Everybody enjoys a tipple now and again
There's nothing wrong with over-indulging in a few too many glasses of mulled wine and cocktails over the festive season but, for more and more people, alcohol binges have become the norm and we're now faced with Britain being labelled as a binge drinking culture.
Earlier this week, a report suggested that the government should look at a way to outline the guidelines for alcohol intake, making them much clearer for people to fully understand how many units are safe and how much is endangering your health. But would doing this make any difference?
At the start of 2011 it was claimed that the number of young people having to be treated for liver disease had risen by more than 50 percent in the last decade. There's more news and information available now than ever before about the dangers of alcohol and the long lasting effects it can have on your body so why aren't people taking notice?
Over the last few years in particular it has been highlighted that this is both a male and female issue. The rising number of girls who binge drink has been a talking point of many alcohol related debates, with various television programmes such as "Ladette to lady" and "Boozy Britain" demonstrating the sometimes extremely unruly behaviour by young women under the influence of alcohol.
Getting together for a girls' night out means gossip, dancing, and being able to enjoy yourself; and that normally includes a few drinks to let your hair down. But unfortunatley, the social scene is now filled with young girls boasting about being able to drink until their stomach can't hack anymore.
In the run up to Christmas, festive nights such as "mad Friday" and office nights out meant the pubs and clubs were packed with merry drinkers. Not many of us can say we're angels and have never downed a good few glasses of wine after a stressful day, in the hope of feeling silly and care-free, but has this attitude to drink had a lasting effect on the younger generation?
The "ladette" culture seems to be affecting girls that are too young to know right from wrong and their damaging not only their bodies, but their reputation. Instead of drinking to feel merry and knowing when enough is enough, some youths seem to think it's acceptable to end up in a state and not remember anything the next day.
In December, Alcohol Concern teamed up with medical experts and presented a letter to MP's that called for action on cheap alcohol. They discussed how the price of cheap alcohol should be raised as a price increase would be likely to effect harmful drinkers and young people.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself and having a few drinks on a weekend but we're being reminded this week to count up units and watch that we're not exceeding by this massive amounts. Particularly in the case of young people, the government look like they're got their work cut out for them trying to change a very popular culture.
If you're feeling particularly guilty about having too many large glasses of wine over Christmas (like me) ban the booze for a few weeks and give your body a bit of a detox by drinking plenty of water and hopefully you'll feel refreshed!
The governments new strategy for tackling alcohol is expected to be released early in 2012.
Alexandra Baracskai