The dangers of alcholic society in UK in denial

[accymel]

Britons are in denial over the impact that drinking too much has on their health, according to new research.

Just 12% of adults have worried about the effects of drinking too much on their health in the last three months, according to Legal & General. Despite alcohol-related deaths almost doubling in the last 15 years, men and women are more concerned about lack of exercise and sleep and too much stress.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22112006/34...l-effects.html

As we've had the smoking discussion heres the alcohol one, as someone that has lived with an alcoholic i know the dangers & harm it does to the person & people around them, also the effects on crime & violence - Drink being the biggest blame & in cases excuse.

Is our culture getting worse due to pressure of modern life ??? or is it a cop out with our society accepting binge drinking thats getting out of control - not just on about the social night out per week

[Ianto.W.]

Like it says in the article, with Christmass round the corner it will only get worse, it is very hard to abstain from a lifetime habit as you are aware and you have first hand knowledge of the problem, one can cut back but it is not very long before the 'green eyed devil' gets you again. Luckilly in my case 'yes I am an alcoholic' it is not possible to drink much as it has no place to go now the surgeons have finished cutting, oh how I wish I coud turn back the hands of time. The youngsters of today are so cruelly exploited by the media, I really fear for them.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I don't drink alcohol at all so maybe I shouldn't have an opinion but I have seen what drink can do to someone mentally - when drunk he would attack his wife and almost killed her once. When sober he was full of remorse. It must be horrendously difficult for someone who is addicted and struggling hard to resist the temptation. Especially when people say stupid things like "Go on, have one. Just one won't harm you." when an alcoholic can't stop at 'just one'.

[jambutty]

Alcohol through the ages has been the cause of more misery to others than any other substance (even hard drugs) and you don’t need to be an alcoholic to cause that misery although it helps.

A drunken husband, if he hasn’t spent all the family money on drink, will go home and beat up his wife and kids. A drunken driver will kill or seriously injure innocent people. A drunk on the street will pick a fight with another drunk or even an innocent bystander and then fight the paramedics and A&E staff who are just trying to treat his/her injuries. A drunk will even have a go at the police, male or female. Many if not all A&E’s have police and/or security staff on hand to protect the doctors and nurses from the abuse of drunks be it verbal or physical. This abuse can often spill over against other patients waiting to be treated. Too much alcohol will cause internal organ damage.

It doesn’t need much alcohol (2 pints of beer) to release a person’s natural inhibitions. The current drink driving laws establish that.

We are told that alcohol in moderation can be good for you in that it can help a person relax after the day’s labours. But then so can a cup of cocoa, Ovaltine, Horlicks or even tea although those beverages do not puddle the brain.

No one is born an alcoholic, except possible a baby born to an alcoholic mother, it is the euphoria that alcohol engenders that causes the problem. Like any drug, and make no mistake alcohol is a drug, the drinkers want more and more of that euphoric feeling until they end up as an alcoholic or at least a troublesome drunk.

I don’t use alcohol by personal choice and haven’t done for many years and I don’t miss it one single bit. However I admit to having my moments whilst serving in the Royal Navy and for a few years after being demobbed. I could put away a bottle of Woods Navy Rum and retain most of my faculties but then I had good training. One eighth of a pint of Pussers (Navy) rum per day, when watered down equated to three eighths of a pint of rum around 50 degrees proof every day for ten years. T.C. will attest to that. Rum hasn’t been issued in the Navy since 31st July 1970 because it was not efficient that half drunk sailors would be operating what was then modern complex equipment. It is even more complex today.

Youngsters in my day and up to about 15 years ago were cruelly exploited by the manufactures of tobacco products and the media much like alcohol is today. Maybe it is time to go down the same road with alcohol that was travelled with tobacco products? Ban the consumption of alcohol in public places. Of course that will never happen because ….. Well you can think of your own reasons and I’m sure that people will.

Freedom of choice is a likely argument to be put forward. But what about my freedom not to be accosted by a drunk? What about my right to an undisturbed night instead of having rowdy drunks creating havoc whilst staggering past my flat at 2 or 3 in the morning?

So to answer your question accymel – alcohol abuse is probably down to society’s ever increasing selfish attitude.

[Billcat]

Originally Posted by accymel

Britons are in denial over the impact that drinking too much has on their health, according to new research.

Just 12% of adults have worried about the effects of drinking too much on their health in the last three months, ....

Interestging, but in order for the fact to be meaningful, one would need to know what percentage of folks NEED to worry about the effects of their personal overuse of alcohol. For example, if 12% worry, but only 15% consume too much alcohol, perhaps the level of worry is about right.

For example, I don't worry about the effects of alcohol on my health, mainly because I am very moderate in my consumption of those types of beverages. No need to woory, IMHO. On this thred, willow and jambutty say she they do not use alcohol, so worring would be inappropriate in for them.