A brawl has broken out between student unions and companies that specialise in staging raucous parties on an epic scale, over the issue which lies closest to the student soul - alcohol.

At stake is the reputation of the Scottish undergraduate. Is he or she a sensible individual who can be trusted to drink in moderation? Or a party animal who can't wait to neck a couple of cut-price vodkas? On such fine distinctions, the very future of the licensing laws in Scotland could rest.

In the reasonably sober corner is a student organisation called the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (CARDAS) which campaigns against the Scottish government's Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, which will outlaw off-sales to anyone under the age of 21, should it become law in 2010.

Although it fights for the right of undergrads to drink, CARDAS's message is robustly sensible and seeks to bar private companies that organise “huge alcohol binge tours targeted at students in bars and ‘super clubs'”.

Such promoters, claimed Tom French, 22, a University of Edinburgh history student who is the organisation's spokesman, had “swamped” campuses during Freshers' week, aiming to recruit thousands of students, one offering “a night of mayhem all over Edinburgh”.

“We want the government and retailers working with us. These kinds of organisations should be banned. It is irresponsible that bars all around town are signing up to this kind of thing,” Mr French said.

In the slightly sozzled corner are supporters of Carnage UK, a company whose publicity boasts it has been voted “No1 Student Event” for five years running, by no less an authority than the lads' mag, Nuts.

Using the social networking sites Facebook and Bebo, Carnage UK has organised vast student parties in 40 cities, including one in Sheffield that attracted around 2,000 students.

Though the company emphasises that it promotes responsible drinking, the relationships it forges with participating bars and clubs can see drink prices tumble. A “Carnage: the Aftermath” event in Sheffield advertises a £1 drinks menu for sambucas, alcopops and vodka mixers (“double up for 50p!”).

Since July, organisers have been planning parties in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee. Videos on the internet give a taste of the good times ahead: drinks all round, skimpy T-shirts and plentiful snogging.

Paul Bahia, Carnage UK's managing director said he “categorically refuted” suggestions that his company promoted binge drinking and said that at each event it ensured soft drinks were on sale at low prices and that food was available for party-goers. “Carnage UK events are void of drinks offers and drinks promotions. Our events are heavily focused on group identity, social and ethnic cohesion and fancy dress themes,” he said.

He added that he was unaware of any criticism from the police in any English city where Carnage UK parties had been held. “The only criticism we are aware of, are those created by our competitors, the Student Unions across England, the very same Student Unions who themselves are operating dangerous and irresponsible drinks promotions,” said Mr Bahia.

That claim did not hold water in Scotland, said Mr French. Most Scottish university student unions have banned drinks promotions, though he conceded that union bars, like many private clubs, continued to sell beer at lower prices than local pubs.

A Scottish government spokeswoman declined to comment on Carnage UK, but added: “We've put radical proposals forward to tackle alcohol misuse. We're keen to hear other people's ideas.”

Dr Evelyn Gillan, the chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, was critical of any company that prompted binge drinking. “They are seeking to make a profit without regard for either short-term damage, or the impact they have on the ‘normalisation' of drunkenness.”

Edinburgh, with its undergraduate population of 30,000, would appear ripe for a huge student party, but some older graduates remain sceptical.

“In our day, it was a case of saying ‘let's go down the pub',” said Ian Rankin, the novelist, who was an Edinburgh undergraduate in the late 1970s.

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