Britain's binge drinking crisis revisited

The success of the neo-temperance campaign depends on repeating the same facts over and over again, even when they don't deserve repetition and they're not really facts.

So I make no apologies for returning to a point I have made several times before: there is not an epidemic of binge drinking, as this document from the House of Commons library reminds us.

The prevalence of binge drinking among young men and women has fallen since 1998. In 2010 the prevalence among young men remained at 24% while among young women it fell to its lowest recorded level at 17%.

"Binge drinking" is defined as having more than 6 units for a woman and more than 8 units for a man on one or more occasions in a week, ie. four or more average drinks in an evening would do the trick for both genders. That is not "binge drinking", that is "drinking". If only one in five of us are exceeding these feeble limits, Britain is not a nation of binge drinkers, we are a nation of lightweights.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Guardian...

The UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) says harmful drinking has become so common that "no nonsense" warnings displayed in a prominent place on alcohol products are needed to overcome widespread public ignorance about the dozens of medical conditions excessive consumption can cause.