The Culture of Alcohol Consumption

In Europe, drinking alcohol—what you drink—is typically a reflection of the geographic region’s influence. From the northern region, there is beer and whiskey and from the south, there is wine. Then there is the level of consumption where over 60% of all adults have at least one alcoholic beverage, weekly. According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies: “Around 40% of drinking occasions in most of the EU15 are consumed with the afternoon/evening meal, although those in southern Europe are much more likely to drink with lunch than elsewhere.”[1] Of course, not everyone drinks responsibly, but a majority do because of how they were taught.

Parents are known to give their children (12 -13 yrs. old) wine with their dinner. They dilute the wine with water and, over the years, the amount of water decreases and the amount of wine increases. This is practiced in countries like France and Italy. In the more northern countries, England and Ireland, teenagers are known to drink within safe environments. For example, at school dances, they get tickets and on the ticket states that the teenager can have a drink, but only one or two, depending on how many tickets they have.

Asia, which has a young drinking culture, is not so different than Europe’s. Young adults are usually encouraged to drink, as part of the dining experience, but they are not known to over drink. Travelers have said, “Chinese youths hardly ever take their lax drinking rules for granted, nor do they abuse the booze at a young age, as would be expected if we suddenly made the drinking age 18 in the USA.”[2] This shows that despite not being carded at bars and no one paying attention to the official drinking age, young adults still don’t over drink. Many other Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and Thailand have the same general standards. I’m not saying we should be lax with the drinking laws but, we shouldn’t take an extreme attitude toward drinking.

Some countries in South America and parts of Europe do have heavy alcohol consumption within their culture. However, at the same time, these countries have significant police enforcement and harsh laws and punishment for abusing alcohol. Professor Jordan says, “A first time offense in El Salvador leads to execution by firing squad, while a second offense in Bulgaria also leads to execution.”[3] Money and status in the society might be enough to buy a pass from the firing squad. In the U.S., most people who are caught drunk driving (without injuries or death) get a fine and sometimes jail time, but not a very harsh sentence. Sometimes, a person could be fined for public intoxication, which is treated more as a nuisance crime than malicious felony.

The U.S. culture tends to be more conservative and restrictive, even when society trends show otherwise. Generations X, Y, Z should take the progressive approach to learn the benefits of other countries drinking habits, with the focus on moderation. There is room for those who want to abstain completely. And for those who want the freedom to (over) drink, there are laws to keep them in check.

---

[1] Peter Anderson and Ben Baumberg, “Alcohol In Europe: A public Health Perspective” http://dse.univr.it/addiction/documents/External/alcoholineu.pdf, June 2006

[2] http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/961/59301/Drinking+Cultures+from+Around+the+Globe?destId=357826#ixzz2CcBjV88g

[3] J Jordan, “Drink and Driving: The Laws in Other Countries” http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/drinking-and-driving-the-laws-in/, March 16, 2007