Britain’s ‘Buckfast Babes’?

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Recent figures show that alcohol misuse costs the nation £7.3 billion in crime and antisocial behaviour and that one woman in five drinks at levels hazardous to health, more than 14 units each week (read more). With that in mind you have to wonder, is our country turning into a nation of Buckfast Babes?

I’m in no way singling out Buckfast Tonic Wine as the root causation factor for a problem. That would be the simplistic manner favoured by politicians and our mostly hyped-up emotive media. I chose the product, now well-known in popular culture but mostly problematical in Scotland, simply as a descriptive analogy.

The brand, unfortunately (arguably) for the Benedictine Monks who produce it at Buckfast Abbey Devon, has become synonymous with the excessive consumption of (mostly) cheap alcohol by our youth. In matter of fact, it is probably little more than a byproduct of the problems we try to attribute to it…

In January 2010 a BBC investigation revealed that Buckfast had been mentioned in 5,638 crime reports in the Strathclyde police area of Scotland. One in 10 of those offences had been violent and 114 times in that period a Buckfast bottle was used as a weapon. Of the offenders who drank alcohol before committing their crimes, 43% said they had drunk Buckfast. In another study of litter around a typical council estate in Scotland, 35% of the items identified as rubbish were Buckfast bottles… (wikipedia.org)

Buckfast’s distributors (rightly) denied that it caused crime, saying the drink made up just 0.5% of Scotland’s alcohol market. However, the brand is considered as so much of a scourge on society north of the border that leading politicians have lobbied to have it banned (see here). Scotland also recently introduced new laws banning ‘irresponsible drinks promotions‘ by retailers and similar political moves are being proposed in England.

But as with many social issues, continuous introduction of new legislation is mostly a half-hearted attempt at finding a realistic answer to the problems being faced. As loopholes to skirt around the legislation are already being pursued in Scotland, what really is the point? Once again, political leadership, and subsequently law enforcement agencies, simply resort to public popularity sound-bite application of additional legislation, in their inane attempts to address difficult issues. As opposed to using existing legislation effectively, and more robustly. Along with real partnership working in a real multi-agency approach.

That said good legislation, and the correct application of it, is only one ‘tool’ in what should be a multi-faceted armoury of the ‘weapons’ used to combat the issues. Even within the Bible Belt states of the USA, that has some of the most robust (and archaic) liquor licensing laws in the world, legislation is failing and any additions to those laws are robustly argued against (see here). So what is the answer to the problem?

Working in the pub trade, I often hear conversations between drinkers, often predominantly female, who take pride in boasting to their peers about their booze intake at home, prior to hitting the town for their night out. People are actually entering their first pub of the night later in the evening, and already well topped up or three parts pissed in many cases. They continue with their booze oblivion quest by quaffing as much as possible, as quickly as possible. The higher the alcohol content of their chosen tipple, so much the better. But why? Additionally, is it really fair to blame the pub trade for the subsequent fallout?

Recently and closer to home, police and business leaders in Scarborough suggested it was ‘time to call time” on 24-hour drinking in the town. Officers said late licences “caused too many alcohol-related problems” (see here). Back in October 2007 it was reported that; ”young people in Scarborough drink more alcohol than in any other part of North Yorkshire, with some starting from the age of nine.” Consequently a ’campaign’ was launched in a bid to tackle the town’s “serious and growing problem with alcohol misuse” (see here). But in August 2011 the problem was still evident and ”young drinkers were ”being targeted by a new project aimed at cutting their alcohol consumption” (see here). It appears obvious that after four years of ‘concerted effort’, agencies are still failing in their attempts to achieve tangible results.

Far too often these days, especially in areas where there actually is any visible police patrol presence, it appears the licensed trade are now also being used as scapegoats for the problem. The  ’Booze Britain‘ culture is actually born out of a myriad of social and educational factors, not just retail ones. That said, it is right to consider them as a component part of the combined and cumulative causation factors.

But like the availability of supermarket loss leader cheep booze an in general, public houses are not to blame for the anti-social binge drinking problems faced by society. Blaming the pub is also far too simplistic.

