Virtual Seminar: Topic 1 Reading Seminar Group 3

Sarah 

This is a most interesting example. In relation to eating and obesity, Patricia Crotty once wrote ‘the act of swallowing divides nutrition’s “two cultures”, the post swallowing world of biology, physiology, biochemistry and pathology, and the pre-swallowing domain of behaviour, culture, society and experience’ (1).

In a sense, this is also true of alcohol!  Just as eating is a social act, going to the pub is also a social act. Of course, different groups in society attend different pubs and pattern their drinking differently (I'm thinking of me versus my kids here!), BUT the idea that 'the pub' (with its various norms and expectations for what gets drunk, how often and with whom) gets replaced with 'alcohol consumption by supermarket offer' is potentially alarming. 

What do others think?

[1] Crotty, P. (1993) The value of qualitative research in nutrition, Annual Review of Health and Social Sciences, 3, 109–118.

Good post Sarah!

I understand that as time passes trends change. The younger generation have come to choose bars and clubs over pubs. I part disagree with your opinion on bars and nightclubs being anonymous and less monitored. I don’t think substituting a bar for a pub will necessarily have an impact on alcohol consumption. Yes, a bar has a different vibe to a pub but the social interactions that take part in both are the same. The ease of buying alcohol at cheap prices is frightening. There should be more regulation in alcohol marketing in order to control alcohol consumption and in return have an impact on the number of alcohol related illnesses. Additionally, I don’t think it’s as simple as that!

I totally agree with you Sarah.

I consider alcoholism a catastrophic disease. Actually alcoholism as well as eating disorders is a "scourge" of our era.Lifestyle has changed and even the ways of socializing have changed. The advent of internet plays a significant role to this(skype, msn, facebook available). People are more isolated and alone than they were before and thus trying to find alternative ways to surpass this kind of loneliness, through alcohol, food overconsumption or even tabacco consumption.

What makes me wonder is that even young children and especially adolescents are "victims" of alcoholism due to depression or due to other psychological problems coming from family problems. Hence, younger generations usually tend to choose pubs or clubs not in order to have a good time with friends but in a contrary way, as a chance to overconsume alcohol and forget potential personal problems.

Regulations on the other hand, are still not so stict in many countries and there are bars that don't even control who is drinking, his/her age and how much s/he drinks.

Many people, both adolescents and adults, are stigmatised as alcoholics and they are eventually facing discrimination in their social or working environment. Let alone the fact that these persons usually develop aggressive behaviours.

But then again, how could anyone expect that this trend would change?Or that "self-management" would be an option given all these socio-economic problems many countries are facing?It is a fact that even today that some or all forms of alcohol advertising are banned in countries, alcohol consumption gets higher and higher.

According to all these, I tend to believe that the reasons for alcoholism are not, any more, only psychological. The lion's share of alcohol dependence goes to socio-economic problems which urge people to addictions regardless their caste.This in turn makes me feel skeptic on how amenable to education and other possible solutions this "scourge" would be!? What do you think?

Although we cannot deny that pub is a primary and good place of socializing for people who are alone, there are more disadvantages than benefits it brings to people.

Some people who have daily pressures consume more than what they are capable of holding in, they may display aggressive tendencies and get violent when in intoxication. In addition, a lot of traffic accidents are due to drunken driving in pub’s revelry.