Are Europeans smarter/ more responsible than Americans?

[tomdemaine]

I know I am. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[samsonite2100]

Visit the UK/Ireland and then tell me Europeans are more intelligent or responsible about alcohol than Americans.

[bkholdem]

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Visit the UK/Ireland and then tell me Europeans are more intelligent or responsible about alcohol than Americans.

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How do these countries polices and practices compare to the other contries' policies and practices in eastern and western europe with respect to alcohol?

[nicky g]

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Visit the UK/Ireland and then tell me Europeans are more intelligent or responsible about alcohol than Americans.

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How do these countries polices and practices compare to the other contries' policies and practices in eastern and western europe with respect to alcohol?

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Higher drinking ages, more restricted bar opening times. But yeah, the British and Irish drink like lunatics. I've heard that the French actually consume more alcohol than the English. But the difference is they space it out, whereas the English binge drink and then fight and vomit in the streets.

[Bjorn]

I'll refrain from answering the question as posed in the topic. As for the drinking bit I'm pretty sure that there is a strong correlation between alcohol "abuse" and which beverage is the drink of tradition.

I.e. countries where hard liquer is the traditional alcoholic beverage (russia, poland, nordic countries etc) in general have more problems than beerdrinking countries like britain or germany who in turn have more problems than winecountries like france, spain or italy.

It should also be noted that previously northern europe has been typicaly "binge drinking" and southern europe been "everyday drinking". However it seems like increased european integration is leeding to both becoming BOTH in the future.

/Bjorn

[HeavilyArmed]

Just wait two more generations. Europistan will be comfortably under Sharia and, well, no worries.

[Barfunkel]

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Although I have never been to Europe, I have heard that several contries have a lower legal drinking age than in the US. I have also heard that there is less alcohol abuse in those contries.

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Err... what? In Finland you see tons of teenagers (as in 12-17...) drinking in the parks every day and no one cares... I've never heard of such a thing happening in the States, from what I've heard you got like police raids when 19-year olds have home parties.

[bkholdem]

I just googled countries legal drinking ages:

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html

It seems there are a handful of countries with no minimum age, a few more than that with an age of 16 (some with exceptions, albeit unspecificed), a boatload of countries with the age 18, south korea 19, Japan and Iceland 20, and the land of the free stands alone at the highest minimum age of 21 LOL

[Rick Nebiolo]

Many cultures generally in or near Southern Europe allow and encourage responsible drinking of alcohol at a very young age (e.g., wine with dinner) but heavily censor excessive drinking (e.g., making a fool of yourself with drunken behavior at a family party).

OTOH, many cultures in Northern Europe are sort of the opposite, at least in my experience [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] (I'm half Polish).

~ Rick

[Mickey Brausch]

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Many cultures generally in or near Southern Europe allow and encourage responsible drinking of alcohol at a very young age (e.g., wine with dinner) but heavily censor excessive drinking (e.g., making a fool of yourself with drunken behavior at a family party).

[/ QUOTE ]They do not actually "encourage" it; they condone it, in general. In more religious environments (eg Catholic households), this is not even the case.

Southern Europe produces rather readily wine, due to the abundance of grapes. Wine is a lighter drink than what Anglo-Saxons, Slavs and Nords usually imbibe. This steers culture towards milder forms of drinking, I'd guess.

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OTOH, many cultures in Northern Europe are sort of the opposite.

[/ QUOTE ]Colder climate--> rather more alcohol drinking.

Warmer climate--> rather less alcohol drinking.

Mickey Brausch