Getting wasted and losing one's mind and similar slogans support binge drinking.

I come from a family which had other things to do than to drink any alcohol at all - we had a good time without having to get drunk first.

There are a lot of animal and insect control techniques that give clues to preventing binge drinking being seen as a good e.g. the third alcoholic drink in two hours make you feel sick.

But the best preventative of binge drinking is Alternatives to alcohol.
http://www.vicnet.net.au/~ozideas/drugs.

Yes... as we hear with unfailing predictability from reformed alcoholics, it seems the only really reliable way to "cure" binge drinking is for the person concerned to hit "rock bottom", and to get themselves into such a dire situation that their life, livelihood, freedom, family etc is at risk, whereupon the motivation to do something about one's drinking starts to overwhelm the urge to obliterate oneself yet again.

I'm not quite convinced that the drinking problems in Australia are worse than in places like Germany. From what I have seen over there, public drunkenness is not such a factor, but that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't happen behind closed doors. Just stand outside a suburban Aldi and watch the constant stream of bleary-eyed, rosacea-nosed, sallow-skinned people sidling furtively out to their Polos with trolleys full of 2-euro plonk and you'll see what I mean.

I just think that what underlies all this, is that a lot of people feel pretty miserable most of the time, and despite medical advances over the last 200 years, alcohol is still by far the most effective and fast-acting antidepressant we have.

"alcohol is still by far the most effective and fast-acting antidepressant we have"

It's the fastest acting but the alternatives that don't involve oral or skin intakes are the longest lasting and the most effective.

Look at the people who dont use them.