The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that the misuse of alcohol by young people in Europe is increasing alarmingly. A pattern is emerging in which people drink alcohol too young too often and allow it to play too important a role in their lives. WHO also found that there's been an increase in 'binge-drinking' – drinking large amounts in a short time.

At a conference in Stockholm in February, European health ministers attacked aggressive marketing by alcohol companies. WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland told the conference on youth and alcohol that alcohol manufacturers are targeting young people by promoting alcohol mixed with fruit juices and energy drinks and in premixed 'alcopops', and by using advertising that focuses on youth lifestyle, sex, sports and fun. There were also worries about the non-stop hedonistic party culture promoted in centres like Ibiza, Spain, Ayia Napa, Cyprus, and Ios in Greece.

According to the WHO, 1 in 8 deaths among men aged 15–29 in western Europe is related to alcohol. The figure for women in the same age-group is 1 in 12. In addition, drunkenness is implicated in a quarter of all arrests, half of all violent crime, two-thirds of suicide attempts and three-quarters of assaults.

PUB CULTURE

The social lives of young deaf people, as with young hearing people, often revolves around meeting up in pubs – though pub owners are not always welcoming to large numbers of deaf people.

Carolyn, a 22-year-old biomedical science undergraduate originally from Devon and now studying at Wolverhampton University, has a fragile immune system caused by a genetic factor. She chooses not to drink, take drugs or smoke cigarettes mainly for health reasons, but her decision has been reinforced by watching other deaf people drink too much.

'I think that the reason for deaf people preferring pubs to deaf clubs could be that deaf clubs are situated in a four-walled room, probably with a snooker table and chairs placed back to the walls rather than assorted around the place,' she says. 'Our generation prefer to attend places with great atmosphere like our hearing counterparts.

'People find it difficult to accept I don't drink as it's so unusual at my age. I watch people get drunker and drunker, their attitude and behaviour getting worse. They rarely remember things they've done the next day – but I do, every little thing.

'Sometimes I feel left out or am made to feel there's something wrong or odd about me not drinking. But my choice of lifestyle and beliefs is as strong as ever.'

Khuram Saraf is 22 years old and unemployed. He lives in Wolverhampton, and is one of many who gets drunk regularly and never misses a good party.

'I started drinking when I was 14. I went with schoolfriends to a pub – we were so excited!' he says. 'I used to spend around £30–40 daily on drinking, but now I'm trying to cut it down to save money for other expenditures such as the phone bills.

'I don't really count my drinks but I know that I am an excessive boozer. I only drink spirits occasionally but I love to drink about 20 pints or more of lager or beer.

'Young deaf people coming to the pubs don't really bother me as I started going to pubs early myself, though I do have a feeling that they should have waited until they were a bit older as they cause the evictions.

'Some people cannot drink because of health problems and I have sympathy for them. If people do not want to drink they tend to be left out. If they don't want to get involved I have to accept that, though I try to encourage everybody to keep up. But as for those who spike drinks, I feel they're stupid.'

Have you experienced problems related to alcohol, or do you know someone who has? Or would you simply like to join a discussion on the subject? Check out the message board.

LINKS

Channel 4 Health: 'the legal drug'
www.channel4.com/health/microsites/H/health/
magazine/drugs/legaldrug.html
All about the nation's favourite depressant and what to do if you think you may be drinking too much. Plus the facility to consult trained advisers online, in complete confidence.

Advice and Counselling on Alcohol and Drugs (ACAD)
www.acad.org.uk
A registered charity that offers free counselling, advice and information services to all concerned about their own or someone else's use of alcohol or drugs.

Alcohol Concern
www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
Useful website for information plus a directory of local services provided by agencies for people with alcohol-related problems.

Wrecked
www.wrecked.co.uk
Information and advice about drinking.

CONTACTS

Alcoholics Anonymous
PO Box 1
Stonebow House
Stonebow
York YO1 7NJ
Helpline: 0845 7697555 (seven days a week, 10am–10pm)
Website: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
‘Twelve-step’ self-help groups and support for alcohol-dependent people determined to give up.

Drink Line
Helpline: 0800 917 8282
Website: www.wrecked.co.uk
Confidential information and advice on issues related to alcohol abuse.

British Deaf Association Health and Counselling Services
9 Springfield Street
Warrington
Cheshire WA1 1BB
Voice: 01925 652520 (10am–4pm daily)
Textphone: 01925 652529 (10am–4pm daily and Wednesday 7–10pm)
Fax: 01925 652526
E-mail: bda6@dircon.co.uk
Website: www.bda.org.uk
General advisory helpline for information, advice and guidance. Also offer health and counselling services throughout the UK. Self-referrals accepted.

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