This is a cycle because there will always be problems to be identified and so therefore will follow steps of moral panic.

Folk Devil: A person or thing held to be a bad influence on society.

Moral Panic – binge drinkingIdentification of a problem: ‘Binge-drinking is getting out of control in Britain. One in four adults in Britain are binge drinkers and the UK recently topped a poll as Europe's heaviest alcohol consumers.As the 24-hour licensing laws have done little to alleviate the problem, we look at who is affected by this blight, the health risks involved and open the binge drinking debate.(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-302531/Special-report-Binge-drinking.html)

Identification of a subversive minority:

This picture specifically shows young adults fooling around whilst drinking . This signifies that the folk devils for this moral panic is young adults.

Simplification of cause

‘’Binge-drinking is getting out of control in Britain. One in four adults in Britain are binge drinkers and the UK recently topped a poll as Europe's heaviest alcohol consumers.As the 24-hour licensing laws have done little to alleviate the problem, we look at who is affected by this blight, the health risks involved and open the binge drinking debate.’’http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-302531/Special-report-Binge-drinking.html

As you can see here, the problem has been simplified and blamed on the 24 hour licensing laws and the 24 hour shops open that are selling alcohol.

"We know that there has been a huge rise in heavy drinking among the 16-24 age group. Because women now put off marriage and children until they are older, they may continue heavy drinking up to the age of 30

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-192941/Binge-drinking-ads-launched.html#ixzz2jhjyq5sa Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Another example in which is blaming the fact that woman are putting off marriage and therefore don’t stop binge drinking until they are 30. (As if being married would change that decision!)

Stirring of public indignationStigmatization of those involved

WILD child Suzi Fox downed so much booze that she nearly went BLIND.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/4456881/23-year-old-woman-whos-been-binge-drinking-since-she-was-11-with-terrible-effects.html

As you can see above, this is an article about a woman that has been binge drinking since she was 11, the media have represented her as a ‘wild child’

‘’Binge-drinking ads launched’’

Campaign: the Government will launch new ads to combat binge drinking

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-192941/Binge-drinking-ads-launched.html#ixzz2jhlOS1Jo Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

As you can see, the government have started working with the media, to notify audiences on the dangers of binge drinking.

Stamping down hard More authoritarian forms of control

Privately-run "drunk tanks" should be considered to tackle alcohol-fuelled disorder, police chiefs have said. Under the idea, drunks who are a danger to themselves would be put in cells to sober up and then pay for their care.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24135219

This article shows that the government have started to fully respond as they are putting laws in place that will now allow pubs and clubs to put drunk and disorderly people in ‘drunk tanks’ until they sober up, instead of wasting the polices time doing it.

To summarise, loads of different laws have been put in place over years and years, such as the legal drinking age being 18, bringing out alcohol units to make people more aware of their limits, making drink driving illegal as well as being drunk and disorderly in public. This topic has been the centre of moral panic time and time again.