more with certain businesses.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Apparently back in the 1880's and on, whiskey was put out to drink in public places (like the jury box) the same way water, coffee, and pop are now. I'm guessing that became a problem at some point...

I wonder if they sill do this. It could sure help explain some of the verdicts I've seen in recent years.

AF

 

[Baron Kurtz]

there's a reason pubs aren't allowed to open after the polls have closed in Indiana …

 

[Canadian]

Heck, we kept a bottle of Scotch on hand at Campaign HQ. Had we lost, we would have had a case delivered. By the time the polls closed, we had quite the party.

I stuck to the grape soda in the cooler.

We won, BTW. The victory party had about four types of Scotch, wine and beers.

Tom

 

[sheeplady]

Well, technically, if you don't drink responsibly, you could end up dead. Although I wouldn't say that some of the marketers in any profession aren't guilty of pushing over use, the last thing they want is dead or recovering customers. It's much better to have a customer who consumes responsibly rather than one who is dead or quit drinking.

I'm not going to blame everyone in the alcohol industry. I have a family member who was a well-respected and up and coming winemaker who was killed by a drunk driver. A few of the anonymous commenters on the article announcing the accident felt that he was to blame for his own death, because, after all, he was part of an industry that allowed people to drive drunk. The man who killed him would have never been able to drive drunk if not for people like the person he killed. So since I don't agree with that, I won't agree with painting everyone with a broad brush.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Which part of the advertising would you say gets more attention, though: the gyrating co-eds in tight-fitting halter tops with a beer logo stretched over the front, while beers are waved in the air and thumping par-tay music plays, or the itty letters at the bottom "drink responsibly." What message does Impressionable Young Teenager take away from that commercial.

Prohibiting alcohol didn't work. But I'm all for prohibiting the advertising of alcohol. How many cigarette commercials have you seen on TV lately?

 

[Canadian]

In Alberta it used to be that to get a bottle, you went to the liquor store, filled out a form and gave it to the clerk. He would then go in the back, bring it out, put it in a brown paper bag and off you go. Of course, some of these clerks tended to think highly of themselves and would limit the amount of booze one could buy. In my father's era, it was totally usual to visit multiple liquor stores.

I know in Quebec, in the 40s, one could only buy a single bottle of hard liquor per person per store. My grandfather's friends had stories about going to twenty or so liquor stores, conning the cabbie to get in on the scam, before departing for parts abroad.

When I was drinking, I remember being 26 and told my drivers paperwork (I was waiting for a new drivers license to show up) wasn't good enough. The owner had no qualms about slipping my friend a twenty so he could buy my desired items. Oddly enough, that particular clerk sold me a couple bottles the prior day. We drove thirty kilometers from my place of employment to pick up libations and mostly my 18-yo roommate and I shared it with some girls we were with.

As for underage drinking, it wasn't an issue with me. I remember the novelty of having wine or beer with lunch at the student restaurant, or having a Scotch and soda (or two) at the Boston Pizza's joint down the street. But by the time I was 20, it was a case of enjoying wine and liquor in the comfort of my own home. I drank PBR and Bud Lite Lime. The last beer I remember was a Stella Artois.

When I was underage, I remember sneaking a drink of whiskey. Unfortunately, I had no concept of an ounce, so I filled a coffee mug. Must have been six ounces. No wonder I totally hated it. But I grew to love it, and eventually, to hate it.

Tom

 

[Paul Roerich]

Which part of the advertising would you say gets more attention, though: the gyrating co-eds in tight-fitting halter tops with a beer logo stretched over the front, while beers are waved in the air and thumping par-tay music plays, or the itty letters at the bottom "drink responsibly." What message does Impressionable Young Teenager take away from that commercial.

Prohibiting alcohol didn't work. But I'm all for prohibiting the advertising of alcohol. How many cigarette commercials have you seen on TV lately?

Years ago and in another part of the world, I saw the best cautionary ad ever: it showed a handsome young man in bed with his head in his hands, crestfallen; and a pretty woman was lying next to him ... glaring. The ad's title said "Overconsumption of alcohol causes IMPOTENCE". What an effective advertisement!

 

[sheeplady]

Which part of the advertising would you say gets more attention, though: the gyrating co-eds in tight-fitting halter tops with a beer logo stretched over the front, while beers are waved in the air and thumping par-tay music plays, or the itty letters at the bottom "drink responsibly." What message does Impressionable Young Teenager take away from that commercial.

Prohibiting alcohol didn't work. But I'm all for prohibiting the advertising of alcohol. How many cigarette commercials have you seen on TV lately?

Responsible drinking isn't going to come from a commercial. It's going to come from people around you- even if we saturated the airways with the appropriate commercials, that wouldn't do as much as children having guidance in their lives. Quite frankly, I have far less of a problem with commercials than I do with our culture's obsession with binge drinking. Companies can expect to use sex and all sorts of tricks to sell their product within a constrained commercial slot and that is a lesson you can teach your kids. However, when society as a whole glorifies drinking to get drunk (through reality TV, dramas, celebrities, etc.) it's really hard to teach your children to parse the difference between "this is a commercial" and "this is how society expects you to act."