Strong-arm tactics hit trade: Over the past year there has been increasing concern about the advice given to police forces from the Home Office in relation to licensed premises. As has been reported in this paper, there have been several examples of what might be called ‘fishing expeditions’ where the police in an area are primed with advice on their powers of arrest and closure that they then try out in a specific area — sometimes with disastrous results for licensees who are caught unawares… (Peter Coulson – Morning Advertiser)

I’m not suggesting for one minute (or naive enough to believe), that all licensees are squeaky clean, neither do they all operate totally appropriate establishments, promoting a drink sensibly message. There will be some just in the business to make money, or grab a fast buck or two from the feckless drinkers in our society. But as already mentioned, these idiots ho regularly drink to excess, don’t only get their ‘supplies’ from the pub trade. The supermarkets must shoulder the lion’s share of blame, at least when it comes to the retail aspects of the problem.

Irrespective of what can be considered as, the unarguable connection between binge drinking and crime or anti-social behaviour, particularly in the case of Buckfast it would appear (see video below), getting drunk is now the sole objective for many. A state that was once an unintended side effect of consuming one too many, during pleasant and simple social interaction. Today we witness people engaged in almost total consumption combat, social interaction (mostly inane) is almost totally ancillary to the personal quest… It is that mentality, possibly but not always born out of social depravation, we need to firstly understand and secondly defeat. 

As a slight aside but wholly connected; the correlation between caffeine and alcohol, as an aggravating factor to the problem (see The Buckfast Code – below), should also be taken into consideration in England. After all, energy drinks such as Red Bull et al, have become an increasingly important aspect of Britain’s binge drinking culture. Vodka/Red Bull and Jägerbombs (shot of Jägermeister dropped into a glass of Red Bull, or other energy drink), are now de rigueur components of most drinking sessions ‘enjoyed’ by our younger consumers.

Once again this has nothing to do with the alcohol per se but more a desire for the chemical effects of caffeine, that and it’s perceived attributes i.e. ensures you feel the effects of alchohol quicker, but still keeps you awake.

If, as a society, we have a genuine desire to address these problems it will take more than knee-jerk legislation and sound-bite political rhetoric. Much of what we face today is once again born out of previous social liberalism, that and a failure to educate our Buckfast Babies correctly. Our so far puerile and mostly inefective attempts to make any real and lasting change are failing and will continue to do so. At least until we start setting boundaries of acceptable behaviour again and adopt more holistic methods in our approach to the problems.

Note: As regular readers will be aware; apart from my thirty years as a police officer, I also have a good understanding of all the social and legal issues surrounding pubs and the purveyance of alcohol. This ‘expert’ knowledge comes from strong family links within the licensed trade, as well as enforcing the licensing laws from outside the trade. I suppose I should also include the many hours imbibing as a customer in that expertise!

Hungover from yoof detritus!

Image via Flickr

Taking the dog for a stroll through the local park is turning into an obstacle course of juvenile debris and alcohol fuelled detritus. The daily foray into this hazardous environment, which almost requires a comprehensive risk assessment prior to each trip is only eased by the fact that, days are shortening and the weather is becoming more inclement.

The problem at this time of the year is prevalent mostly at weekends but, cast back to the longer warmer evenings of the summer and it was an almost daily issue. Despite the best endeavours of the local council clear up teams, fighting an almost unwinnable battle against, broken bottles, discarded fast-food packaging and the odd used condom or three, the latter of which I suppose should be partly commended?

The area is littered with increasing impunity despite it being (partly) under the eye of an urban CCTV system however; I suspect the cameras have probably seized to their mountings due to lack of use. The area is also ’designated’ under the The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in relation to the consumption of alcohol in public places however; even that piece of (arguably) useful legislation, which is under scrutiny by many as an infringement of human rights (see here), has become almost superfluous. Government cuts and budgetary constraint mean it is mostly poorly implemented, due to an ever decreasing visible police patrol resource. Perhaps the council should be required to start issuing personal protective equipment (PPE) to dogs and their owners, as well as their employees?

But the problem is bigger than litter alone… According to Professor David Nutt in The Lancet last year – “alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack” when the overall dangers to the individual and society are considered. The BBC also recently pointed out (again) that “drinking too much alcohol is bad for us. It gives us hangovers, makes us feel tired and does little for our appearance – and that is just the morning afterwards” (read more). But how many of us actually care what little Jonny/Jenny is up to in the park?

Not as many as should be I’ll be bound. You see for many the problem is out of sight and consequently out of mind. That said, how anyone can actually formulate an educated and informed opinion about drinking and the problems created by our (mostly underage) excess is a little beyond me. According to our sensationalistic media machine, one week booze is bad for you (in any quantity), the next it’s ok in moderation. But ‘safe’ levels are not the real issue.

