A Tangled Web

Snakes and Ladettes



Last week's Sunday Times revealed the shocking phenomenon of binge drinking among young girls. In some respects their alcohol consumption now exceeds that of boys. Every week I take on new clients who tell me they wish they'd never even heard of alcohol, yet alone consumed copious amounts of it, but still the world of advertising makes alcohol out to be the contemporary ambrosia - with all the dire consequences entailed.



I don't drink, but I have nothing against moderate drinking in others. That said, I firmly believe that had alcohol been invented in the 20th Century, it would have been listed as a Class A drug. I'm sorry if I sound to be overly critical here, but when your job entails trying to put some semblance of normality back into the lives of people who have come close to death courtesy of the damned stuff, you tend to different approach to alcohol than individuals in other walks of life. Alcohol overindulgence actually precipitated a huge change in the course of British history. Did you know that the main reason King Harold's Saxon army lost at the Battle of Hastings was because the soldiers were suffering hangovers after getting completely pissed the night before?



Binge drinking culture is fuelled by media organisations who haven't the slightest interest in taking responsibility for the mess they have helped to create. Furthermore, most adolescents today are probably blessed with less common sense and practical intelligence than previous generations. It all adds up to a fatal combination. Instead of promoting alcohol consumption at every turn, newspapers and television adverts should be warning of the spiral of decline brought on by too much drink. It's not dissimilar to a dice landing on a snake on a 'snakes and ladders board' - the only way to go is DOWN!