Besides, commercials for alcohol (at least the ones I have seen) don't display drunken behavior or alcoholism as good. Many other forms of media in our society suggest such things are appropriate and acceptable.

ETA: I'm not arguing that banning such commercials isn't a good idea; however, I think it will do little to help the problem.

 

[BigFitz]

The problem is a society that promotes intoxication as entertainment. It doesn't say "Oh, you people who might be prone to addictive behavior stay away." It says "PARTY HEARTY!," shows them a bunch of gyrating co-eds in halter tops, and then prints in teeny tiny letters at the bottom of the page "drink responsibly." Not doing much good there folks.

"PARTY HEARTY!," I've always detested this phrase. Maybe that's why I was rather averse to the whole idea of drinking when I was a teenager. I still don't drink very much or very often.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Party" as a verb has always set my teeth on edge. I might go out to supper with you or I might take in a movie, but you can be assured I will not, under any circumstances "party."

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Partying is over-rated. Last time I was at a party, I had two beers and stopped for the night. As I sat there, watching the rest of the crowd wallowing in their own jackassery, I was happy that I was going to be 'good to drive home.'

"Party" as a verb has always set my teeth on edge. I might go out to supper with you or I might take in a movie, but you can be assured I will not, under any circumstances "party."

Love my Blue Ribbon, thanks to tonight's reading of this thread, I'm gonna treat myself to one. Do they even make Olympia anymore? Corona is awful, too. I tried it, and just couldn't get into it.

PBR was my high school beer and freshman year in college beer. PBR isn't horrible or tasteless (like Olympia used to be), but I don't understand the whole hip new beer deal either. The through back Schlitz is good, but it's not substantially better than Bud either and for a while it was $2 more a six pack. I went to a Beer Snob bar (Tapwerks for you OkC locals) and they had PBR which was some how wrong, or at least weird.

On the other hand, I'd buy PBR which is more than I can say for the earlier hipster, yuppie brew called Corona.

Try the new (old) Schlitz, it's very good.

OMG...I just love Carolina grits...not so much Schlitz(although haven't had it in years)..but bacon and grits makes me want to head southeast again...
HD

At the wedding last weekend, I was drinking High Life. I like the stuff, but honestly, I was drinking it just because the bottle was classier than the rest lol

One place has Miller High Life as their "house beer" & it isn't the Miller Ale House.....haven't had High Life since college but can't resist the price....

I always buy Coca-Cola in glass bottles. It does taste better.

Maybe the beer isn't sweet enough, because you're still sweet, and not bitter like us beer drinkers lol lol lol lol

I like cola from glass bottles but I don't drink beer!

Well, I like Hobgoblin but that is it. The rest has to be mixed with lemonade to be sweet enough for me.

I've heard some horror stories about Schlitz in the 70's and 80's (obviously before my time.)

My Great-Great-Grandpa, my Great-Grandpa, and my Grandpa, and their families all lived by Schlitz Brewery over on 3rd in Milwaukee. I had kin in that neighborhood from the 1870's (at least) until the 1970's.

My dad's neighbor when he was a kid worked at Schlitz and would invite the family to the Christmas Parties and such there. He always had a garage full of 'tall boys' and would give my dad one now and then for doing chores over there.

Funny with all the Schlitz connection, my family kept Pabst on tap, at least Dad and Grandpa did.

When I was a teenager, Schlitz was beer of choice for the crowd I ran with. Of course, it sucked. But we knew nothing about beer. We bought it because it was cheap.

Then, sometime in the eighties, Schlitz beer blessedly disappeared from the market. That didn't break my heart because I was more of a bourbon drinker by then, anyhow.

Several years ago, I was in the liquor section of Woodman's in South Milwaukee and there was Schlitz again. Miller had begun brewing it, supposedly using the 1960’s recipe. Out of absolute sentimentality, I bought a case of it on the spot. Early the next day, I made a bacon and grits breakfast for my GF's family. Jackie's brother saw the case of Schlitz sitting on the back steps and cracked one open to go with his breakfast. Long story short…Jackie’s brother, brother in law and I polished off the entire case by ten that morning. Yep...it pretty much shot the rest of the day.

But it started a tradition. Now when I'm visiting the Wisconsin family, there's always a weekend morning reserved for the Schlitz and Gritz breakfast.

AF

 

[W-D Forties]

It's interesting that you share this experience. Much common wisdom in the U.S. says that our underage binge drinking problem is due to the age being high- and therefore kids and young adults drink to excess because it's forbidden. Most people point to other countries with a lower drinking age and how they have less binge problems. Which means either these people are wrong, something is changing in England, or maybe the problem in the U.S. is just of greater magnitude.

Was alcohol always sold in supermarkets in the UK?

