Text 7. Youth Problems

Twenty years ago, it was the football hooligan. Ten to 15 years ago, it was the raver. These days, the binge drinker is the symbol of lawless Britain. Tabloid newspapers report that young people are gripped by an alcoholic frenzy. Together with doctors, police officers and opposition politicians, they have lined up against the 2003 Licensing Act which, from November, will permit some pubs to open later. This week magistrates weighed in, predicting an increase in domestic violence, assaults outside pubs and vomit in people's gardens.

Britain's drink problem is undeniable. While Americans and continental Europeans consume the same amount or less than they used to, with sobriety notably on the rise in France and Italy, Britons drink a quarter more alcohol than they did ten years ago. The average Briton swallowed 9.4 litres of pure ethanol last year (see chart).

Binge drinking is increasing most rapidly among young people. Robin Room, who follows the subject at the University of Stockholm, says that Britain has nurtured a "wet generation" like the one that emerged in prohibition-era America. The effects will be noted in coroners' reports: deaths from chronic liver disease among people aged 25-44 have increased almost ten times since 1970.

Meanwhile, though, other forms of hedonism are quietly declining. The mind-altering substances that moralists worried about a decade ago have fallen from favour. According to the British Crime Survey, the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds who used amphetamines in the previous 12 months fell from 12% in 1996 to 4% last year. Ecstasy has also become less popular, which is surprising given falling prices: in many places, a pill now costs less than a pint of beer.

"It's a fashion thing," says Matthew Atha, of the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit, which tracks drug users' preferences. He believes that young people are switching from illegal highs to legal ones as tastes change and messages about the dangers of ecstasy and other recreational drugs sink in. Government policies have also pushed hedonists towards alcohol. A crackdown on illicit raves in the 1990s coincided with looser planning regulations, which encouraged the growth of large pubs in city centres.

Licensing reforms will speed the trend towards old-fashioned intoxicants. Until now, most British pubs have been forced to stop serving alcohol at 11pm, forcing revellers to move on to the sort of venues where drink is expensive and loud music and pills are to be found. When pubs can stay open later, though, more punters will stay put. Mintel, a consumer analyst, reckons nightclubs will lose 12% of their customers by 2009.

Longer licensing hours will probably mean more drinking. But if the worst fears of the temperance lobby are realised, fewer pills will probably be popped. Britain may lose the fight against drink but win the war on drugs.

(The Source: adapted from www.economist.com/node/4344902 ).

Text 8. UK spending £40m on talking fridges

Talking fridges and intelligent boilers could become standard household appliances as the UK Government announces a £40m spend on new technologies.

The newly created Virtual Interdisciplinary Research Centre will bring together firms such as IBM, Dyson and Hotpoint with a selection of universities, including Cambridge and Surrey, to work on a series of cutting edge projects.

The list of participants is huge and it is hoped the group can finally make the long-talked about networked home a reality. But critics say the money could be better spent elsewhere, such as on improving access to high-speed internet links.

TV's on wristwatches, the internet on microwaves, and DVD players on fridges are all potential end-products. So are fridges and washing machines that alert a service centre when parts need replacing and other home devices that are directly linked to security service providers.

You need broadband to make these devices function properly. It would be better to invest money in that. Energy-saving systems to reduce bills and the cost to the environment will also be developed.

The home will not be the only focus. Cars that talk to service stations and personal digital shopping assistants that alert you to shops selling goods you need could also be in the pipeline.

E-commerce minister Douglas Alexander believes investment in new technologies is vital. "This programme will bring us closer to mass-market products and services with the potential to improve home security, cut energy consumption and improve the quality of life," he said in a statement.

With the electronic services industry estimated to be worth Ј160bn by 2006, the UK Government is keen to get its slice of the pie and hopes this investment will kick-start a boom.

But not everyone is convinced that the government has got its spending priorities right though. High-speed internet access will be crucial to powering the networked home and yet huge swathes of the country have no chance of getting the technology.

Critics say the Ј30m the government has pledged to get broadband into rural areas is not enough. "You need broadband to make these devices function properly. It would be better to invest money in that," said Ian Buckley, marketing manger of internet service provider Zen Internet.

The government argues that this investment is part and parcel of the whole drive towards broadband. "It is true that it will rely on broadband but lack of content is part of the problem and this will ensure there is more out there that uses broadband," said a spokeswoman for the Department of Trade and Industry.

The £40m fund will be split equally between government and industry.

(The source: adapted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1912875.stm )

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