Watch out for middle-aged British binge-drinkers

Here is the question. Why do British people like to binge-drink so much? Just when you think American college students are bad, go to any British pub at about 10pm and you will probably see more drunks than at an average American fraternity house.

In addition to all the young people in Britain drinking too much, there are the middle-aged folks to worry about. A record number of middle-aged people are drinking themselves to death, according to latest figures published in The Independent. A report shows that 8,758 people died from excessive alcohol intake in 2006, twice the number in 1991. The biggest increase was among people aged 35 to 54 and among women than men.

Binge-drinking was one of the reasons why Britain decided to change their "must-drink-fast" 11pm closing time for pubs and introduced 24-hour licenses for pubs and clubs in 2005. There is no hard evidence whether binge-drinkers have transformed to 24-hour drinkers, although streets of London are still rowdier than normal after the 11pm spill-out-on-the-street tradition.

Filed under: Europe, United Kingdom, Nightlife