Here in the U.S. how alcohol is sold is determined by the state. Some states sell everything in the grocery store, some states only sell beer in the grocery (you go to a special store to get wine and liquor), some states sell beer and wine in the grocery (but no liquor), some states sell no alcohol in the grocery (and you go to a distribution center or liquor store). I live in a state that sells beer in the grocery, but wine and liquor you go to a special store (they are trying to allow wine to be sold in the grocery, because that is a major industry in my state.)

ETA: and some counties (levels below a state) are dry and sell nothing at all.

Apologies, my internet has been off for a couple of days. My, I seemed to have opened up a can of worms!

Alcohol only ever used to be sold in 'Off-licences' here (as in off-licenced premises, the pub), or to buy direct from the pub itself. That was all. Now you can buy it anywhere and at any time. It's cheap, super-strong and as the age limit is 18, most 14 year olds can easily get hold of it.

Many city centre Saturday nights in Britain are like the Somme crossed with night of the living dead. Gangs of people, many women, staggering around, fighting, vomiting or passed out in the streets. Rapes are common as many women are too tanked up to give/or not give consent or don't even know they are having sex, or with whom. It's vile.

The liberalising of the licencing laws here about 10 years ago - meant to encourage a 'continental bar culture' - clearly never worked.

 

[Big Bertie]

You paint a highly coloured but nevertheless fairly faithful picture of England on a Saturday night. I miss the 'Time - Gentlemen, please!' ting ting. ('Gentlemen', as so often, having a broad-brush interpretation.)

 

[Undertow]

Partying is over-rated. Last time I was at a party, I had two beers and stopped for the night...

The last party I was at had balloons, hats and a cake. [huh]

When I was a younger man, partying in my crowd consisted of cut up Rx pills snorted off CD cases, cocaine off basement coffee tables, meth smoked from a sheet of rolled foil or glass dick, LSD laced sugar cubes, or the rare Ecstasy binge. Marijuana, smoked by the pound, and alcohol were kids' stuff, and merely acted as a distraction from the intense highs.

"Parties" often spilled into the streets where these "friends" of mine would cruise downtown Des Moines crushing windshields with bowling balls or assaulting the homeless. God forbid some vulnerable girl decided to hang out with these people.

It should be noted that I did not have any single desire to take part in that sort of activity, but often found myself in the midst.

It certainly sounds horrific but it wasn't Hollywood by any means. These people came and went, faded from the group. Some were arrested, others were abandoned, and some died. Most of them are washed up now, holding various odd jobs or still selling drugs. After my early twenties, after I graduated college and started a career, I was dropped from the group. They thought I was a narc, I guess.

And that is my experience with so called "parties".

 

[sheeplady]

Apologies, my internet has been off for a couple of days. My, I seemed to have opened up a can of worms!

Alcohol only ever used to be sold in 'Off-licences' here (as in off-licenced premises, the pub), or to buy direct from the pub itself. That was all. Now you can buy it anywhere and at any time. It's cheap, super-strong and as the age limit is 18, most 14 year olds can easily get hold of it.

Many city centre Saturday nights in Britain are like the Somme crossed with night of the living dead. Gangs of people, many women, staggering around, fighting, vomiting or passed out in the streets. Rapes are common as many women are too tanked up to give/or not give consent or don't even know they are having sex, or with whom. It's vile.

The liberalising of the licencing laws here about 10 years ago - meant to encourage a 'continental bar culture' - clearly never worked.

That's really really sad. Do they not card (check the identification) of people who purchase?

Here if you purchase from the grocery store you have to be carded to get the register to unlock. Liquor stores, bars, and restaurants are less likely to do so, although bars where a lot of young people congregate (near universities) card everyone. If you are caught selling alcohol to a minor you get in massive trouble. I've never seen the level of drunkenness you describe except for at a fraternity party; and certainly not among adults over the age of 25 (unless it's a few drunks at a wedding or something). Here you can also have your liquor license revoked and even be put in jail for serving someone who gets into a car and is charged with a DWI (driving while intoxicated, most states have driving under the influence).

 

[LizzieMaine]

We have a large music-oriented festival here every summer over a weekend in July, and part of the event is what they call the "Club Crawl," where different musical groups appear in bars all along Main Street. The street itself is closed to vehicle traffic thruout the evening of the Crawl, and is patrolled by cops on bicycles and on foot. *Invariably* there are people falling down stupid drunk in the middle of the street as they stagger from bar to bar. These aren't kids, either -- the average age of the people who attend this thing is 45. The amount of alcohol sold over the course of this one evening is staggering -- the beer distributors actually have a fleet of trucks parked on the edge of downtown with cell-phone equipped drivers waiting for calls for more beer.

I've personally cleaned their vomit off the sidewalk in front of the theatre. It ain't pretty.

 

[gtdean48]

One of my local townships has a "card everybody" policy. Even my 81 year old mother must show picture ID for a glass of wine.
You don't have to ID to vote but you do to drink in some towns.....