Stanton attended a conference of the alcohol epidemiology and policy group, the Kettil Bruun Society, held in Oslo, Norway, June 5-9, 2000. He was struck there by the amount of public drunkenness he encountered (although other Kettil Bruun members said that no such thing was true).

The Stanton Peele Addiction Website, 5 July, 2000

When I was young, in the 1960s, I traveled Europe and left with the distinct impression of Oslo as the public drunkenness capital of Europe. During my recent trip to KBS, I continued to research the topic, through observation, key informants, historical investigations, and Kettil Bruun researchers themselves.

Observation

When my wife and I arrived at our hotel by cab, we were greeted as we decabbed by an intoxicated man begging for money (it was 10:00 AM on a weekday, and he appeared to be a chronic alcoholic). Particularly later in the evenings on weekends (although we were never out past midnight), we felt every public encounter was fraught with the danger of being accosted by inebriates. In the waiting area of the beautiful Oslo railroad station at 11:00 PM Friday, a chronic inebriate put his hand on my wife as he begged. Waiting at a trolley station in front of Oslo's principal church at 11:00 PM Sunday night, two young drunk men separately accosted us. We instead walked home and were accosted by a group of young drunken men. My wife asked what she was doing to attract the attention of so many drunks. We did note that many young women walked alone and in small groups late at night in Oslo without apparent anxiety.

Although KBS members and others often debate the impact of chronic alcoholism versus episodic drunkenness, Oslo is in my experience a leader in public examples of both. Yet, I never heard this aspect of Oslo discussed at the meetings, or informally outside them, by KBSers. Is this because this is so obvious as not to attract attention, or do people not share my experiences?

Of course, I did observe many (hundreds) of Norwegians drinking beer moderately in restaurants and bars, so I wouldn't call drunkenness typical or modal drinking behavior (although one of my key informants [see below] did, and I interpreted Mäkelä's quote below to imply this about Finns). Rather, I would say that in Oslo moderate social drinking is the rule, but one from which there were more exceptions than in any other place I have been. I have not been accosted by a drunk in New York (where I go often) for many years. This may be because, in New York and other places, drunkenness and alcoholism are ghettoized. Indeed, what was so remarkable to me in Oslo was how prevalent and socially tolerated this behavior was. I saw people drinking on public transportation and on the street at night without apparent fear of social disapproval or police interference. On Monday morning at 8:00 AM, I saw a young man passed out in the main public park downtown and several other people recovering from drunks.

Do these experiences color the agendas and attitudes towards alcohol of those from Nordic countries known for their activist approaches towards alcohol problems?

[I rush to note that, in every other way, Norway, Oslo, its people, and of course those involved in the conference provided one of the most positive conference and tourist experiences I have ever had. The conference organizers were, in particular, exemplary in their hospitality and consideration]

Key Informants

Bar waitress (Oslo)

We ate at the busy outdoor restaurant attached to a bar across from the Cochs Pensjonat. Relatively early in the evening, I saw a chronic inebriate accost our waitress. I asked her about the man. She said, "He comes here nearly every night drunk. Sometimes he isn't and gets drunk in the bar, and then they kick him out [again, I was struck by the toleration of becoming drunk]. But he's harmless. However, this is a busy bar, and often people get drunk and become offensive towards me. These are sometimes ordinary people who get drunk and sometimes alcoholics. This is the Viking style of drinking — charming." [I noted that this woman made an historical connection to the Vikings and expressed disgust with the behavior — which she regularly encountered and seemed to feel she could not prevent.]

Public information specialist (Bergen)

In Bergen (where we did not encounter chronic alcoholics, but where across from our hotel a noisy bar was going all night), we stopped for information at a tourist center. After a well-informed woman answered a series of tourist questions, I asked her where to get a beer while waiting for a tour bus. As usual, she knew exactly. I then asked her, "Is drinking good for you?" Without hesitation, she said, "I understand drinking a glass of wine each day is healthy." My wife said, "What percentage of people do that here?" The woman answered, "People here drink every other weekend, when they drink a great deal. People drink small amounts of wine with meals in France." [So this woman felt Norwegians typically drank in bursts, which she felt was unhealthy and contrasted with French drinking.]