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Claims of promoting ‘responsible’ drinking challenged as notorious pub crawl steams into capital
Controversial alcohol-fuelled event Carnage UK hit Edinburgh last Tuesday, drawing criticism following a night which saw hundreds of students out drinking in "Dirty Porn Star" fancy dress. The sell-out event, which has drawn heavy criticism from student bodies including EUSA and the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (CARDAS), passed off largely without incident, according to the Lothian and Borders Police. The Carnage UK event, which involved popular Edinburgh venues such as Oddfellows, Three Sisters and Lava Ignite, came a week after one in Swansea that ended in eight arrests and widespread reports of anti-social behaviour. A Carnage UK statement says it promotes "responsible drinking", with posters displayed in participating venues bearing the slogan, ‘Be safe; Stay safe; Think safe; Drink safe; Know your limits’. However, reports from the Edinburgh event seem to cast doubt on the organisation’s claims. Student understands that double measures of spirits could be purchased in one of the venues involved for as little as £2.Comments from participating students indicate that Carnage UK’s message of responsible drinking had not quite sunk in. When asked about responsible drinking, Murray McBride said: "To put in bluntly, they’re talking absolute rubbish." At the time, he was wearing condoms pinned to his chest in the spirit of the "Dirty Porn Star" theme. One student named Maddy said: "I have seen lots and lots of responsible drinking. I am very, very responsibly drunk." Another reveller asked our reporter: "Can you find me someone to fight? My friend is a black belt in karate. He wants to fight and I want to help him." Events like Carnage UK have been under the spotlight recently, following high-profile criticism from CARDAS leader and former EUSA Vice-President Services Tom French, who attacked "irresponsible organisation whose sole purpose appears to be actively promoting binge drinking." "Regardless of the drinking aspect, it’s fairly degrading, especially to young girls to influence them to dress down and do some of the things they are doing in the videos." He added that the Scottish Government should look into "clamping down" on these events, rather than raising the drinking age. George Thomas, the current EUSA Vice-President Services, said: "We’ve banned organisation like Carnage and Student Night Out from using our students’ union buildings to promote their tasteless events, but they keep on coming back and finding new ways to sell their booze fests to students – with worrying results." "We’ve seen students on these tours getting dangerously drunk. [They are] putting young people in risky situations with the potential to cause serious health problems. Something needs to be done now to call time on these irresponsible binge tours." Newer news items:
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