Against the backdrop of a long-standing British ‘binge and brawl’ pattern of alcohol-based weekend leisure and concomitant recurrent anxieties in the media surrounding youth and young adults at play, this article considers the cultural distinctions of contemporary British leisure and the evidence for a ‘new’ culture of intoxication. Four key changes are identified which together, the authors argue, suggest significant change is underway in respect of patterns of alcohol consumption in the UK. Presenting empirical data for the first time, the article considers how one might assess the evidence for a new culture of intoxication which embraces both legal and illicit drugs and which encompasses a broad social spectrum of young people. The study concludes that the pursuit of altered states of intoxication must be positioned in late modern society as behaviour which is a vehicle for consumer and criminal justice discourses, both encouraged by economic deregulation and constrained by legislative change, indicative of the ambiguities at the heart of British alcohol policy.

‘Binge’ drinking, British alcohol policy and the new culture of intoxication

Feminism and Methodology: Social Science Issues

Five key dimensions of normalization are identified: availability/access; drug trying rates; usage rates; accommodating attitudes to ‘sensible’ recreational drug use especially by non users; and degree of cultural accommodation of illegal drug use. A review of recent UK research is provided for each measure.The NW England Longitudinal Study continues to monitor normalization based on the recapture of 465 young adults (in year 2000) of a cohort previously surveyed/interviewed across their adolescence (1991 to 1995).The availability of drugs remains high with over 90% having been in drug offer situations. Accessibility is highest for cannabis, followed by ‘dance drugs’, with cocaine showing the steepest climb. Drug trying rates have risen incrementally from 36 percent at 14 to 76 percent at 22. At 18 over half reported past year drug use and at 22 the rate is unchanged (52 percent). Past month use at 32 percent has declined slightly. Males are now slightly more likely to be drug-involved on all measures. Socio-economic differences are not significant. Cannabis dominates recent usage (average three episodes a month). Half the abstainers have friends who have used cannabis. Nearly two thirds of abstainers held tolerant or approving attitudes of drug takers. Half held different views about different drugs, with cannabis use being most tolerated.The

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The Normalization of ‘Sensible’ Recreational Drug Use Further Evidence from the North West England Longitudinal Study

Risk behaviours, such as smoking and physical inactivity account for up to two-thirds of all cardiovascular deaths, and are associated with substantial increased mortality in many conditions including cancer and diabetes. As risk behaviours are thought to co-occur in individuals we conducted a systematic review of studies addressing clustering or co-occurrence of risk behaviours and their predictors. As the main aim of the review was to inform public health policy in England we limited inclusion to studies conducted in the UK. Key databases were searched from 1990 to 2016. We included UK based cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that investigated risk behaviours such as smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet. High heterogeneity precluded meta-analyses. Thirty-seven studies were included in the review (32 cross-sectional and five longitudinal). Most studies investigated unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol misuse, and smoking. In general adult populations, there was relatively strong evidence of clustering between alcohol misuse and smoking; and unhealthy diet and smoking. For young adults, there was evidence of clustering between sexual risk behaviour and smoking, sexual risk behaviour and illicit drug use, and sexual risk behaviour and alcohol misuse. The strongest associations with co-occurrence and clustering of multiple risk behaviours were occupation (up to 4-fold increased odds in lower SES groups) and education (up to 5-fold increased odds in those with no qualifications). Among general adult populations, alcohol misuse and smoking was the most commonly identified risk behaviour cluster. Among young adults, there was consistent evidence of clustering found between sexual risk behaviour and substance misuse. Socio-economic status was the strongest predictor of engaging in multiple risk behaviours. This suggests the potential for interventions targeting multiple risk behaviours either sequentially or concurrently particularly where there is evidence of clustering. In addition, there is potential for intervening at the social or environmental level due to the strong association with socio-economic status.

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A systematic review on the clustering and co-occurrence of multiple risk behaviours

Illegal leisure: the normalization of adolescent recreational drug use

Adding Spice to the Porridge: The development of a synthetic cannabinoid market in an English prison

Alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine: drugs of reasoned choice amongst young adult recreational drug users in England

Going out at the weekends binge drinking is a leisure priority of the majority of young English adults. This going-out sector is described via a cohort (n = 465) of 22 year olds who have been tracked by the North West Longitudinal Study (1991–2001) since they were 13. This cohort is made up of conventional, educated and employed young people. However, over half are regular heavy drinkers and occasional recreational drug users. They often mix alcohol and illicit drugs on nights out. Their motives for intoxicated weekends relate to maintaining successful work hard–play hard lifestyles. Most nights out are perceived as functional and enjoyable but some go wrong leading to arguments, fights and assaults (the public disorder agenda) and impaired judgement, illness and accidents (the public health agenda).These negative outcomes are probably inevitable given the scale and functions of nights out. Better management of nightlife requires an integrative strategy which recognizes the added value of focusing on the ...

Intoxicated weekends: young adults’ work hard–play hard lifestyles, public health and public disorder

1. History Lessons: Drug Use Trends Amongst Young Britons 1980 - 2010 2. The North-West Longitudinal Study 3. Alcohol 'Our Favourite Drug' 4. Patterns: An Overview of Drug Offers, Trying, Use and Drugs Experiences Across Adolescence 5. Pathways: Drug Abstainers, Former Triers, Current Users and Those in Transition 6. Journeys: Becoming Users of Drugs 7. Towards the Normalisation of Recreational Drug Use

Lisa Williams

Papers

The Normalization of ‘Sensible’ Recreational Drug Use Further Evidence from the North West England Longitudinal Study

Adding Spice to the Porridge: The development of a synthetic cannabinoid market in an English prison

Alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine: drugs of reasoned choice amongst young adult recreational drug users in England

Intoxicated weekends: young adults’ work hard–play hard lifestyles, public health and public disorder

Illegal Leisure Revisited: Changing Patterns of Alcohol and Drug Use in Adolescents and Young Adults