PLEASE NOTE – This blog is not telling you to stop drinking alcohol and it is not promoting alcohol. It is simply presenting some real Truths about this socially accepted drug.
When reading, please discern what you feel is your truth and if for any reason you do not agree – please click the x and move on.
What is the Real Raw and Uncut TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL?
Do we ALL know what alcohol is?
Do we know what alcohol does to our body?
Are we aware of what alcohol does to our mind?
Are we aware of the knock on effects of alcohol?
Are we aware that alcohol is a poison?
WHY did alcoholism in Britain become widespread in 18th century?
WHY did gin consumption reach 18 million gallons at that time in history?
WHY did the temperance movement in the 19th century promote the use of alcohol?
WHY did the illegal alcohol trade boom?
WHY was the prohibition of alcohol cancelled in 1933?
WHY is alcohol normal and accepted in society?
WHY is drinking alcohol viewed as sociable?
WHY is alcohol a socially accepted drug?
WHY are some people addicted to alcohol?
WHY do we have a ‘binge drinking culture’?
WHY are our youth into alcohol?
WHY are those who choose no alcohol the odd ones?
WHY do the words ALCOHOL and PARTY go together?
WHY do the words UNIVERSITY and ALCOHOL go together?
WHY is crime often related with alcohol?
WHY is alcohol linked to mental health?
WHY do we judge others who have an alcohol problem?
WHY is there a warning that pregnant women should not drink alcohol?
WHY are there studies relating to alcohol and domestic violence?
WHY is anger and aggression related to alcohol?
WHY is alcohol needed to celebrate a special occasion?
WHY is alcohol used to take the edge off life?
WHY is alcohol used to drown our sorrows?
WHY is alcohol used to keep us going?
WHY is it so hard to not drink alcohol?
WHY do we need alcohol to escape from life?
WHY do we not look so hot the next day, after a night of alcohol?
WHY do we always find a way to justify why we drink alcohol?
WHY do we have a strong need, a craving for alcohol?
WHY do we need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get high?
WHY are we unable to control and limit our alcohol intake at times?
WHY does our body have withdrawal symptoms when we come off alcohol?
WHY is alcohol linked to the liver?
WHY are we not learning that alcohol is part of a much more deeply rooted problem?
WHY are we not realising that alcohol addiction is actually an illness?
WHY is anxiety associated with alcohol?
WHY do we become agitated if we cannot get our alcohol?
WHY do some of us lose touch with reality when we drink excess alcohol?
WHY are we not educated about the real TRUTH about Alcohol at school?
WHY is excess alcohol more accepted during the Christmas season?
WHY is there alcohol overindulgence on New Year’s Eve?
WHY do many A&E staff have to take verbal and physical abuse from drunken patients? (1)
WHY is alcohol at the root of most domestic violence?
WHY is alcohol related to child abuse in many cases?
WHY is our relationship with alcohol destroying our true relationships?
WHY are alcohol rehabilitation centers so popular?
WHY do some of our celebrities end up in alcohol rehab?
WHY does alcohol addiction dominate all areas of our lives?
WHY do we hate the feeling of a ‘hangover’ only to repeat it again?
WHY are we being told to ‘drink responsibly’?
Who makes the laws about alcohol?
WHY did the UK pass the law for longer opening hours to serve alcohol?
Do those who make the law drink alcohol?
Who is funding our research about alcohol?
WHY does the alcohol industry make regular donations to political parties? (2)
Do we have enough research studies about the harmfull effects of alcohol?
Are we at the receiving end of someone who is addicted to alcohol?
Have we witnessed what happens to those who are dependent on alcohol?
Have we ever seen someone coming off alcohol addiction?
Are we affected when we watch our close ones on the alcohol abuse road?
Are we in denial because we have become addicted to alcohol?
Are we ashamed of our behaviour associated with alcohol consumption?
Are we aware that alcohol may be controlling us?
OK – we now have enough questions here that we should ALL be asking.
Let’s go to our reliable Concise Oxford English Dictionary to tell us the meaning of ALCOHOL.
A colourless volatile flammable liquid, which is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits, etc. Also called ETHANOL, ETHYL ALCOHOL. (3)
Let’s pretend we don’t know what ALL these words actually mean.
Volatile – liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse
Liable to display rapid changes of emotion
Flammable – easily set on fire
Intoxicate – of alcoholic drink or a drug cause (someone) to lose control of their faculties
Faculties – an inherent mental or physical power
Inherent – existing in something as a permanent or essential attribute
So let’s join the dots and keep it simple.
ALCOHOL is a substance that is quick to change and is unpredictable, especially for the worse.
It can easily set on fire and it also is fast at changing our emotions.
Alcohol can make us lose control mentally and physically.
