How serious is the problem of binge drinking, and is it getting worse?

Why are we asking this question now?

Because police chiefs have pleaded for Britain to wake up to an epidemic of binge-drinking among teenagers and young adults. Ken Jones, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, has warned that it is leading to alarming levels of violence, with the "culture of drinking to excess spoiling our towns and city centres". He has challenged supermarkets and pub chains to scrap the "crazy promotions" that encourage youngsters to drink as much as they can. Fears of alcohol-fuelled thuggery have become a recurring theme for several newspapers, with politicians of all parties queuing up to express their concern. Meanwhile a police enforcement campaign, with officers confiscating alcohol from under-18s drinking in public, is under way to coincide with the school half-term.

What is binge drinking?

The phrase has in recent years become a popular shorthand description for the practice of drinking (often in large groups) for the main purpose of becoming drunk. One common definition is five or more drinks in one session for men and four or more drinks for women.

Is this really a new phenomenon?

The Victorians first used the word "binge" to describe excessive drinking, but alarm over alcohol consumption in this country dates back to the Norman conquest. The 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury reported that the English spent "entire nights as well as days" drinking. Hogarth vividly portrayed the debilitating effect of gin in 18th-century London, while the Temperance movement developed the following century in response to fears over alcohol consumption. In 1914, pub opening hours were limited for fear that heavy drinking would undermine the war effort.

Is drinking increasing?

Yes. Alcohol consumption has grown steadily since the end of the Second World War. The rate of increase has slowed over the last 20 years, however, and has mainly been caused by the growing popularity of wine. Today, only one adult in 10 is teetotal, with Britons spending more than £30bn a year on alcohol. One third of men and one fifth of women admit drinking more than the recommended daily levels. But it is worth bearing in mind that this country is only in the middle of the world league table for drinking, behind the French and Germans, but ahead of the Americans and Australians.

What about drinking by the young?

Children and young adults are drinking more – and at a younger age - than ever before. About one in five secondary school pupils drinks once a week or more, averaging about 12 units for boys and ten units for girls. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, has warned that Britain has reached a "worrying tipping-point" at which the majority of 13-year-olds have drunk alcohol. More than 40 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds admit to binge-drinking at least once a month, with the figure dropping to 22 per cent for 25 to 35-year-olds.

Where do they get the alcohol from?

Nearly half of all under-age drinkers claim that they got their alcohol from their parents, prompting Ms Smith to protest: "The idea you can hand your kids a six-pack of lager and tell them to disappear off for the evening, with no thought to consequences, is frankly baffling."

She is proposing extending parenting contracts to mothers and fathers who allow their children to drink heavily.

Another 29 per cent of young drinkers obtained alcohol from friends, while 22 per cent got it from licensed premises. The latter figure has led to police and town halls winning extra powers to prosecute, and even close, premises caught serving alcohol to children.

How can drinking be curbed among young adults?

The under-25s are a target for the drinks giants, whose "happy hour" and "all you can drink" promotions are designed to pack in as many people as possible. Mr Jones has complained that retailers are selling beer "cheaper than water" while supermarkets have been accused of selling discount lager for as little as 22p a can.

The Home Secretary has announced she has appointed the auditors KPMG to examine how closely the industry abides by its own code of practice on responsible retailing. It could result in a change in the law to force retailers into line.

An alternative is increasing taxes on alcohol, but there would be political dangers. An ICM survey for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association found 61 per cent of the public believed such a move would unfairly punish the majority of responsible drinkers.

How much violence is linked to alcohol?

The number of people who think drunken and rowdy behaviour is getting worse in their area is rising. But the statistics do not bear out that public perception. According to the British Crime Survey, an estimated 1,087,000 violent attacks – nearly half of all such offences – were blamed on alcohol in 2006-07. Figures on that scale are daunting, and include tragedies such as the recent murder of Garry Newlove, killed outside his home in Warrington after he confronted a gang of drunken hooligans. But they are still markedly lower than a decade ago, with 1,457,000 such alcohol-fuelled violent offences taking place in 1997.

Have the new licensing laws made things worse?

It is too early to say. Police recorded 940,522 violent crimes and cases of disorder and criminal damage between 6pm and 6am in the year after pubs and clubs were allowed to open later, a negligible increase of 0.7 per cent on the previous 12 months. But while the surge of drunken yobbery predicted by opponents has not materialised, there are few signs of Britain moving towards to the continental "café culture" envisaged by ministers at the time.

Surely there is more to this problem than cheap drink?

Southern Europe is not generally disfigured by binge drinking, even though alcohol is generally cheaper. A "drinking culture" is embedded in the fabric of the nation. Campaigns about the dangers of alcohol abuse to health and wellbeing may eventually replicate the success of warnings about the hazards of tobacco. But the process could take decades, and until then the police and the hospitals will be in the frontline of the battle against youthful drunkenness.

Is the country turning into 'booze Britain'?

Yes...

* Children are drinking more alcohol – and at a younger age – than ever before.

* Nearly half of young adults admit to binge drinking at least once a month

* More than one million drink-fuelled assaults are committed every year

No...

* Public drunkenness has been part of national life for centuries – and is not getting worse

* Recent increases in alcohol consumption have largely been caused by higher wine sales

* Levels of alcohol-related violent crime have in fact fallen over the past decade

Independent