THE scene this weekend at La Viña del Señor, one of Barcelona’s chicest bars, epitomised the relaxed continental drinking culture for which Spain is renowned. Friends chatted around tables, sipping wine in front of the Santa Maria del Mar church.

Appearances can be deceptive, however. Just a short walk from the fashionable El Born district an unruly gang of teenagers sat huddled, sipping from plastic bottles filled with whisky and Coke in a ritual known as el botellon — or “the big bottle”.

In the run up to this weekend’s new year celebrations there has been a growing acknowledgment in Spain of rising levels of alcoholism among the young. Binge drinking — once dismissed by Spaniards as an affliction of the British, German and other northern European hordes who descend on their country every summer — is gaining ground among their own youth.

Being seen drunk in public was until recently considered to be a matter of shame. Now el botellon has become a badge of honour among the young, spreading from Madrid to Barcelona and other cities.

“These kids don’t have much money but they want to be rebellious,” said Gema Lopez Elcacho, a social worker based in Barcelona. “Even sitting out in the street and drinking is something which shows defiance.”

A recent report by the Spanish health ministry found that the number of 15 to 19-year-old boys in Spain who regularly get drunk doubled from 22% to 44% between 2002 and 2004, with a rise from 10% to 24% among girls.

The Spanish government has launched an educational programme to try to reduce alcohol consumption by school-age children. In Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo, people drinking in the streets face fines of up to £1,000.

There is also concern elsewhere in southern Europe. The number of Italian boys aged 14-17 who regularly hit the bottle rose 31% between 1995 and 2000; the number of girls doing the same more than doubled. There have been increases in Portugal, too.

Sociologists and medical experts blame changing attitudes partly on the drink industry, which has targeted young people in southern Europe as in the north with alcopops.

Derek Rutherford, secretary of Eurocare, a European alliance of groups working to reduce alcohol-related harm, said: “The reason the gap is closing with Anglo-Saxon countries is that we mix together more and are creating a growing common culture. The cottage wine industry has gone and been replaced by multinational drinks companies.”

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