That means in a short space of time at great speed, alcohol can change our natural state.
Let us dig a bit deeper and check out the other name for alcohol.
ETHANOL
A colorless volatile flammable liquid C2H5OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent and in fuel
Also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol. (4)
For the record Alcohol and Ethanol are the same.
National Institutes of Health
U.S. National Library of Medicine
So this is a government website and the kingpins of health information telling us this –
‘Ethanol is a clear, colorless liquid rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and distributed throughout the body. It has bactericidal activity and is used often as a topical disinfectant. It is widely used as a solvent and preservative in pharmaceutical preparations as well as serving as the primary ingredient in ALCOHOLIC BEVARAGES.
Alcohol is a volatile liquid prepared by fermentation of certain carbohydrates. Alcohol acts as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, a diuretic and a disinfectant.
Although the exact mechanism of CNS depression is unknown, alcohol may act by inhibiting the opening of calcium channels, mediated by the binding of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) to GABA-A receptors, or through inhibitory actions at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors. Alcohol inhibits the production of antidiuretic hormone, thereby producing diuresis that may lead to dehydration. This agent kills organisms by denaturing their proteins.’ (5)
Ethanol is used extensively as a solvent in the manufacture of varnishes and perfumes; as a preservative for biological specimens; in the preparation of essences and flavorings; in many medicines and drugs; as a disinfectant and in tinctures and as a fuel and gasoline additive. Many U.S. automobiles manufactured since 1998 have been equipped to enable them to run on a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
Denatured or industrial, alcohol is ethanol to which poisonous or nauseating substances have been added to prevent its use as a beverage.
Medically, ethanol is soporific, i.e., sleep-producing; although it is less toxic than the other alcohols, death usually occurs if the concentration of ethanol in the bloodstream exceeds about 5%. Behavioural changes, impairment of vision or unconsciousness occurs at lower concentrations. (6)
Hello – Lets just stop and press the pause button.
With our common sense hat on, can we get real here for one moment.
Ethanol is used as a disinfectant and it can also be used to run a car.
Is this telling us something when we choose to drink Ethanol, which is the other name for Alcohol?
Next –
Could we agree that Alcohol is harmful by the simple fact that it affects our Central Nervous System? You don’t need a PhD in Anatomy and Physiology to know that this word CENTRAL tells us it is the Head Office of all our nerves, which has a complicated job to do.
Our CNS comprises of the brain and spinal cord.
Alcohol affects our central nervous system and there is no getting away from this fact.
That means the natural state of our brain is disturbed with this mind-altering substance.
This video gives you real people and real life stories so well worth watching.
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/real-life-stories/alcohol.html
‘Alcohol probably took twenty years of my life … ‘
‘Alcohol is a drug … it’s classed as a depressant’
Beer has 2 – 6% alcohol
Wine has 8 – 20% alcohol
Hard liquors (e.g. Vodka and Whiskey) have 40 – 50% alcohol
‘… I was probably 15 is where I started drinking at school. Putting it in a water bottle I would take Vodka or Gin, something clear that looks like water and I would just drink in class and pop mints in my mouth.’
‘Without having alcohol in me I could not function.’
‘I was consuming about 30 beers a day, a whole case of beer and three quarters of a gallon of light rum. I would essentially have that and black out every night.’
‘I could do nothing but drink 24/7, drink pass out, drink pass out.’
‘I would literally drink so much that I would shake if I did not have a drink.’
‘Alcohol had been in and out my body so much that it had tore away some of the lining of my oesophagus and blood was creeping in.’
The After Effects –
Short Term Memory
High Blood Pressure
Destroys your Internal Organs
Destroys Brain Functions
Destroys your Handwriting and Small Motor Skills
Liver Pains
Bone and Muscle Aches
‘Alcohol is the most slow to kill but it’s the most hideous form of death.’
‘Alcohol’s just as bad if not worse than heroin, barbiturates and anything else.’
‘It might seem fun at the beginning but after you get stuck in that lifestyle for years you realise how not fun it is, it’s terrifying.’
So here we have the real Truth about what alcohol can do to us.
At what point do we cross the line from the odd drink and having fun at the weekends, to alcohol taking over and dominating our life every single day?
Do we think that we are in control when we drink the odd glass?
Do we think we are the commanders of our life with alcohol in our system?
Do we like the fact that we say things we would never talk about when we are sober?
Are we aware that alcohol is a mind-altering drug?
Have we asked our liver recently how it feels about our alcohol consumption?
Could it be possible that alcohol was never designed for human consumption?
Could it be possible our body is trying to communicate something to us?
Could it be possible our body does have a unique intelligence?
Could it be possible that our body is showing us the harmfull effects of alcohol?
