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The trams that glide through Croydon by day are evocative of continental Europe. The loud and sometimes violent drunkenness among the young people who roam this south London suburb on a Saturday night is all too British, however. That Britons tend to drink too much is nothing new. But the debate about how to curb youthful drunkenness is gaining focus, in part because of recent reminders that the violence it produces can go beyond clumsy late-night fights. On August 17th, three youths in Gateshead were convicted of beating a man into a month-long coma for refusing to buy alcohol for their underage friends. Peter Fathy, the chief constable of Cheshire, where a father of three was murdered on August 10th by youths, has suggested, among other things, raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 and banning alcohol consumption in public places. These proposals sound plausible but they have drawbacks. It would put Britain out of line with international practice: the buying age is 18 in most of Europe, and as low as 16 in countries without much of a drink problem, such as Italy. In any case, binge-drinkers in their mid-twenties are also part of the problem. As for banning drinking in public places, local authorities in Britain can already do this. Two particularly enthusiastic councils are Westminster m London and Brighton and Hove on the south coast, both of which have raucous night-time economies. Other councils apply the ban more selectively. An alternative to restrictive measures is to teach Britons more sensible drinking habits. After all, government campaigns and public health advertisements played some role in the decline in smoking. But Ben Baumberg, a researcher at the Institute for Alcohol Studies, cautions against pinning too many hopes on this approach. By itself, he says, it will not revolutionise Britain’s binge-drinking culture. A surer solution is to raise the cost of alcohol by increasing taxes. Grant Thornton, an accountancy firm, points out that taxes on alcohol have fallen in real terms over the past decade, although they are still high by European standards. Intense competition between the pubs and bars in town centres has also pushed down prices. Drinkers stumble from one watering hole to the next in search of "happy horns" and other promotions. Supermarkets are also accused of selling alcoholic beverages. The government may be about to change course. Its previous strategy to counter excessive alcohol consumption was criticized for relying too heavily on voluntary action by the drinks industry. But ministers said in June that they would review the pricing and promotion of alcohol. Raising the cost of drinking is the best hope of making a Saturday night in Croydon more peaceful.

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