I must have some booze. I demand to have some booze.
- From the film Withnail and I

The cold, bright mornings of January often herald a sense of new beginnings, a keener, leaner approach to life, and an end to the awful piggery of Christmas. It's a sign for some much-needed discipline. We will lose weight. We will do more exercise. We will definitely drink less.

Now, of course, not everybody drinks; and most people, we suppose, don't have a 'drink problem'. However, drinking alcohol has been very much in the news of late and it got us thinking: are we really a nation of boozers? Do we drink too much? As a nation, do we drink differently than we used to? Sober answers will be gratefully received:

• 
  Do you drink 'responsibly'? How much do you drink? Do you think you might drink too much? Do you care?

• Did you give up drinking for January? Do you believe in de-toxing?

• If you do drink, why do you drink? What's your tipple of choice? Conversely, if you don't drink, why not?

• Do you think we drink too much as a nation?
  Do we drink differently to, say, the Italians or folk in Europe in general? Are we more 'northern European' in our drinking habits? If so, why is this?

• Have our drinking habits changed over the years? Do we drink differently now than when we did in the 1970s?

• Are folk drinking more at home these days due to cheaper supermarket booze? Is this a bad thing?

• Is pub culture dying off?

• What are the best and worst things about drinking?