Sometimes we think "alcohol has magical powers - that it causes us to shed our inhibitions and become aggressive, promiscuous, disorderly and even violent. But we are wrong."

This was the argument made by Kate Fox, a social anthropologist, in an article for the BBC this week.

Fox says that alcohol impairs our reaction times, co-ordination and short-term memory but does not cause us to break social rules that we would normally follow when sober.

In other countries, heavy drinking does not have the same effect on society as it does in the UK and Ireland. The effects of alcohol are decided by "cultural rules and norms" not by the drink itself.

So what do you think? Ever "blamed" something on the drink?

Do you think it's the drinkers rather than the alcohol?

Let us know in the comments section!

 

 

 

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