“Beer – helping ugly people have sex since 1862” – Some Random
“Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” - Ernest Hemmingway
“Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.” - Winston Churchill
“I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.” - Frank Sinatra
“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.” - Ernest Hemingway
“Alright brain, I don't like you and you don't like me, so just get me through this exam so I can go back to killing you slowly with beer.” - Homer Simpson
“To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to all of life's problems!” – Homer Simpson
To Alcohol indeed! It has come to my attention that binge drinking is fast becoming one of Australia’s worst social problems our youth has encountered for many years – This is by no means a new revelation, just an epidemic that I am taking more notice of, as it is apparent to me, that I am part of this epidemic, and in a round about way, it has my full support.
I can only speak from an Australian vantage point, though I imagine binge drinking and alcoholism is a problem all over the globe – I have heard stories about Russians who drink two bottles of Vodka a day just to keep warm! But let’s leave the Russian’s out of this for the time being, and focus on the cold hard facts.
A report, prepared by the National Drug Research Institute and the centre for Adolescent Health, published for Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing 2004, states that one in 10 teenager drink to harmful levels in Australia. According to the report, 72% of males aged 14-17 drink alcohol, and 29% engage in high risk behaviour at least once a month after binge drinking. About 74% of females aged 14 to 17 drink alcohol and 33% participate in risky behaviour, including drink driving.
Last Sunday, I was at the snow, and from atop of Mt. Bulla on the slopes, I noticed my hands were shaking, and this was not from the cold – it was my body suffering from alcohol withdrawals. This was the first time my alcoholism as a young male had really affected me, Alas, the sad fact is, this weekend, I went out and drunk again!
Binge drinking is classed as more than 6 standard drinks in one session. Noting this fact, I binge drink every single Friday and Saturday night. Parents have a relaxed attitude toward Alcohol in Australia, because of the omnipresent fear of illicit drugs, parents consider alcohol to be the lesser of evils, and as a result, parental tolerance is high and restrictions almost non-existent.
The quotes posted above are a perfect reflection of social acceptance when it comes to the drug that is alcohol, yet the fact that alcohol alone is attributed to 2.2% of the total burden of disease is an alarming figure. In 1997 alone – out of 3,290 deaths caused by risky levels of drinking – 70% were male and mainly due to liver cirrhosis, road injuries, stroke, suicide or alcohol dependence. Older people have always been prone to chronic alcohol related problems, whereas young people (15-29years) suffer from acute conditions related to bouts of intoxication (binge drinking) Alcohol is also the major cause of Road injuries in Australia, with 31% of all driver and pedestrian deaths alcohol related.
Alcohol is also a major contributing cause of violence in Australia. In 1998/99, it was estimated that there were 8,661 hospitalisations (4.6 per 10,000 people) for alcohol caused assaults, of whom 74% were male and 64% were aged 15-34 years.
Enough of the hard numbers and facts - I belong to an obvious minority when it comes to the Australian youth; I have not been adversely affected by alcohol, though the stats tell me that I have been very lucky. As is the same with any problem, we must get to the root, and work from there. Why do so many people enjoy the Australian national past time that is binge drinking?
As shocked as I am by these statistics, and as hard as every news story involving a road fatality due to drink driving hits, I will still go out every Friday and Saturday night to consume more than 6 standard drinks. The culture of binge drinking amongst Australian youth is so strong, that this is seen as the norm.
Speaking from a drinkers perspective, It is a good feeling to have your inhibitions lowered – when you are at the pub with pretty little things surrounding you, playing pool with your mates, you don’t tend to think or care about how many brain cells you are killing, or how bad you will feel in the morning – Personally, I have never enjoyed a quiet beverage or two, once I start, the choice to stop is never mine and because of the general social trends I find myself confined within, there is no one telling me this is a bad thing.
The furore that erupts when there is an overdose on ecstasy is almost laughable, yet not a night would go by in Australia where there are not a handful of alcohol related deaths or incidents. No one is saying ecstasy is good, but when the evils of alcohol are all too easy for society to witness, yet a blind eye is turned, it’s easy to accuse society of contempt.
Well – I am a part of society, so I must hold myself in contempt. I am a subscriber to the view that alcohol when used responsibly is A-ok. Who defines responsibility though when the very subject of this discussion has the ability to diminish all responsibility with a few hard and fast swigs? Alcohol is just another drug that our government have deemed legal because they can make money from its sale. Prohibition would be one of the stupidest ideas we could entertain, and I have to discount it automatically – I can tell you though, these statistics are not taught to me at school, and I could successfully argue that the average Australian male who is most predominantly affected would have no idea concerning the statistics relating to the adverse affects.
As with many problems, the root seems to be education, or in this case lack thereof. Students are young, but it’s our responsibility to inform them of the hard home truths – Alcohol is the biggest single cause of road fatalities etc. No one is asking anyone to give up drinking, although a little moral responsibility on part of teachers and parents would go a long way.
Life is all about choices, It is my choice to drink, or not to drink, the sad fact is that people are stupid, and will often believe what they are told – advertisements glamorising alcohol are fine as far as I am concerned, as long as our children are taught in school the negative effects – this gives future generations the choice of an educated decision.
It’s not our responsibility to make the decisions, it’s our responsibility to make sure those decisions are educated - I will see you at the pub next weekend, but it is my choice to take the taxi.
BAM!!!
http://www.alcoholguidelines.gov.au/pdf/figures_fs.pdf
http://www.youthfacts.com.au/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=211&op=page