Drinking Responsibly

I have decided, for this post, that I shall discuss something that I think is vitally important in this day and age. As it says in the title, it's drinking responsibly. This mainly concerns the young people in our nation, those between the ages of 18-22. I suppose there are a couple issues concerning this topic that I'd like to address. The first topic deals with the seemingly overwhelming obsession with drinking. Second on the list, but no less important, is the discussion of consequences. Last on the list is how parents can help prevent the abuse of alcohol by their children.

Here are a few statistics to get things started. These come from Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD. SADD originally developed as a student-run program to teach about the dangers of drinking and driving. Since then, they have taken other issues into account. Their mission statement is simply this: "To provide students with the best prevention and intervention tools possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, other drug use, impaired driving, and other destructive decisions."

(http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#underage)

• Young adults ages 18-22 enrolled full time in college were more likely than their peers not enrolled full time to use alcohol in the past month, to binge drink, and to drink heavily.
• Adults 21 or older who first used alcohol before age 21 were more likely than adults who had their first drink at 21 or older to be classified with alcohol dependence or abuse (9.6% vs 2.1%).
• In 2005, 85.6% of youths 12-17 reported that they strongly or somewhat disapprove of peers having one or two drinks of an alcoholic beverage nearly every day.

Perhaps we should cover just what constitutes a drink. According to www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov, a drink is one 12-oz bottle of beer, one 5-oz glass or wine, or 1.5-oz of 80-proof distilled spirits. And, of course, the legal intoxication limit is 0.08% blood alcohol content. Having gotten the cold, hard facts out of the way, let us get to the crux of the matter.

Why is it considered "cool" to drink? Since I have never given into the pressure, I cannot speak from personal experience. However, I can guess. In a social situation, such as a party that has alcohol, there is peer pressure. Comments like, "Come on, everyone is doing it," can sway enough the most level-headed person. We give into our peers so that we can feel like we are accepted, like we fit in. And that makes us feel good, makes us feel cool. There is also the fact that some young adults see their parents drinking irresponsibly from a young age, so they don't know it is wrong. To them, it is normal. For others, there is a certain amount of curiosity and impatience concerning their ability to drink legally.

None of these are good reasons to drink irresponsibly. None of them are good reasons to drink at all, really. And not taking care in such situations can lead to dire consequences, some of which can be life threatening. The most common example is that of drunk driving. The impaired ability to function can lead to accidents with can severely injure, maim, or kill the individuals involved. We know this to be true. However, there are other consequences as well.

Alcohol can have adverse reactions with mixed with medications. There are over 150 medications that are not to be taken with alcohol. Something as common as acetaminophen (Tylenol) reacts with alcohol and can lead to serious liver problems. Drinking alcohol while using sleeping pills can negate the effects of the drug. These are just a very few of the consequences that mixing medication and alcohol can have.

Drinking can lead to birth defects. Children exposed to alcohol in the womb can have behavioral and learning disabilities. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the most common of alcohol-related birth defects, leads to severe physical, mental, and behavioral problems. The reason pregnant or potentially pregnant women are cautioned against the consumption of alcoholic beverages is because scientists do not know how much alcohol it takes to affect fetal development. Therefore, it is safer to refrain from any and all liquor if there is the remotest possibility of pregnancy.

Alcoholics can also have problems with their own bodies. Excessive drinking can lead to liver disease and failure. The liver is essential to the efficiency of the body, as it helps filter toxins from the blood stream. While moderate drinking can help reduce the potentiality of a heart attack, heavy drinking can cause an increase in the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain types of cancer, such as mouth, throat, breast, and colon cancer. Finally, long-term heavy drinking can lead to inflammation of the pancreas, called Pancreatitis. The pancreas produces insulin to help regulate blood sugar and it helps digest the food we eat. (www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov)

So, as we can see, the effects of irresponsible, heavy drinking can be quite severe. But what can be done to stop it? This is where parents come in, parents and peers. Parents can talk to their children about drinking. They can discuss the consequences and ways to avoid doing it in situations where their peers are drinking. Not only that, they can help build good drinking habits. For example, once the child reaches a certain age, say 14-15, the parent can invite their child to have a small glass of wine with dinner. From there, it may lead to some champagne on holidays. It can be taken further to include extremely small amounts of other drinks. However it develops, this introduction to alcohol will help teach the child that it is acceptable to drink in certain situations, in appropriate amounts.

But friends and peers can help as well. They can encourage their friends to think about their actions and to abstain from excessive, inappropriate, irresponsible drinking. Peers have more of a voice than they think they do. Especially when they are concerned for their friends. If they think their friend isn't acting responsibly, they can always go talk to a parent or councilor about it. They may have to deal with their friend(s) being angry, but better they are angry than continuing on a path to alcoholism.

To finalize, alcohol abuse is an ever present occurrence. It can lead to severe physical, social, and legal consequences. But steps can, and should, be taken to prevent an increase in such behavior.

~Interminable Immediacy