Could it be possible that we are accelerating the ageing process by drinking alcohol?
On that note – pay attention, as this is serious stuff.
Have you heard of the blood-brain barrier? (7)
For alcohol to cause intoxication, it must get into the brain.
When we consume alcohol it goes straight into our gastrointestinal tract and then enters the bloodstream. They call this process ‘absorption’. Once it is in our bloodstream, the alcohol reaches our heart and then it moves to our lungs and back to the heart. It is now being pumped through the arteries to ALL organs in the body.
Ethanol travels to the brain within the arteries that lie between the skull and the brain itself. These arteries branch out into capillaries, which get deep into the brain tissue. Most molecules cannot get easily into the brain because there is a blood-brain-barrier that protects the brain from substances that could potentially harm this precious organ.
There is no barrier for alcohol to protect the brain.
‘Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) is a brain disorder caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol over several years. The term ARBD covers several different conditions including Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and alcoholic dementia. None of these is actually a dementia, but they may share similar symptoms.’ (8)
Alcohol crosses the blood-brain-barrier very easily due to its chemical characteristics.
‘Although the physical restrictions imposed by the blood-brain-barrier limit the delivery of drugs or toxins to the brain, other small lipophilic drugs can diffuse passively across the blood-brain-barrier including nicotine, marijuana and heroin.’ (7)
Hello – can we just stop and re-read this blood-brain-barrier stuff again.
Here we have our amazing human body trying to protect us so we do not harm it. This is HUGE. The intelligence of our body is such that it detects harmfull substances and will not allow them to pass through and affect our brain. We ALL KNOW that we need our brain to function.
So how intelligent are we if we choose to take substances that harm our brain?
How intelligent are we really if we are using alcohol to harm our body?
Who on earth thought about alcohol to by-pass the natural no-entry stop sign to the brain?
Is this serious enough that almost nothing can get past this defence thing called the ‘blood-brain-barrier’ but alcohol, nicotine and heroin can?
What is the real truth if alcohol can get past our natural gateway to the brain, which says NO to anything harmfull?
Have we bothered to educate our youth about this simple fact?
Have we stopped to even consider what this is saying to us?
Have we found a comfortable way to ignore this simple Truth?
Is our body telling us the Truth about Alcohol?
‘More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption.’ Excess alcohol raised the risk of developing more than 200 diseases.
Oleg Chestnov – World Health Organization expert on chronic disease and mental health. (9)
Is this serious enough for us to pay attention?
Here we have a top man in our World Health Organization spelling out to us that alcohol is seriously harmful.
Next –
Did you know that alcohol affects our youth differently?
Adolescents are less sensitive to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.
The level of maturation of the adolescent brain, which is not complete until about the age of 24 means adolescents can typically drink more alcohol than adults before becoming sedated and lose co-ordination. However, they are more susceptible to memory loss and damage the hippocampus, which is the brain structure involved in learning and memory.
So here is a direct quote from The Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership, who are an International group of scientists with not just one but heaps of PhD’s telling us that –
‘There is extensive research to show that the earlier a person drinks alcohol in his/her life the more likely he/she will have an alcohol use disorder as an adult.
More specifically an adolescent who starts to drink alcohol before the age of 15 is 4 times more likely to develop addiction to alcohol as an adult compared to a person who starts to drink alcohol at the age of 21’. (10)
Hello – how many of us started drinking alcohol before the age of 15 or how many of us actually know of youngsters drinking before this age?
The truth is these adolescents are going to be our adult population soon and if the above statement is making any sense, then we are going to have an even bigger global issue with the poison we call alcohol.
Every state in the USA abides by the standard set in the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act of 1984, which sets the minimum legal drinking age to 21. According to the Act, Federal government can withhold 10% of Federal funding of highways from any States that do not stop people under the age of 21 buying or publically possessing alcohol. However – ‘… State law varies on specifics about possession and exceptions to the law, such as allowing people under 21 to drink with their parents’. (11)
So this is not rocket science stuff.
There is a set minimum age of 21 and the law was made over 30 years ago.
In reality do we feel this is when our youth of today ‘officially’ start drinking?
We all live in the real world, so no point pretending that what is going on in our streets with alcohol and young people is what Federal Law is stating.
Could it be possible that ‘exceptions’ to the law may not always be in the best interests of the child or young adult?
Could it be possible that parents may themselves have an alcohol dependent issue?
Could it be possible that children can be exposed to alcohol at a young age as their parents have made it seem a ‘normal’ part of life?
Could it be possible that an Alcohol Law does not necessarily mean people follow it?
Could it be possible that if parents accept alcohol as sociable and ok, then so will their kids?
Have we been around High Schools, Colleges and Universities to see the drinking culture that is now a part of their student life?
