The attitude to drink in this country is at fault, and as ray has said this is not entirely systemic but the exaggerated problem seems to be almost unique to Britain. There could be a number of reasons for this but in my mind it is our education, laws and culture.
Firstly the education is at fault. Our parents discourage us from drinking (mostly) and it is only really approved of in �social� occasions, whereas in many of our neighbouring countries very young children are exposed to alcohol as an accompaniment to a meal. In Britain we create a certain taboo, which results in over-exuberance when exposed to alcohol. In Europe many people drink sitting down to enjoy it with their meal. In Britain we drink standing up and drink to get drunk.
Secondly, the licensing laws. The British trend towards binge drinking and drug-taking is a reactive response to the taboos placed on alcohol and drugs by society and the laws which impede relaxed drinking without a time frame. The advent of 24 hour drinking has not yet affected the British ethos of the belief that drinking time is limited. Even in northern European countries like Belgium, the different licensing laws encourage a more gradual approach to drinking.
Thirdly, I suppose is a combination of the two above. We lack a certain �caf� culture� in the UK. When we go out to drink, it is purely to drink. In Europe, bars and cafes have tended to be open longer and people tend to drink at a steadier rate - there's not the rapid dash that we've had traditionally in Britain to get the drinks in before closing time.
Spain is seeing a similar rise in binge drinking, although this is a future problem they face, ours is now and it needs a culture shift and this requires us to cultivate our children not only to the pitfalls of alcohol (over-consumption) but also to the benefits of moderation.