1. What age group are you in?
[ ] 16-17
[x] 18-19
[ ] 20-21
[ ] 22-23
[ ] 24-25
[ ] 25+
2. Are you male or female?
[x] Male
[ ] Female
3. How often would you drink alcohol?
[ ] Daily
[x] Weekly
[ ] Monthly
[ ] Never
4. What would you describe binge drinking as?
More than a few units, whether regular or not.
5. Please tick which boxes you believe to be one unit of alcohol.
[ ] Pint of beer
[x] Half a pint of beer - where beer is the crappy lager we get in pubs nowadays, say 3.5%?
[ ] Big glass of wine
[x] Small glass of wine
[ ] Single shot of a spirit - old measurements were 25ml ~1U; new measurements are ~35ml
6. Would you say that you know how much units your sex is allowed in a week? If yes please state your answer.
[x] Yes
21
[ ] No
7. Would you consider yourself a binge drinker?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[x] Sometimes
8. Have you ever felt pressured into drinking alcohol?
[ ] Yes
[x] No
9. Would you support the idea of rising the drinking age to 21? Please explain your answer.
[ ] Yes
[x] No
If people want alcohol underage, they can obtain it. Standing outside corner shops paying adults to buy alcohol for them is extremely effective, and given the culture, I don't think it would change significantly given a raise in the drinking age to 21. On top of that, I'm 18 years old, and I drink responsibly. Most drinking sessions include just 2-3 pints of rough scrumpy, which might well be considered a "binge", but I act responsibly after this amount of alcohol consumption. I work hard every day of the week, and a couple of times a week, I want a swift pint in the evening over a bit of banter and then to bed. Not that I have a reliance on alcohol, but I really wouldn't appreciate having this right taken away from me.
10. How would you say that underage youth are obtaining alcohol?
[x] Parents
[x] Young adults
[x] Fake IDs
[x] Other (please specify)
Parents buy it, as do older friends; friends'/fake IDs can be used to get into bars and clubs, and you can always stand outside the local convenience store until somebody agree to go in and buy it for you. Coem on, I got offered a blowjob to buy a bottle of Lambrini when I was 16 because I could get served.
11. Who do you feel is responsible for binge drinking in young adults and underage youth?
[x] Family
[x] Peers
[x] Media
[x] Celebrities
[x] Other (please specify)
Everybody. It's a culture now, underage drinking. It's not so much seeing celebrities drunk, because despite their high-profiles, the media doesn't grab too much of it unless they show some nudity, family often encourage responsible drinking but not always and the media give underage drinkers more attention that they deserve. There is a lot of peer pressure out there to drink and take drugs, but peer pressure I would say applies to situations where the person under pressure doesn't already want to drink, for example. This isn't so much the case I find, so much as, most teenagers want to drink already, and they might just get some slight encouragement from seeing peers drinking.
12. Why do you think that some people feel the need to drink alcohol on a daily basis?
For me, it rewards a long day's work and helps me to relax. For others, it's a way of letting their hair down, a way to boost confidence, an excuse for inappropriate acts, the risk, and the thoughts of drunken funny moments.
13. In your opinion, what action should be taken in order to reduce the number of people binge drinking?
A combination of a number of factors: more CCTV around stores watching for people trying to buy underage, stricter laws than "pour it down the drain" to those caught drinking underage, and bartenders need to "man up" and refuse drinks more. The latter is difficult to enforce, partly because it's a subjective decision for the bartender, partly because they don't want to stir up a fuss, and partly because the bar/club/store wants to make money.
14. In your opinion, what action should be taken to reduce the number of underage drinkers?
As above, perhaps minus the manning up of bartenders.
15. Would you know of the risks of binge drinking?
[x] Yes
[ ] No
16. Some risks of binge drinking would be:
[ ] Hangover
[ ] High blood pressure (hypertension)
[ ] Difficulty concentrating
[ ] Memory lapses
[ ] Mood changes
Please tick the appropriate boxes if you have suffered from any of the conditions above. If you haven’t, please tick the box below.
[x] I have not suffered from any of the above.
17. Would you suffer from any medical conditions? If so what would they be?
[ ] Yes ___________________________________________________________
[x] No¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
18. Have you ever been in hospital because of binge drinking? If yes please specify.
[ ] Yes ___________________________________________________________
[x] No
19. Would you of had any accidents in relation to alcohol? If yes please specify.
[ ] Yes ___________________________________________________________
[x] No
20. Have you ever done something while intoxicated, you now regret? If yes please specify.
[ ] Yes ___________________________________________________________
[x] No
21. How often in the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of drinking? E.g. missing work, forgetting deadlines, etc.
[x] Never
[ ] Less than monthly
[ ] Monthly
[ ] Weekly
[ ] Daily