Have we heard of the binge drinking culture?
We seem to champion the success of our children who are high achievers, but do we ever stop and ask How they got there or what quality they were choosing to live to get the straight A’s?
Binge drinking is the practice of consuming large quantities of alcohol in a single session.
Britain is among the worst countries in the world for binge drinking according to a report by the World Health Organization.
Experts said Britain’s place in the table was a “national tragedy.”
They also say that a “ladette culture” had taken grip on British teens with drunkenness reaching epidemic levels among young women and end-stage liver disease increasingly diagnosed among those in their 20s and 30s. (9)
Does this feel right in a modern first world country in the 21st century?
Have we all heard of ladette culture?
Cambridge English Dictionary tells us it means a young woman who drinks a lot of alcohol, uses rude language and behaves in a noisy way. (12)
How serious is our alcohol abuse problem if young women in their 20s and 30s are being diagnosed with end-stage liver disease?
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore is a leading expert on liver disease and a former President of the Royal College of Physicians. So let’s pay attention to what this man has to say to us.
“Liver disease is one of the biggest health issues the NHS is facing and cause of an increasing proportion of deaths. Most of the harm is being done behind closed doors at home, not on the streets on Saturday nights.” (1)
What is going on for our adolescent girls that they need to turn to excess alcohol?
What is going on with our modern day parenting that leads to this?
What is missing in society that the gap is being filling with alcohol abuse?
WHY are we not digging deeper and asking the WHY questions?
What age does this relationship with alcohol start with our youngsters?
WHY are things getting worse?
In 2015, binge drinking cost the UK Taxpayer £4.9 billion. This does not take into consideration the long-term costs of binge drinking, such as reduced productivity, lost employment and health problems. (13)
‘Alcohol is the single biggest factor in young men dying between the ages of 16 and 24, whether it be through accidents, suicide or violence.’ – Professor Sir Ian Gilmore (1)
Lives are being needlessly lost and even more ruined by ill health.
“Sadder still is that the Government knows what needs to be done to turn this bleak picture around, yet it continues to ignore the evidence.”
Emily Robinson, Deputy Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern.
“We found that worldwide about 16% of drinkers engage in heavy episodic drinking – often referred to as ‘binge-drinking’ which is the most harmfull to health.”
S. Saxena, Director for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
World Health Organization.
‘In the UK the percentage was almost twice as high with 28% of those aged 15 and over drinking as much.’ (9)
Is it time to listen to these important people who have first-hand experience of the devastating effects of alcohol?
Are we aware that Money is paid to the U.S. Congress by the alcohol industry?
There are plenty of charts and graphs and figures on this website http://www.opensecrets.org/industries./indus.php?cycle=2016&ind=N02
In 2015 a quick summary confirms the Beer, Wine & Liquor industry donations were $25,083,570 to Congress. (14)
Over $25 million dollars may not sound like much, but do we need to be asking, does this money in any way keep this industry making profit?
Could it be possible that the alcohol industry is not really about addressing the harmfull effects to human life?
The vast majority of alcohol industry donations (92%) went to The Liberal National Party (LNP), the party expected to win the 2015 State Election in Queensland, Australia.
‘It is well known that the alcohol industry has significant influence on policy development and implementation.’ (15)
Can we just join the dots and ask is this making sense?
Could it be possible that our governments do know what needs to be done but are choosing to support those who support them?
Could it be possible that governments are ignoring what needs to be done as Emily Robinson from Alcohol Concern says? (9)
About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks. (16)
Drug Free World’s video on the Truth about Alcohol says –
‘They said if I got drunk I would be one of the guys. They lied’.
England (17)
64% of 17 year old boys drink alcohol on a weekly basis (2014)
48% of 17 year old girls drink alcohol on a weekly basis (2014)
Australia
Australia is debating whether the problem is with their drinking culture or is the issue with societal norms around anti-social behaviour and interpersonal violence. Maybe they have a point that we appear to have acceptable norms for sober behaviour and we are somehow more relaxed when the same rules are measured when we are drunk. In other words’ some behaviours exhibited when intoxicated with alcohol are tolerated but the same behaviours would be inexcusable if sober. So this means a second set of social norms.
As a society, Australia reinforces a culture of camaraderie around getting drunk but do they stop to reflect the harmful side effects of alcohol abuse?
Alcohol has been recognised as Australia’s worst drug problem for more than 50 years by the Foundation of Alcohol Research and Education.
No other drug has come close to causing as much death, illness, violence and lost productivity as alcohol.
Yet for some reason it remains a blind spot in the national conversation.
