Piloting2_Group+4_Carolina&AnaRitaP&Henrique


 * Is binge drinking a generation problem? **

 Firstly we would like to explain the concept of binge drinking, as without this explanation, we can´t develop this theme. Binge drinking is linked to the excessive consumption of alcohol with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated over a short period of time. It usually affects teens and young people. (Another definition of Binge Drinking is: Alcohol intoxication disorder, more commonly known as binge drinking, has several different definitions, and the definition keeps changing. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines binge drinking as more than 7 drinks a night for men, and more than 5 for women. A newer definition of binge drinking, supported by the NHMRC Australian Alcohol Guidelines, is more than 4 standard drinks per night.) The reasons why people binge drink are complex. There have been many explanations of binge drinking as a way of escaping problems or forgetting crumbling relationships. When asked, people say that they binge drink for fun, to loosen inhibitions and do silly things, because their friends are also drinking, to relax or relieve stress, to enhance confidence, to celebrate and, most significantly, to socialize. It happens when teenagers start hanging out, going to parties and when they feel pressured to have fun and to do crazy things just to state their identity and personality. Binge drinking is the result of peer pressure, making it a generation problem. Every day we see many teenagers pressuring their friends to drink and mocking them when they refuse to do it. And this pressure makes teenagers drink a lot putting their lives at risk. So, to conclude we can say that binge drinking is not just a generation problem but also a peer pressure problem. Another problem is that teenagers not only drink alcoholic drinks but they also want to try new things, like drugs... As we know, adolescence is a stage in which young people try to live all the experiences they face with no limits. It’s the time they meet new people, want to feel older and live everything in a hurry. All this rush leads teens to consume substances, like drugs and alcohol. In fact, the easy access to alcoholic drinks makes this the most concerning addiction affecting young people. Going to parties without drinking can only be seen as a weird behaviour. This way, teens are almost compelled to drink to fit in and to be fashionable even if they are under the legal age. Binge drinking can be more acceptable in some cultures and societies, but it is up to parents to teach their children about the dangers they can face, recalling them the true value of life. “Face life as a challenge, keep away from alcohol” would be the perfect motto for this hard purpose. To solve this problem, governments, local authorities and parents should work together to make sure alcoholic drinks aren’t sold illegally to teens, keeping them away from binge drinking. Adults, more precisely, supposed adults are important people to increase statistics because they think that binge drinking style is the healing of life' problems, but isn't. Normally, drinking a lot brings new problems, and instead they have a problem, they are with many problems. The worst, is when problems affect the family, when the person who drinks a lot comes to home and instead speaking with her husband/his wife, he/she screams, forgets his/her sons and spoils her/his family's life.

Binge Drinking is a generation problem and we can see this with these statistics: >
 * In the US, around 24% of adults binge drink. More young people under the age of 29 drink in the US compared to other age groups.
 * In Europe, the rates of binge drinking vary considerably, with up to 40% of people in Poland binge drinking at least monthly. However, these people drink around 8 standard drinks during a binge. This is in contrast to the UK and Ireland, where only 35% of people binge drink on a monthly basis, but the average consumption is 14-16 standard drinks. The lowest rates of binge drinking are in Romania (8% of the population), Portugal (9%) and Greece (10%). In the rest of Europe, the rates of people binge drinking on a monthly basis are 10-20%, with varying amounts of alcohol consumed.