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Social History of Medicine Advance Access originally published online on October 22, 2009
Social History of Medicine 2009 22(3):597-607; doi:10.1093/shm/hkp053
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. All rights reserved.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Second Opinions

Binge Drinking: A Confused Concept and its Contemporary History

Virginia Berridge*, Rachel Herring {dagger} and Betsy Thom {dagger}

* Centre for History in Public Health, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK. E-mail: virginia.berridge{at}lshtm.ac.uk


  Abstract

Binge drinking is a matter of current social, political and media concern. It has a long-term, but also a recent, history. This paper discusses the contemporary history of the concept of binge drinking. In recent years there have been significant changes in how binge drinking is defined and conceptualised. Going on a ‘binge’ used to mean an extended period (days) of heavy drinking, while now it generally refers to a single drinking session leading to intoxication. We argue that the definitional change is related to the shifts in the focus of alcohol policy and alcohol science, in particular in the last two decades, and also in the role of the dominant interest groups. The paper is a case study in the relationship between science and policy. We explore key themes, raise questions and point to a possible agenda for future research.

Keywords: binge drinking; alcohol policy; contemporary history; science and policy

{dagger} Middlesex University, Archway Campus, Highgate Hill, London N19 5LW, UK. E-mail: r.herring{at}mdx.ac.uk and b.thom{at}mdx.ac.uk


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