One in five Australians over 14 years of age drink at levels that place them at a lifetime risk of alcohol-related disease or injury. (2)
This is mega serious and the million-dollar question as this article is suggesting is –
WHY is the government not establishing a national inquiry, summit or royal commission on the true harm caused by alcohol and ways that could reduce it?
Is an attempt to not show alcohol adverts in earlier timeslots reducing this huge problem?
Is introducing minimum unit pricing going to cut it really?
Is cracking down on alcohol advertising going to make the difference?
Is restricting the quantities our young people can buy, going to make this problem go away?
Is a chapel with a team of nurses and street pastors on Friday and Saturday nights going to reduce excess drinking?
Is a centre known as a ‘drunk tank’ led by an NHS clinical commissioning group for the festive season, which takes up to 10 patients, really going to change the huge problem we are facing? (1)
Have you heard of MAP in Ottawa?
The Managed Alcohol Program aims to change the drinking behaviour of inveterate addicts. (18)
Every hour alcoholics are given wine with 13% alcohol.
For the first pour at 7:30am most residents get a larger than average sized glass of wine;
On the hour up to 9:30pm.
The article states that ‘Lifelong alcoholics are an enormous drain on public resources.’
One client was in emergency departments 191 times in the six months before the MAP.
Another client says he used to drink all day and now he drinks just once every hour.
This program is of course controversial which is understandable.
What we need to be asking is – are the residents really stable and happy if we are pouring alcohol on the hour for 14 hours consistently every day?
Could it be possible that all these may just be a form of REDUCTIONISM?
In other words’ we have a super complex global alcohol issue and we are making it small.
By reducing it to initiatives that do not perhaps address the whole, we may not see the true change that is needed.
In case you haven’t noticed, things have got worse, so this confirms that our plots and plans thus far are failing us when it comes to alcohol.
Important Question – Has anyone done responsible research with anecdotal evidence, which is real life stuff that looks at the root cause of WHY people drink alcohol and why our youth are consuming this poison at younger ages than ever before?
Controlled conditions, double blind testing in a laboratory, because that is scientific based evidence means we don’t get the real life on the street stuff.
Could it be possible that we have enough intelligence to work out we have a global problem but we somehow lack the real intelligence of how to deal with it?
How advanced is our intelligence if we cannot stop a man-made poison from entering our brain and causing harm?
Are we addressing WHY people turn to alcohol in the first place?
Are we asking why drunk patients assault our paramedics?
Why does the level of abuse from some A&E patients require police intervention?
Are we willing to look at WHY we need or use alcohol to erase what is going on in our life and in our world?
If you read about the alcohol related murder case of Thomas Kelly there was something going on for the teenager who with one punch, killed this young man. The offender had a behaviour pattern every time he drank alcohol and there was a direct correlation to what happened to him as a child. Read more on our Youth blog
https://simplelivingglobal.com/international-youth-day
The brother of Thomas Kelly suicided after 3 years of campaigning for the lock out law, simply because he was not able to cope with the hate towards him by the forces of those who were against the restrictions being placed, including no alcohol to be sold after certain hours.
We seem unable to join the dots between alcohol consumption and alcohol harm.
Australia
Alcohol-related harm costs more than $20,000,000,000 per year.
Alcohol misuse was the primary cause of over 150,000 hospital admissions in 2014.
‘Individual politicians need to be strong-willed in this policy area because the powerful alcohol industry is a formidable lobbying group and close to the ear of government.’ (2)
So here we have it – confirmation that the government do receive donations from the alcohol industry and they are a strong powerful force.
Could it be possible that the strong-willed politician who stands up and says No can only do so to a point, because the quality they are living is not absolute? In other words’ they need their drink of alcohol and this means the strong powerful force of the industry is what wins.
Could it be possible that those making the laws need to look closely at how they are choosing to live?
Could it be possible that we the general public need to demand a Code of Ethics and a Code of Conduct that states our law-makers need to live a transparent life and we need to be certain they are going to be reviewed on a consistent and regular basis?
Could it be possible that those who hold the utmost integrity and decency in their own personal life and live that to the best of their ability are the role models we need as politicians?
Could it be possible that our government budgets will never be enough until we get to the root cause of WHY our youth need to drink alcohol?
Where is the responsibility of the media and that includes social media?
Do the media have a part to play when it comes to alcohol abuse?
Can we truly say it is responsible journalism, when we have reporters telling us about our celebrated sporting heroes recovering from all night benders or in handcuffs for wayward behaviour?
Why are we more interested in celebrity gossip about their alcohol misuse than asking WHY they might be drinking or have an addiction?
We all know many famous people over the years, where alcohol has led to their death.
WHY are so many high profile celebrities in and out of Rehab?
WHY is REHAB such big business?
Have we ever stopped and asked the question –
What is the real quality of a movie or a song where the artist is intoxicated?
