In Europe, countries individual relationships with alcohol can be crudely divided into two camps, celebratory and integrated.
Put simply, integrated cultures have a relationship where alcohol use is accepted as a normal part of life, people may drink at any time of the day, in social situations, work situations and often in front of children. Cultures observed to have integrated drinking cultures may also have warmer climates such as France, Spain and Italy.
By contrast Celebratory drinking cultures are un-integrated when it comes to alcohol. In these cultures alcohol use is not widely accepted in everyday situations and environments, drinking during lunch whilst at work in many professions would be highly frowned upon for instance.
In these cultures drinking is a cause for celebration, if a celebration is not present it becomes necessary to invent one. Reasons for drinking and celebrating are formed everywhere; Friday becomes a cause of celebration, as does payday, my birthday, your birthday, tough day at work, good day at work, you get the general idea.
In these cultures alcohol effectively exists to the side of society, not within it. It is something additional to everyday life, not a part of it. In contrast to the integrated cultures celebratory cultures often exist in countries with colder climates, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia for example.
Whilst training professionals around drugs and alcohol a common comment is that the integrated cultures have fewer problems with drugs and alcohol. Whilst it may be true that they have less incidences of social problems related to drink and drug use, such as drinking influenced anti-social behaviour, is it true they have fewer problems?
The report Alcohol in Europe from the European commission list France, Spain and Portugal as having higher rates of adult alcohol use than the UK.
This may feel somewhat counter intuitive to a UK public fed daily articles and news reports on the high rates of alcohol use and its related harms present today in Great Britain.
The reality that many countries we see as having a mature relationship with alcohol in fact drink more than we do may be difficult to swallow, but what harm does higher rates of alcohol use mean?
The World Health Organisation reported that in 2005 France had higher rates of morbidity from Liver cirrhosis than the UK for Men aged 15 and over. Interestingly the opposite was true amongst females of the same age.
So a seemingly more mature relationship with alcohol does not necessarily mean a reduction or eradication of the harms related to it, like many social problems the answer is undoubtedly more complicated than it may first appear.
It would be simplistic to base our judgement of a countries relationship with alcohol with our observations whilst on holiday, but that is exactly what many of us do, even amongst professionals in the public sector this view is often present, highlighting the need for effective training around alcohol.
It was even true of UK government policy in 2005 with the implementation of the new licensing laws which ministers claimed would lead to a ‘European style café culture', any visitors to a UK town centre may feel its still more Beirut than Biarritz.
The harsh reality of alcohol is that it causes harm and social problems wherever its found, and however its drunk. What we do know to be true is that when used in excess alcohol will undoubtedly cause problems and conditions not just to those that use it but to wider society as well.
Mark Bowles
www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk
Put simply, integrated cultures have a relationship where alcohol use is accepted as a normal part of life, people may drink at any time of the day, in social situations, work situations and often in front of children. Cultures observed to have integrated drinking cultures may also have warmer climates such as France, Spain and Italy.
By contrast Celebratory drinking cultures are un-integrated when it comes to alcohol. In these cultures alcohol use is not widely accepted in everyday situations and environments, drinking during lunch whilst at work in many professions would be highly frowned upon for instance.
In these cultures drinking is a cause for celebration, if a celebration is not present it becomes necessary to invent one. Reasons for drinking and celebrating are formed everywhere; Friday becomes a cause of celebration, as does payday, my birthday, your birthday, tough day at work, good day at work, you get the general idea.
In these cultures alcohol effectively exists to the side of society, not within it. It is something additional to everyday life, not a part of it. In contrast to the integrated cultures celebratory cultures often exist in countries with colder climates, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia for example.
Whilst training professionals around drugs and alcohol a common comment is that the integrated cultures have fewer problems with drugs and alcohol. Whilst it may be true that they have less incidences of social problems related to drink and drug use, such as drinking influenced anti-social behaviour, is it true they have fewer problems?
The report Alcohol in Europe from the European commission list France, Spain and Portugal as having higher rates of adult alcohol use than the UK.
This may feel somewhat counter intuitive to a UK public fed daily articles and news reports on the high rates of alcohol use and its related harms present today in Great Britain.
The reality that many countries we see as having a mature relationship with alcohol in fact drink more than we do may be difficult to swallow, but what harm does higher rates of alcohol use mean?
The World Health Organisation reported that in 2005 France had higher rates of morbidity from Liver cirrhosis than the UK for Men aged 15 and over. Interestingly the opposite was true amongst females of the same age.
So a seemingly more mature relationship with alcohol does not necessarily mean a reduction or eradication of the harms related to it, like many social problems the answer is undoubtedly more complicated than it may first appear.
It would be simplistic to base our judgement of a countries relationship with alcohol with our observations whilst on holiday, but that is exactly what many of us do, even amongst professionals in the public sector this view is often present, highlighting the need for effective training around alcohol.
It was even true of UK government policy in 2005 with the implementation of the new licensing laws which ministers claimed would lead to a ‘European style café culture', any visitors to a UK town centre may feel its still more Beirut than Biarritz.
The harsh reality of alcohol is that it causes harm and social problems wherever its found, and however its drunk. What we do know to be true is that when used in excess alcohol will undoubtedly cause problems and conditions not just to those that use it but to wider society as well.
Mark Bowles
www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk
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