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French language police call time on 'le binge drinking' | French language police call time on 'le binge drinking' |
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As long as it was seen as nothing more than an antisocial Anglo-Saxon habit, le binge drinking remained just that: an English term. As a sign of the changing times and the reported spread of the practice in France, however, the country's language police have decreed an official new term. | As long as it was seen as nothing more than an antisocial Anglo-Saxon habit, le binge drinking remained just that: an English term. As a sign of the changing times and the reported spread of the practice in France, however, the country's language police have decreed an official new term. |
As of now, binge drinking does not happen in France. Instead, anyone consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short space of time with the intention of getting drunk is engaged in beuverie express. | As of now, binge drinking does not happen in France. Instead, anyone consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short space of time with the intention of getting drunk is engaged in beuverie express. |
The phrase, which translates literally as "fast drinking", was given the official approval of the culture ministry's general commission of terminology and neology on Sunday. The commission defined the term as "the massive absorption of alcohol, generally in a group, aimed at provoking drunkenness in the minimum amount of time". | The phrase, which translates literally as "fast drinking", was given the official approval of the culture ministry's general commission of terminology and neology on Sunday. The commission defined the term as "the massive absorption of alcohol, generally in a group, aimed at provoking drunkenness in the minimum amount of time". |
Le Monde further qualified "massive absorption" as "more than 4-5 glasses in less than two hours", but failed to elucidate how big a glass or of what. | Le Monde further qualified "massive absorption" as "more than 4-5 glasses in less than two hours", but failed to elucidate how big a glass or of what. |
The scale of binge drinking in France remains largely unknown. A report in May by the Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomaire (the weekly epidemiology bulletin) found that 59% of 11- to 12-year-olds in France had consumed alcohol, and one in six 11 to 14-year-olds had been drunk at least once, rising to 60% for 15- to 17-year-olds. | The scale of binge drinking in France remains largely unknown. A report in May by the Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomaire (the weekly epidemiology bulletin) found that 59% of 11- to 12-year-olds in France had consumed alcohol, and one in six 11 to 14-year-olds had been drunk at least once, rising to 60% for 15- to 17-year-olds. |
"Alcohol is the psychoactive substance that teens experiment with the earliest," the study's authors were quoted as saying by TF1 television. | "Alcohol is the psychoactive substance that teens experiment with the earliest," the study's authors were quoted as saying by TF1 television. |
There appears to be a particularly sharp rise in drinking between the ages of 13 and 16. At 13, 39% of pupils claim they consumed at least one unit of alcohol in the previous month. By 16, it has doubled to 79%. | There appears to be a particularly sharp rise in drinking between the ages of 13 and 16. At 13, 39% of pupils claim they consumed at least one unit of alcohol in the previous month. By 16, it has doubled to 79%. |
In March Express magazine reported on a study in the European Journal of Public Health showing that excessive drinking of alcohol was responsible for 49,000 deaths in France in 2009. | In March Express magazine reported on a study in the European Journal of Public Health showing that excessive drinking of alcohol was responsible for 49,000 deaths in France in 2009. |
Now they have a French phrase for it: beuverie express, binge drinking à la française. | Now they have a French phrase for it: beuverie express, binge drinking à la française. |
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