What about the harm to not just the individual and their family, but to their community?
What about the BIG picture and the enormous burden on the health systems?
What about the other systems who are also taking the slack like criminal justice systems, welfare and social care systems?
Alcohol-related admissions put A&E departments under severe pressure.
Up to 3 in every 10 patients are estimated to attend the UK Accident & Emergency services because of alcohol – more at weekends.
If more people knew that if they got drunk they were going to be arrested, they wouldn’t drink in the first place.
Dr. Cliff Mann, President of the College of Emergency Medicine. (1)
The key is for people to take RESPONSIBILITY before the emergency services become involved.
Dr. Katherine Henderson, A&E Consultant at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London and Registrar at the College of Emergency Medicine. (1)
Our 24/7 world means we can get hold of alcohol really at any time and by pass our country laws with the illicit and illegal trading of alcohol that continues in our underworld.
WHY is Real education about alcohol not on the agenda?
WHY are the harmfull effects of alcohol not on billboards everywhere?
WHY are our media not reporting on the dangers of alcohol every single day?
WHY is alcohol abuse not making news headlines on front pages daily?
WHY are we waiting for more science based evidence when we know what alcohol is doing to us?
WHY have we accepted alcohol when we do really know it is a poison?
WHY would anyone want to drink poison if they were of right mind?
Here is a quick laser look at a woman who done a runner from the UK because of the binge-drinking culture. (19)
‘I felt something was wrong with the equation
Wine = Fun
Alcohol = Relaxation’
Why do we need to drink before going to a concert?
Where is the ‘fun’ in not remembering anything the next day?
Why did friends living in London lose their English boyfriends to alcohol?
Do I want to raise my kids where a queue of teenagers’ pay their older friends to get them booze because they are so desperate and aren’t able to buy bottles themselves?
‘These questions haunted me as I met drunk people of all ages on the tube, at work events or queuing up to get into a club on a Saturday night.’
‘Why do people need to drink so much to cope with their lives?
Why are pubs so crowded at 6pm everyday with people drinking in one evening amounts of beer that in Italy would be served in a week?
How much of the crime on the streets of the UK was due to binge drinking?’
Next –
Alcohol is now recognised as the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disorders in the United States. Each year thousands of children are born with life-long disabilities because they were exposed to alcohol prenatally. (20)
HELLO AGAIN – Please STOP and RE-READ.
What is this telling us?
Is it spelling out to us that this can be prevented?
Is this saying our choice to drink alcohol during pregnancy is ok?
Are we ready to ask WHERE IS THE RESPONSIBILITY?
Are we going to point the finger and Blame?
Are we aware that society is deeply affected by all those children born with life-long disabilities?
Do we understand certain birth defects do not have to happen if alcohol was not consumed?
Would it be true to say that no mother in her right mind would drink alcohol knowing how harmful it is to her baby?
Is education needed here or is there something more?
Are we going to the root cause of WHY our women turn to alcohol during pregnancy?
Are we addressing the real problem here?
If you would like to know more about why drinking alcohol during pregnancy can be harmfull to the developing baby which includes the brain, please read this module which covers concepts in biology, chemistry and math. You will learn about how alcohol affects the fetus and the physical and/or neurological/behavioural problems resulting in FASD – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
The Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership (APEP)
https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-5-alcohol-and-babies
Effects of Alcohol on the Body (21)
Brain – alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and this can affect the way that the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change a person’s mood and behavior, making it harder for us to think clearly and move with co-ordination.
Heart – drinking a lot of alcohol over time or in one go can damage our heart causing
Cardiomyopathy – stretching and drooping of the heart muscle
Arrhythmias – an irregular heart beat
Stroke
High Blood Pressure
Liver – Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver and can lead to a number of problems including
Liver inflammations
Steatosis or Fatty Liver
Alcoholic Hepatitis
Fibrosis
Cirrhosis
Pancreas – alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.
Cancer – drinking alcohol increases our risk of developing certain cancers including cancer of
Mouth
Oesophagus
Throat
Liver
Breast
Immune System – drinking too much can weaken our immune system, making our body a much easier target for disease. Chronic drinkers are more likely to contract diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than people who are not classed as chronic drinkers.
Is our body trying to communicate something to us?
Does our body have its own intelligence?
Is our body giving us messages about how it is feeling?
It would be true to say that we were not born to acquire a taste for alcohol.
Something happens. Something is triggered inside us and we feel something.
We then make a choice to go to alcohol.
At no point do we ever think or consider learning about the harmfull effects of alcohol.
WHY?
We know that alcohol education is not on our school agenda.
We see others all around us drinking alcohol so we assume it must be normal.
We see our role models happy on alcohol so it has to be ok.
