Beginning with France in the 1950s, alcohol consumption has decreased in Southern European countries with few or no preventive alcohol policy measures being implemented, while alcohol consumption has been increasing in Northern European countries where historically more restrictive alcohol control policies were in place, even though more recently they were loosened. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe have shown an intermediate behavior. We propose that country-specific changes in alcohol consumption between 1960 and 2008 are explained by a combination of a number of factors: (1) preventive alcohol policiesAmong others, thanks to the late Eva Buiatti for her great support and scientific cooperation, and to Harold Holder for his suggestions. The research leading to these results has received funding and (2) social, cultural, economic, and demographic determinants. This article describes the methodology of a research study designed to understand the complex interactions that have occurred throughout Europe over the past five decades. These include changes in alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and alcoholrelated harm, and the actual determinants of such changes.

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Alcoholism is not one singular thing. It takes many forms, some more dignified and less destructive than others. This article explores how people drinking in the early hours of the day in bars present themselves and their relationship with alcohol and alcoholism. By means of ethnographic data, I analyze their strategies in dealing with the deviant use of alcohol. I find that the early morning drinkers use distinctions along three dimensions: managing drunkenness, taking breaks from drinking, and claiming certain motives for drinking. These distinctions are used in order to position oneself on a normative scale of different types of alcoholics.

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Alene, sammen. Om former for fellesskap rundt morgenpilsen Alone, together. On forms of community among early morning drinkers Øystein Rudningen SkjaelaaenRådgiver/stipendiat ved Folkehelseinstituttet, avdeling for rusmiddelbruk Oystein.Skjaelaaen@fhi.no SAMMENDRAG Å drikke alkohol er en symboltung handling. Hva du drikker, når, hvor og med hvem, spiller en rolle i den sosiale orden og gjør puber til fruktbare åsted for undersøkelser av sosialt liv. I denne artikkelen undersøkes hvordan det etableres ulike former for fellesskap på puber som åpner tidlig om morgenen. Med utgangspunkt i et langvarig feltarbeid konsentrert om hva som skjer de første morgentimene, utvikles en typologi over tre ulike former for fellesskap: 1. Alene, sammen, 2. Tilfeldig sammen og 3. Sammen som vanlig. Forskjellene mellom fellesskapsformene er at de kjennetegnes av ulike former for interaksjon og ulike relasjonelle bånd mellom deltakerne. På bakgrunn av at pubgjestene deler en avvikende aktivitet, argumenteres det for at en kan snakke om fellesskap selv om interaksjonene er subtile og de relasjonelle båndene svake. Analysen er forankret i et interaksjonistisk perspektiv, hvor deler av Goffmans begrepsapparat og Cohen og Delantys teorier om fellesskap er sentrale.Nøkkelord Fellesskap, alkohol, interaksjonisme, etnografi ABSTRACT Drinking alcohol is loaded with symbolic meaning. What you drink, when, where-and with whom-matters in the social order. Accordingly, drinking places become rich venues for the study of social life. This article explores how various forms of communities are developed in pubs that open early in the morning. By means of a long-lasting fieldwork focusing on what happened during the early hours of the day, a typology of three forms of communities is developed: 1. Alone, together; 2. Incidentally together, and 3. Together as usual. The differences between these forms of communities have to do with various types