Battlefront You're Already Involved

Hi India, i think your doing a great campaign, i work for my local council as a youth worker and i have to work with young people who drink alot, part of my job is to try and offer them activities, and a positive outlook on life and show them there is more to drink and supprt them. i would love to help you with your campaign, i can be contacted on [email protected]

Tony randall, 31 March 2009 16:39

great discussions happening on the site. hope this will reinvigorate the campaign! can you call or email me soon, India? thanks, Jo

Jo, 07 December 2008 20:19

I feel pretty strongly about this as a 25 year old recovering alcoholic. I never found anything more exiting than getting drunk on a weekend when I was younger, which is quite sad looking back. Attitudes towards alcohol need to change before more young people end up having to suffer due to alcohol mis-use. I was trying to make plans for the evening with my housemate last night who is aware of my inability to drink. We finally agreed that the only social activity he enjoyed was drinking. I offered to accompany him to the pub but not drink. He said he couldn't think of anything less appealing for either of us. It's sad that a lot of people like us have forgotten how to have fun without alcohol but it's just something we've been doing since we were young. It gets harder to change your ways the older you get. Good work.

Mike, 05 December 2008 18:19

one question why do we as young eople feel the need to get off our faces is life really that bad or is there another reason

chloe, 04 December 2008 14:34

I've binged on alcohol before, and I probably will again. I have not caused violence, ended up in hospital or in any way contributed to anti social behaviour. I'm a law student who's a pretty law abiding guy. But I refuse to stop binge drinking. Why? because it is my right to, it is not acceptable that todays political and social 'elite' feel they have the right to talk down to the people who make up society. I should also point out that our cultural genetic and societal disposition is towards consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Binge drinking is nothing new, in fact if you look at the history of the British isles you'll find that alcohol has always played a part in our society. A large part. Right back to the celts, whom, Julius Caesar noted that the celts and britons were known for their copious consumption of alcohol. And removing alcohol deals etc in pubs and supermarkets as there are plans to do is a disgrace. As a libertarian I believe (and many others do) that that is fundamentally wrong and evil. We have the right to purchase what we want when we want. What next embargos on mcdonalds? or a One bigmac a week limit enforceable with penalties and imprisonment. Our society needs to take a more enlightened, less farcical and less demonising attitude to alcohol.

Paul Dinsmore, 03 December 2008 08:24

hi India. I find your campaign crucial to the situation in the UK. I personally have had binge drinking past but have now left it behind as I concentrate with my Alevels but I know a lot of my friends continue to binge drink. Not only is this terrible for their health but it is affecting their studies. I am a student at Peter Symonds college in Winichester. Our community is apefect example of bored teens, buying alcohol and getting smashed in the cathederal grounds. I support evey effort you are making to raise awarness on binge drinking and hope I can do so in my community with your help.

scarlet, 02 December 2008 16:20

Hi India first off good on you - you have a great idea which does drastically need dealt with. Sorry if this is a bit of a long haul but it does touch on a personal cord of my own, having grown up in Belfast which really has nothing but a drinking culutre. It shames me to remember but i started drinking & smoking at eleven and as you say simply because there was nothing else to do. It started as very much a social thing, get ur 5-10 squid pocket money and blow it waiting outside off-liences asking randomers to buy it for us (dangerous enough for kids of that age). Before long due to the crowd i always drank with by fifteen were out in clubs taking pills and godknows what else. Im not saying that alcohol leads to drugs (though in many cases it does especially for kids so young and so easily led.) But the circles you run around in really dont help all of whom were simply bored senseless looking back. I hate to say but i had a drinking problem by about eighteen where id go through 12 beers a night often on my own. The more i drank the more anti-social i became broke up with girlfriends and only went out to get hammered. Im twenty two now and only really stopped drinking and getting involved with all this rubbish about a year ago. For maybe a year before that i tried desparetly to go out and drink moderately everytime ending up smashed. I always drank to get drunk even when i was little and was telling myself that not drinking wasnt the issue (theres always an excuse). The only way was not to drink full stop. I feel fantastic these days, you become a social being again and really do want to the make the most of life without a busted head every morning. However the issue here is that if we have young people (and im certian i wasnt the only one) who have dealt with quite serious alcohol issues before even turning twenty there is a major problem. Its great to see your making an effort but its a long road ahead theres ALOT of frankly unsolvable issues with relation to young people and binge drinking (so many ill not go into detail right now) but we really do need to look into it otherwise violent crime around the UK WILL get out of hand. Alcohol i feel is unquestionably the main issue behind larger problems such as knife and gun crime. I hope theres a few issues here you can use and if i can help in anyway dont hestitate to get in touch. Best of luck India but it wont be easy if you really want to make a difference. Cheers for you time.

Tom, 01 December 2008 12:28