Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

No more games for drunk Brits

In 2008, 5,000 teenage girls were treated for binge drinking

No more games for drunk Brits. In a desperate attempt to stop Brits from drinking excessively, U.K. officials are banning drinking games and all-you-can-drink deals at pubs and clubs that cater to the nation’s growing binge-drinking culture.

The crackdown includes outlawing games such as the “dentist’s chair”—where alcohol is continuously poured into a customer’s mouth while they are restrained—along with incorporating compulsory identity checks on customers who look younger than 18 years old. In addition, establishments must provide free tap water and offer customers the choice to select either a single or double spirit, or a small or large glass of wine. Bar owners who break the rules could be ﬁned upward of the equivalent of $34,000, or even spend six months in jail.

Drunk Brits are getting the crackdown on their alcoholic games.

According to Britain’s National Health Service, alcoholic liver disease deaths are soaring, along with drinking-induced crimes that cost the U.K. between $13 billion and $22 billion a year. But health experts say the new laws don’t go far enough: it’s “better than nothing,” says Carys Davis, spokesperson for Britain’s Alcohol Concern charity, but the restrictions “seem tame” compared to raising the minimum price of bulk alcohol products (at shops and supermarkets, many alcohol products sell for less than the cost of brand-name mineral water), a move the NHS is lobbying for.

But the idea of raising the minimum cost was shot down by ministers who don’t want to penalize responsible drinkers, especially in a general election year.

Concerns abound about how to deal with binge-drinking Brits—especially teenagers. A survey of 35 countries released last March by the University of the West of England found that the U.K. had the third-highest number of 15- and 16-year-olds with alcohol problems, and the Department of Health revealed that more than 5,000 teenage girls were admitted to hospital in 2008 after binge drinking.

source: Macleans

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Why drinkers do it all again

Some people drink to forget, but scientists have found that anyone who binge drinks is more likely to forget only the worst experiences of being drunk – which is why alcohol is such an addictive drug. Alcohol has been found to affect memory in a selective manner. Drinking makes it easier to remember the good….

Binge drinking the new norm?

Rider University freshman and fraternity pledge Gary DeVercelly died in March 2007, after drinking most of a bottle of vodka at a frat party. Last October, Minnesota State University pre-nursing student Amanda Jax, celebrating her 21st birthday at a bar with friends, downed a potent mix of cocktails and shots before being helped to a….

Study blames alcohol for half 1990s Russian deaths

A new study by an international team of public health researchers documents the devastating impact of alcohol abuse on Russia — showing that drinking caused more than half of deaths among Russians aged 15 to 54 in the turbulent era following the Soviet collapse. The 52 percent figure compares to estimates that less than 4….

Are Christian Treatment Centers Effective?

Christian treatment centers have a high success rate at not only helping people come clean from their addictions but also helping them stay clean once a person leaves the treatment center. One of the main reasons why Christian based treatment centers are effective is because many people who join become firm believers in Jesus Christ….

Drug testing

Drug testing basically involves collecting the urine samples to test the different drugs like cocaine, marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, etc. The teenagers, are especially more vulnerable to drug abuse as their body and brains are still developing. This can lead to adverse effects on his health, body, behavior and brain. There are number of methods that….