We grow up with parents who are intoxicated with liquor so it is what we are used to.
We may not have the impulse to check what Google has to say about alcohol.
We did not have access to blogs like this to inform us and get us asking questions.
Could it be possible we feel more comfortable to just fit in with the crowd as it seems easier than to be the odd one out by not drinking alcohol?
Brief news headlines – Metro London newspaper
Booze on tap in care homes pub
This is one of many care homes hoping the familiar setting will comfort residents suffering from dementia. Residents can drink whatever they want, depending on their medication.
Are we taking responsibility here for their true health and well-being?
There is a tendency to blame every drinker for their predicament, but there are 1.5 million people in the UK dependent on or addicted to alcohol – which is an illness.
Alcohol may be legal but it is a drug of dependence and how we use it is a huge issue affecting society.
A study by researchers in Switzerland has found that beer drinking made it easier for volunteers to view explicit sexual images, and the effect was greater for women than for men. (22)
Could it be possible that the solutions we have may not fix the long-term problem?
Could it be possible that if we stop cheap booze, people will find another way?
Could it be possible that this will drive those who need alcohol to the illicit market?
Could it be possible that like drugs there is already an underworld, doing big business?
Could it be possible that with all the good will in the world and all the medical experts giving us the answers and all the research studies telling us alcohol is harmfull it is still not going to deal with WHY we need alcohol in the first place?
Are our solutions the answer or could there be more?
Are our initiatives to tackle this problem not cutting it?
Are our rehab programmes not addressing the root cause?
Are we missing something?
Is there another way to make a U turn with alcohol abuse?
Is there a simple answer?
How is it that ‘society accepts drinking alcohol as sociable and normal and yet we All know it is a scientific proven poison?’ – Bina Pattel
‘Are we waiting for society to tell us what to do or are we going to ask our bodies what is needed?’ – Bina Pattel (23)
Finally for the record, as the author of this blog I am no halo head trying to preach or teach the readers’ anything. Once upon a time I liked champagne with my lemonade budget.
Work hard and play hard meant alcohol after work and weekends.
Wine was good but I preferred bubble stuff so cold beer or lager would be ok but one or two and I was bloated. Talking nonsense and not remembering everything the next day was part of life and totally acceptable. At no point did I even consider that I liked the instant sugar fix I got because I was simply exhausted and depleted. I never gave it a thought that alcohol supported me to numb out the pain and hurt that remained buried until I got off alcohol and started dealing with my issues.
Today alcohol is not in my radar and there is nothing on earth that would make me even want to drink what I know is a scientific proven poison. What I have is a deep understanding of WHY people need alcohol, use alcohol and the relationship that we have with alcohol. I have no judgement on those who consume this drug because I have a deep understanding of what I feel is the root cause.
There is a load more we could write about alcohol, but this is enough.
We can choose to look at it anyway we want to suit us but there is no getting away from the fact that alcohol is a huge global problem and we ALL need to be aware of the dangers associated with this drug.
There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption.
The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth.
Professor David Nutt. (24)
References
(1) Whitehead, S. (2015, January 2). Alcohol and A & E: Should Drunk People Be Kept Out of Hospital?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/02/alcohol-accident-emergency-keep-drunk-people-out-of-hospital
(2) Mc Donald, P. (2015, April 16). Alcohol is the Only Drug Epidemic We’ve Got. Where’s the National Taskforce on That?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/16/alcohol-is-the-only-drug-epidemic-weve-got-wheres-the-national-taskforce-on-that
(3) Concise Oxford English Dictionary – Twelfth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011
(4) (n.d). Merriam-Webster Dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethanol
(5) (2004, September 16). Pubchem. National Center for Biotechnology Information
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/ethanol#section=Top
(6) (2012). Infoplease
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/ethanol-uses.html
(7) (n.d). Content: Getting Alcohol to the Brain: Crossing the Blood-Brain-Barrier. The Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership
https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-2-the-abcs-of-intoxication/content-getting-alcohol-to-the-brain-crossing-the-blood-brain-barrier
(8) (2016). What is Alcohol-Related Brain Damage? Alzheimer’s Society
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=98
(9) Donnelly, L. & Gallagher, S. (2014, May 13). Britain’s Binge Drinking Levels Are Among the Highest in the World
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10825449/Britains-binge-drinking-levels-are-among-the-highest-in-the-world.html
(10) (n.d). Content: Alcohol Affects Adolescents and Adults Differently. The Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership
https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-3-alcohol-cell-suicide-and-the-adolescent-brain/content-alcohol-affects-adolescents-and-adults-differently
(11) Alcohol Policy. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/alcohol-policy
