Drinking alcohol is a big part of British society, and our economy benefits from this. The alcohol industry employs around 1 million people, and excise duties from alcohol sales earn the exchequer £7 billion a year. These figures are significant, and the ability of most people to enjoy alcohol in a safe way should not be underestimated. However, neither can we ignore the destructive influence of alcohol on the health of individuals, families and communities, and the estimated £20 billion a year that excessive drinking costs the UK economy in health, crime and disorder.

Alcohol is a great social lubricant, helping people to relax and make friends more easily. This can be useful as a new student in a new place where everything is unfamiliar. Drinking alcohol traditionally plays a big role in the British student experience, from Freshers’ pub-crawls to discounted drinks in Union bars to sports federation drinking games. The availability of alcohol and the pressure to drink it can be very alienating for students who don’t drink or are from a country where binge drinking is not part of their culture.

Bamboozled? does not aim to stop students drinking. The point is to get you thinking about how you and your friends use alcohol and how it can impact on your health and personal safety. For more information on safer drinking have a look at the Unisex Alcohol pages.

• Young people aged 16-24 are significantly more likely than people in other age groups to consume more than twice the recommended sensible drinking limit.
• A survey among local University students revealed that 94% drink alcohol, 71% drink more than two-three times a week, 51% binge drink every weekend and 15% drink every day.
• Of young people aged 18-24, those who binge drink were far more likely to admit to committing criminal or disorderly behaviours during or after drinking (63%) than other regular drinkers (24%) of the same age group
• Approximately 1/3 of sexual assaults take place when the victim has consumed alcohol
• At least 40% of all violent crime is alcohol related.
• Alcohol misuse costs the health service between £1.4 and £1.7 billion per year.
• Deaths caused by alcohol consumption have doubled in the past two decades with more people becoming ill and dying younger.
• In Brighton & Hove, alcohol consumption above ‘safe’ levels amongst adults has risen over the ten year period 1993-2003 from 16% to 27% in men and from 8% to 17% in women.