In our culture, can we really be free from alcohol consumption? If not how do we cope with the potential dangers alcohol might expose us to
I was introduced to my first glass of wine at the age of fifteen, as a bridesmaid for a wedding, as tradition follows we had to toast for the blissful life of the wedded couple. The potent mix of fruit juice that had fermented into a delicious drink of feelings of ease and headiness was not something that could be easily forgotten. Seeing people around me enjoy themselves with a glass of this social lubricant, made it even more appealing than I anticipated. It was much later, as a scholar doing research on alcohol consumption, that I realized that this high that I was pleasantly experiencing with my glass of wine had little do with the chemistry of the ingredients, than it had to do with my own cognition.
As I sat through various groups, collecting data for my research, I understood the complexities of the effects of alcohol consumption and the dangers of its dependency. We all know that alcoholism and social drinking are separate, and when we discuss the ill effects of alcohol consumption we are in fact talking about dependency and not social drinking. However, the line that separates the two is very thin and without warning one can easily cross to the dangerous side of alcohol abuse and dependency.
Sometimes we do things out of habit and we don’t really stop to think about it. In our culture what we technically call “the wet culture” - can we be free from alcohol consumption? If not how do we cope with the potential dangers alcohol might expose us to.
It is important to rethink drinking alcohol. Its consumption can be a pleasurable experience if you empower yourselves with the knowledge of its danger. Drinking can be beneficial or harmful, depending on your age and health status, the situation, and, of course, how much you drink.
Social drinkers, unlike alcoholics, are not necessarily physically dependent nor crave alcohol, nor do they develop tolerance. However the danger of alcohol consumption lies in the fact that social drinkers can easily find themselves in the abuse category if they are not consciously aware of the damage they could possibly exhibit.
One of the greatest dangers, is denial of alcohol consumption. There is a tendency to underreport and believe that one is drinking within social norms. This assumption is often the result of not knowing how much alcohol one should ingest at a given time that would put them at risk.
The most common myth that people have with regard to alcohol consumption is that beer and wine have less content of alcohol. True but only with net volume. Which translates that, 30 ml of beer is lighter than 30 ml of wine or 30 ml of vodka or 30 ml of whiskey or 30 ml of caju feni . The important question is how many of us drink only 30 ml of beer or wine in a sitting. The fact is that every time you drink a 250 ml of beer you are ingesting the same amount of alcohol as a person who is drinking 30ml of whisky. So don’t fool yourself that it is only beer or wine.
There is some research which has shown the potential protective effect of alcohol on the heart. This research has been based on consumption of one glass of wine on a daily basis. Consumption of alcohol on a daily basis is a matter of concern as one glass becomes two and three in a short span of time. Heavy alcohol consumption is certainly bad for the heart and the body.
A phenomenon often practiced by many families is serving alcohol to growing children. A sip here and a sip there and watching them run around giddy headed thinking that it makes for a good laugh, is a great mistake these adults are making.
Since the development of MRI (multiple resonance imaging) scientists are able to measure changes in the brain, which has shown that alcohol kills developing brain cells, and create pathways for addiction. Thus reducing these children’s potency to intellectual functioning and increasing their risk to alcohol addiction.
Alcohol is a depressant drug, not a stimulant. It slows down the activity in the central nervous system, including the brain. Depressants affect concentration and coordination, and slows the response time to unexpected situations. This is often where we overestimate our driving skills after consuming alcohol. All drinkers need to be aware that even moderate amounts of alcohol can significantly impair driving performance, even when you don’t feel a buzz from drinking. Being able to hold your drink does not mean that you are not in the danger zone of substance abuse, in fact you have reason for caution. Caution for the damage you might do to yourself and also the chances of killing another.
We need to understand that just because alcohol is a legal drug does not mean it is safe. Alcohol kills 6.5 times more often than all other illegal drugs combined only because of drunken driving.
If you have been drinking more than one glass of beer in one hour than, you fall in the category of drunken driving. This is when you have to appoint a non-drinking member to drive or hire a taxi or just get high on life!