Despite the fact different people have different ideas about what ’moderation’ actually means, much of the ‘official’ advice from health bodies and the government is somewhat flawed. Much of the information is funded or formulated by ‘interested’ parties.  By that I mean individuals and/or organisations who have some political or financial interest in the information being published.

It’s one of the reasons why Professor Nutt refused to leave the drugs [alcohol] debate when he was sacked from his official government post by the former Labour Home Secretary, Alan Johnson. In addition, many recipients of the information and advice provided by people like Nutt et all don’t really give a stuff in any case, just so long as they achieve their objective of getting totally bladdered.

“We need to be very careful when suggesting there is a ‘safe’ level of drinking for the population. Rather, we need to explain that there are risks associated with alcohol consumption, and that the less you drink the lower your risk is of developing health problems…(Katherine Brown, head of research at the Institute of Alcohol Studies)

Being someone who likes a drink, and has observed alcohol and the licensed trade both internally and externally all my life, I would suggest that even Katherine Brown’s proposal is also destined to failure, at least in the short-term. There is already a myriad of information, advice and legislation around alcohol consumption but we still fail to make any realistic and sustained headway in combating the resulting problems. It’s hard for adults to grip the facts, never mind our yoof who in any case, are far more interested in the here and now of a good time and sod their future, never mind anyone else’s.

The latest champion to the cause of underage drinking is the Member of Parliament for Totnes, Dr. Sarah Wollaston MP. She believes a major factor is advertising and recently introduced a Private Members Bill to the House of Commons regarding the advertising of alcohol to youngsters and says…

About 13 young people will die this week as a result of alcohol, and about 650 this year. Nearly a quarter of all deaths of young people aged between 15 and 24 are caused by alcohol. That is two every day-far more than are killed by knife crime or cancer-yet this tragic loss from alcohol attracts far less by way of a response. These totally avoidable deaths are just the tip of the iceberg and do not begin to represent the full scale of the harm caused by alcohol to children.

Alcohol blights lives, with criminal records as a result of violent and antisocial behaviour, and it results in educational failure. Regretted and unprotected sex raises the risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Around 7,500 children are admitted every year to English hospitals alone as a result of acute intoxication, and that figure does not include the carnage in our accident and emergency departments.

But as she also rightly points out – “There are many contributing factors and no simple solutions.” The problems we now face as a society are our own doing. We have sat with a laissez-faire attitude about so many issues impacting upon our kids for too long and given almost totally free rein to our youth, both as parents and as a society. Many of the issues we now have in epidemic proportions are totally engrained within our society. Our failures today are the direct result of our failures over the past twenty plus years, all ably assisted by our mostly self-interested narcissistic leadership, and they can’t and won’t be fixed over night.

As with the serial crooks, the benefits fraudsters and the educationally lacking in our somewhat feckless society, what was once something of a lifestyle choice for many, has now become endemic and habitual. In many towns and cities across the nation, we now see families of several generations that actually know no different. The problems we now face are so indelibly ingrained and embedded that it will also take as many generations to remove them again. That said, we can’t sit crying into our hands and do nothing, we need to start somewhere.

A fundamental aspect of any education (child or adult) is the understanding that; all actions have consequences. That and the realistic possibility of actually experiencing those consequences at first hand. This is another area where we tend to consistently fail our children. We seem to allow them to meander aimlessly through their mostly virtual lives, cosseted and protected from worldly reality in their early years, then let them loose on society to run amuck in their teens.

Finding a cure for the yoof hangover won’t be a simple task but correctly utilising some of the measures we already have in place would be a good starting point. Instead of trying to develop new ones, lets use the ones we have much more effectively, if only to prevent them becoming yet another white elephant of public expenditure!

Related articles

• More motorists ‘driving with a hangover’ (confused.com)
• Britain’s drunkest woman (thesun.co.uk)
• VIDEO: Binge drinking spreads to France (bbc.co.uk)
• 24-hour drinking: Preserving good pubs will help our drinking problem (telegraph.co.uk)
• The excess is not in alcohol but in Britain’s self-loathing | Jonathan Jones (guardian.co.uk)
• You: Tough love stops binge drinking, Demos claims (guardian.co.uk)