What can we really do to curb Binge drinking (16)

Im sure weve all noticed a increase in binge drinking and know someone who has a problem that wont admit to it...

In portugal a couple who went on a bender couldnt even stand up or talk and Police removed their child ..these were Teachers who are expected to be professional people ....

So what can we really do to curb drinking

heres the extract taken from todays eircom news page

Portugal police: UK couple 'abandoned toddler as they went drinking'

on 07/09/2012 11:03:02



An investigation is under way into claims a two-year-old girl was abandoned near a busy road in Portugal as her British parents were drunk in a nearby café.

Police said they were called to reports the child was alone in her buggy in the village of Carcavelos near the capital Lisbon at about 8pm on Tuesday.

Her parents, said to be English teachers living in Portugal, were later found 100 metres away in a café called Manhas do Chocolate.

On a statement on its website, the Policia Seguranca Publica (PSP) said the couple were in an advanced state of intoxication.

The girl was fed soup and water at the café before she was taken to a police station where she was given a meal of fish and vegetables.

She was kept overnight in an emergency reception centre for minors, PSP added.

A photograph of the youngster being fed by a woman police officer was posted on PSP's Facebook page.

Later, local officer Rui Vasconcelos told Portuguese TV station TV124 that the parents, aged about 40, came to the police station the following morning to inquire about their daughter after they were reportedly unable to speak properly the evening before.

He said they still appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

Both were asked for documentation to prove they were the child's parents and then left the station without their daughter, who is apparently still in care.

The officer said: "The case will be evaluated by the judicial authorities."

A staff member at Manhas do Chocolate, who did not want to be named, told The Sun: "I arrived at work around 7.30pm. The mother looked completely out of it and the father also looked very strange.

"The mother was incapable of standing up. I was told there had been an incident earlier when the girl had got out of her buggy."

Local reports said the couple had been rowing in the café and that the girl had nearly been hit a car while playing around the tree-lined square.

A spokesman for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are aware of the case in Portugal involving a British national. We are providing consular assistance to the family."

That's an awful thing to have happened, disgusting, in fact but it's not the first time and won't be the last either. Some people should not have kids but that's another story.

I really don't know if there's anything we can do to curb binge drinking but I know for a fact that in Portugal alcohol is too cheap in many places. I doubt that if it was 'really expensive' it would make a whole lot of difference, those who are very fond of the drink will always find a way of paying for it. Not serving alcohol to adults who have children in their company would be a good thing if only it were possible.

There is nothing we can really do for this generation. We need to educate kids from an early age about drinking and its downsides.

As for the couple being professionals....Alocoholism doesn't care what your job is or your background...A lot alcoholics are from professional classes. 1 in 10 people has a problem with addiction and are born that way. We have addiction centres in our brain and in 1 in 10 of us it works differently than others.

my mother who will have a drink every so often taught me how to drink slowly over a couple of years..at family occasions, the gentle approach..like ill do with my kids..they may take on board my way..or they may end up drunk, half naked spas u see round town on a sat night but least i attempted and tried to install a little bit of dignity into them.

drinking with ur kids..

well recently at a family bbq i had a couple of fruit cocktails that had rum in it..what an eye opener...im a mother of 3 kids..12 to 4..and never drank in their company ever before and very much doubt i would often or even again..even at 2 drinks..i wasnt their mother u dont have the same feel about u.

it quickly sobers u up.

binge drinking is nothig to do with price..its attitude.

yep..they have a culture where u can dine out as a family..none this sloppy malarky

irelands attitude to drink stinks..jesus if u go to the pub and dont drink people ask u 2 questions and assume a third..

are u driving? are u pregnant? and if u say no to them 2..ur an alco...

haha..ur the alco when they are the one off their face...hilarious.

So true. I have been asked so many times when I'm on the 7up's if I'm an Alco. Like you can't sit in a boozer without a drink unless you're an alcoholic.

But it's people with that attitude tend to have the problems themselves.

I presume education is one way, alcohol is cheaper on the continent, but people there seem to be able to go out for 1 or 2 drinks and not getting completely langers.

Higher punishment for drink/driving, it's still happening too much here and if you know the local guard, many people seem to get away with it. I think people would think twice if their license would be taken away.

In the case of that couple - I hope the local HSE will have a look and see if that child should even be with them or is better off in foster care.

offer more social options for entertainment that don't revolve around pubs or clubs. if you want to meet your friends and have a laugh on a friday or saturday evenings what other choice do you have.