Great Uncle Fred? We keep getting told about binge drinking and how bad it is. But it`s not just young people. My Uncle Bruce is always drinking and doing stupid things and he`s at least 45. I have tried wine and cider and beer and they taste great and they make me feel great. How can I get the fun without the trouble? How do you drink alcohol unstupidly? (Jack, Summer 2008)

By asking this question, Jack, you are already most of the way to answering it, I think. It shows that you are approaching the subject rationally, which is a lot more than be said about both binge-drinkers and politicians. And perhaps your uncle. People who go out with the fixed purpose of getting blootered, mortal, half seas over, bladdered, are just being daft, frankly, missing the point and not learning from their mistakes, probably. Drink is glorious but drunkenly behaving like an idiot is not glorious, and nor is drink-induced violence or injuries or hang-overs or vomiting or having no money because you`ve spent it all on booze. The point of binge-drinking is to drink as hard as possible for as long as possible, to stop only when you pass out or get thrown out of the club or run out of money or end up in the cells. The unstupid drinker, on the other hand, always knows when to stop. I reckon that all but a very small minority know when to stop - it`s inborn knowledge - but binge drinkers are determined to drown the inner voice of reason in their search for something else entirely, some macho objective or, if they are that way inclined, oblivion. But these unfortunate time-wasters simply have not been taught and this is where politicians, I believe, are so unhelpful with their pompous pronouncements about drinking. If each one were to explain why he or she drinks (and they nearly all do drink), what deep delights they derive from their daily tipple (and most politicains who drink, drink daily), and make some effort to connect their indulgence with that of the young carousers whom they condemn with such ardour, well, we might be getting somewhere on this subject. As for you, Jack, I would merely say: keep thinking about the subject as you are now; listen to your own mind and body; avoid all ill effects (drunkenness is a specific state and never worth it); never drink alone; do not expect drink to solve anything ever; love and therefore respect alcohol; think of it as one the arts of life, worth trying to do well. OK?

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