So how bad is the binge drinking culture here?

Well the overall comsumtion of alcohol has been in decline since 1990 though has been on the rise in resent years according to The Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand or ALAC, and has contributed to 1100 deaths over the past 10 years in New Zealnd alone, and has increased from 41 in 2000 to 254 in 2008. The figures for last year have yet to be finalised but the death count has already reached 137.

These statistics and figures remove the realism of the these deaths. Maybe that is why the constant hounding of anti-drinking ads and campaigns have totally missed the mark, they push the idea that drinking and driving is bad and that deaths are steadily on the rise but make no attempt to educate youths any further then this. The faceless numbers and comedic ads that are thrown at us on a day to day basis are now null and void. The fact of the matter is that the youth that are dying have friends and family that are still in mourning.

Youth Drinking

We all know the drinking culture that has been engrained into the very fabric of New Zealand society and how it affects all of us. This culture of binge drinking starts off early in many peoples lives, speaking from my own experience I was brought up sourounded by this culture. Every family get together whether it be sad or happy was a party or just a reason to get drunk. I started drinking heavily by the age of fourteen, when my cousins stole a bottle of wine from my aunty and finished the bottle on the beach. At this age I didn't understand the repercussions of what I was doing or the dangers of alcahol poisoning, needless to say I was not mature enough.

Many young people (especially in New Zealand) feel as though they have to drink alcohol as a sort of right of passage, they may not particularly like or enjoy drinking but countinue anyway to be accepted by their peers. We've all been in the situation ourselves and have had to face the harsh realities of peer-presher, whether or not you chose to drink I'm sure it would of effected you in some way.