Our drinking culture
Attitudes toward alcohol vary from country to country. In Mexico, I had problems with one landlady because if I had a beer and cigarette in the evening, I would have to sit outside her house, which led to her neighbours (so she told me) making complaints and calling the police! This was in spite fo the fact that I was on her premises, not on the street at all. Some weeks later, a kind student invited me to join her family for New Year celebrations. There, behind closed doors, were people whose drinking and drunkeness rivalled a bunch of soccer hooligans. So drinking was OK as long as it occurred behind closed doors. Actually, I should have known this already, as a man I met while backpacking in Mexico some years earlier told me, "In Mexico, if everything looks OK, it is OK". This was said as he, I and others tidied away evidence of our drinking as some local police were approaching us.
In going from the UK to Mexico to live, I went from a public heavy drinking culture, to a private one. In the UK, many people drink daily, and to levels weekly that are double or treble the limit suggested by health professionals. Binging is a normal activity for many youth. As I worked in the entertainment industry, I saw colleagues drink excessively on a daily basis, and in time, I did the same. I can't blame British culture for drinking to excess becoming the norm for me at that time, as we can all exert control if we wish (unless addicted), and there were a few colleagues who were moderate in their intake. Nevertheless, it doesn't help to be in a business and culture where such unhealthy behaviour is the norm.
The subject of drinking is under scrutiny in New Zealand right now, as proposals are being put to make the central business district of Auckland, the largest city, a place where premises such as clubs can sell alcohol '24/7'. Naturally there are voices of support and protest alike. Like a number of western cities, apartment buildings have sprung up in the CBD, and residents fear drunken behaviour such as vomiting in doorwarys, impacting on them. Club owners and some business leaders meanwhile, believe that the proposal, if accepted, would allow Auckland's CBD to be a livelier place.
The thing is, what really needs to change, not just in Auckland but throughout New Zealand, is a change to how we consume alcohol. Since smoking has been banned in public places indoors, and smokers are no longer free to smoke as they drink, some have found they smoke less on an evening out. There is no longer a 'sit & smoke with your drink culture'. If attitudes toward public drinking were to change, perhaps to become more mexican even, maybe incidents of vomiting in apartment block doorways would occur less often.
It is all very well that the government, spokespersons for health, the police etc, lecture the drinking public about the dangers of drinking in excess, but we as a nation are unlikely to change unless, as with smoking, we are supported to do so. It is unlikely this will happen quickly.
