Calum Comments Monday 4 July 2005 - Boo for Booze!

With the ball coming up, there will always be the usual after-ball parties obviously after the ball. What usually features as a big part of after-ball parties is alcohol. Now this is something I stand strongly against. I have therefore generously typed up this extra long post on the main reasons why I�m against alcohol and am open to discussion and debate with those who disagree with me (I�m sure many of you, especially you younger ones will be!)

 

While we have many completely fine and good-tasting non-alcoholic drinks out there such as juice, milk and water, I really do not see the need for alcoholic drinks, especially when it has adverse effects on the health and mentality of people. Why is something that is just as/if not more dangerous than already banned substances still legal to consume?

 

The facts are:

Short term effects

�         Alcohol is a powerful drug and it affects the body and brain straight away. About five minutes after starting drinking, alcohol has reached every part of the body.

�         Alcohol dries out (dehydrates) the body and lowers blood sugar levels.

�         Alcohol dulls the brain. Although this may feel stimulating at first, it feels worse later on because alcohol is a 'downer' (or depressant) drug.

�         Alcohol affects judgment. Research shows that the more convinced drinkers are that they can perform tasks well when drunk, the worse they really do.

�         In large doses alcohol causes loss of coordination and slowing of movement, and can even lead to coma and death.

�         Mixing alcohol with other drugs is extremely dangerous. This includes prescription and 'over-the-counter' (OTC) drugs such as sleeping pills, cough medicines or antihistamines, as well as illicit drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine or heroin.

Long term effects

Too much drinking can cause:

• stomach disorders like ulcers and gastritis
• cancer of the mouth, throat and gullet
• liver cirrhosis
• brain damage
• sexual difficulties
• high blood pressure
• problems with the nervous system like pain in the legs and arms.

For men, regular heavy drinking will:

• shrink your genitals
• lower your sperm count
• make you lose body hair.

For women, regular heavy drinking will:

• damage an unborn child
• increase your risk of breast cancer
• make you less fertile
• make your periods irregular.

Now I hope that scares some of you, especially those of you guys who are conscious of your down-below bits!

Alcohol is undoubtedly a drug, and unfortunately a legal one. As a result of some of those effects, alcohol features a lot in death statistics.

• In 1997 alcohol was a contributing factor in 27.1 percent of fatal road traffic crashes and 17.4 percent of casualties involving motor vehicle-related injuries in NZ
• In the US alcohol kills over 100,000 people a year and among drugs, is second only to tobacco as a cause of premature deaths in the US and is the third leading actual cause of death overall.

Alcohol-related illnesses do not occur only in heavy drinkers. Even those who have had �one too many� once or twice can succumb to illnesses. People who also consistently consume alcohol �in moderation� are still at risk.

Also according to the World Health Organisation: anyone who drinks today is potentially tomorrow�s heavy drinker.  If you have "a genetic tendency toward alcoholism," then the chances of becoming a heavy drinker are increased. Despite this though, people without any apparent family history of alcohol problems can become alcoholics.

 

Most people also use the French as an example of why alcohol benefits our health; that because the French drink so much, they live longer. The alcohol use trends for 24 nations in Europe and North America were compared, it was found that on average, from 1950 to 1985, western nations nearly doubled their per capita alcohol consumption. The median percentage increase was between 70 and 82 percent. Although nearly every country increased their alcohol consumption, there was one country which bucked the trend. France. In that 35-year period the average French citizen decreased his or her use of alcohol by 23 percent.

"The decline in alcohol consumption in France was almost certainly in part due to national measures to reduce consumption because of concern about the health-related outcomes associated with the highest national per capita consumption."

 

 While France worked on decreasing their alcohol consumption, Americans continued to believe the whole �French alcohol is good for you� myth and continued to increase their consumption. The reason behind good health in French people can be linked with their dietary intake, rather than their alcohol consumption.

 

Unfortunately we have all these young na�ve teenage drinkers and boozers who think alcohol is safe and so they consume it in high amounts. Just wait a few years down the track when they become a burden on the health system with their liver diseases and other alcohol-related illnesses.

Rather than put ourselves at risk by consuming such a dangerous drug, it is far better not to touch the stuff in the first place. It is not hard to resist, and there are many more healthy and non-alcoholic alternatives.

 

Right now we should push for the drinking age to return to 21 as the first step. Yes so they say education is necessary to change our drinking culture, but we can�t just sit there and expect that to solve all problems.

 

Secondly, the Sale of Liquor Act must be amended. Unfortunately it gives parents and legal guardians the right to supply their underage kids with alcohol. I�ve heard that students must get their parents to sign a note stating that they take responsibility of their children in order to attend after-ball parties. How will parents/legal guardians take responsibility of their kids when they are not present? Even when they are, what if they are also under the influence of alcohol? Too many parents are being irresponsible and are letting their underage kids drink and get drunk, which I�m sure was not what the Act set out to achieve.

 

Prohibiting alcohol outright is also a possibility. Many will look back to when it was prohibited in America many many years ago and claim it to be a huge failure. However, according to a textbook on this issue edited by Drs. Last and Wallace:

 

"The commonly held view of Prohibition in the United States is that it was a failure, but there are major limitations to this view, since during Prohibition, health and social problems associated with alcohol use certainly were reduced dramatically."

 

I haven�t covered most arguments for alcohol consumption, but I�ve put the issue out there for debate and discussion (must be the longest ever post I�ve typed!). Feel free to comment and agree/disagree!

 

(References: Statistics NZ, Health Scotland, eCureMeLife)

 

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