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Chapter 9: Conclusions
The 2004
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey provides a clear
picture of
attitudes towards alcohol and second-hand smoke in
Scotland today. The findings complement the wealth of
evidence already available on smoking and drinking
behaviour and on the
health impacts of alcohol misuse and passive
smoking.
The findings presented in this report confirm many of
the key assumptions about public attitudes towards alcohol
that have underpinned recent policy initiatives and
campaigns. For example:
- Young people, aged 18-24, are much more permissive
than those aged over 25 in their attitudes towards
drinking in general and binge drinking in particular.
They are much less likely than older people to view a
binge drinker as having a serious problem or as 'very
likely' to develop long-term health problems.
- Men are more likely than women to have a permissive
attitude towards getting drunk and binge drinking.
- While chronic drinking appears to be viewed within
a 'medical model', as an illness which requires
professional help, binge drinking appears to be viewed
as more of a 'social problem', over which individual
drinkers could (and should) assert control.
- Attitudes towards teenage drinking vary depending
on context and age - young people drinking in pubs
attracts greater disapproval than young people drinking
small amounts at home with their parents. However, in
general, disapproval of underage drinking is high, even
when this involves small amounts of alcohol in a 'safe'
(and legal) situation.
The report also highlights the apparently contradictory
or ambiguous attitudes that many people in Scotland have
about drinking alcohol. For instance:
- Drinking is widely perceived to be part of a
'Scottish way of life' (indeed, there appears to be
some stigma attached to the decision
not to drink in Scotland), while at the same
time alcohol misuse is viewed as a major problem for
Scotland.
- In spite of the high level of publicity surrounding
alcohol and tobacco as major causes of death and
ill-health in Scotland, most people do not think they
cause as much harm to frequent users as other
drugs.
- While 69% of 18-24 year-olds thought a hypothetical
binge drinker was likely to damage their long-term
health, only 58% thought they had a serious
problem.
Finally, the report provides robust baseline data on
public attitudes towards current proposals on controlling
the sale and purchase of alcohol and prohibiting smoking in
enclosed public places, including pubs, bars and
restaurants. In 2004, when the survey was conducted, there
was relatively low support for outright bans on
'irresponsible' drinks promotions or smoking in pubs and
bars, although in both cases a clear majority of the public
thought these ought to be at least restricted. Twice as
many people supported a ban on smoking in restaurants (53%)
as supported a ban in pubs and bars (25%). There appeared
to be relatively strong support for a 'no proof, no sale'
policy as an effective measure to tackle underage drinking.
However, people were divided over the likely impact of
longer opening hours for pubs, with 54% saying this will
mean people drink more and just over a third saying that
people will pace their drinking more sensibly.
Of course, the real value of the survey will lie in the
possibility of tracking all these attitudes over time. Will
the current cohort of 18-24 year-olds retain their
permissive attitudes towards alcohol in their late 20s or
early 30s? And will the next generation of young people
exhibit less permissive attitudes towards binge drinking
and alcohol misuse? Will the gender-divide in attitudes
towards drinking persist? Will attitudes towards binge
drinking become more similar to attitudes towards chronic
drinking over time? Will support for a ban on smoking in
pubs and bars increase or decrease if the ban is
implemented? In repeating the drinking and smoking module
in future sweeps, the
SSA will enable us to assess the
effectiveness of current strategies to achieve a cultural
shift in attitudes towards drinking, as well as allowing us
to track changes in public opinion on legislative proposals
on smoking and drinking as these proposals are
implemented.
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