(12) (n.d). Cambridge Dictionary
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ladette
(13) (2015, March 31). Binge Drinking ‘Costing UK Taxpayers £4.9bn’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32126518
(14) Industry Profile: Summary, 2015. Beer, Wine & Liquor. OpenSecrets.org
https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=N02
(15) (2015, January 23). Alcohol Industry Donations to Queensland Political Parties: 2011-12 to 2013-14. Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education (fare)
http://fare.org.au/2015/01/alcohol-industry-donations-to-queensland-political-parties-2011-12-to-2013-14/
(16) (2006 – 2016). What Is Binge Drinking? Drugfreeworld.org
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/what-is-binge-drinking.html
(17) Prevalence of Underage Drinking. Institute of Alcohol Studies
http://www.ias.org.uk/Alcohol-knowledge-centre/Underage-drinking/Factsheets/Prevalence-of-underage-drinking.aspx
(18) Pressly, L. (2016, July 7). Treating Alcoholics – With Wine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36717557
(19) Coppolaro – Nowell, A. (2015, April 8). Binge Drinking Drove Me Out of Britain
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/08/binge-drinking-drove-me-out-of-britain
(20) (2016, September 7). September 9 is International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/news-events/news-noteworthy/september-9-international-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders-awareness-day
(21) (n.d). Alcohol’s Effects on the Body. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/alcohols-effects-body
(22) Press Association. (2016, September 19). Beer Goggles: Study Confirms (the Obvious) that Drinking Removes Shyness About Sex
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/19/beer-goggles-study-confirms-the-obvious-that-drinking-removes-shyness-about-sex
(23) Pattel, B. (2016, March 8). Books by Serge Benhayon. The Truth about Serge Benhayon
https://truthaboutsergebenhayon.com/2016/03/08/books-by-serge-benhayon/#more-5438
(24) Nutt, D. (2011, March 7). There is No Such Thing as a Safe Level of Alcohol Consumption
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/07/safe-level-alcohol-consumption
Comments 264
If alcohol suddenly disappeared from the Earth we may start to feel, look at and deal with the reasons we have been allowing it to be part of our human existence for so long…
It is worth taking the time to look at alcohol and why we choose drink it at all and why we accept it as part of our society…
…because it is not the ‘friend’ we have been acting like it is or or pretending it to be, because it is not going to fix, solve or change ANY of the problems we may drink it for.
What I have learned in my life is that alcohol consumed for any reason is not benign and does not offer any true help at all.
Great comment Jo Elmer and you make some valid points. Ask anyone who has come off the alcohol road for whatever reason and they would agree with all that you are saying.
Alcohol is a poison so how on earth can it be socially acceptable?
As Professor David Nutt has clearly stated there really is no safe level when it comes to alcohol consumption and to even contemplate or think otherwise is doing a great dis-service to our body.
As you say Jo it is worth us all taking the time and asking the WHY questions –
Why do we choose to drink alcohol?
Why is it Accepted as part of our society?
It is time we all started asking questions about what is going on and why we have come to accept so many things in this world that actually harm our human body.
I’d never heard of the Blood Brain barrier before reading this blog. Whilst reading I kept asking ‘When I drank alcohol would I have realised the harm that I was doing to myself by reading these startling facts?’ It certainly would have made me think twice about what I was doing. Sadly it was only until I felt the harm in my body from drinking alcohol that I realised that what I was doing just did not make sense. By then I’d been drinking alcohol for nearly 30 years. What I love about this blog and all of the blogs on this website are that there’s always an understanding tone. Understanding for why we behave the way that we do including understanding for harming behaviours like drinking alcohol and taking drugs. One thing that I know is that when we have understanding change is inevitable. Thank you Simple Living Global for another stupendous awareness raising blog.
What you are saying here makes sense Shevon Simon.
If we were educated about the blood brain barrier and had access to blogs like this which just present some facts and keep it simple then we have a chance.
A chance for real change.
Inform our youth and lets not give up on the adults. Once people get to feel and know what there is to know about alcohol and other drugs then they have a choice.
If we are to make any change there has to be education with UNDERSTANDING as you say. No point reacting or pointing the finger in judgement. That will never change anything.
Yes, Shevon, the understanding in these blogs is key when, despite out “intelligent mind”, we are all doing things that harm our bodies. To make any lasting change we need to bring in true understanding.
Like you I have also found that “…when we have understanding change is inevitable.”
When I was at university, nearly twenty years ago, binge drinking was what we all did on a Thursday night and on the weekends. There were times that I drank so much that I vomited and even passed out – up to this day remembering nothing. At the time it just seemed like the thing to do and no matter how many times I lay on my bed after a night out just spinning, it never stopped me drinking again the next time and I didn’t reduce my intake either. At the time my view was more one of failure, of not being able to keep up with the amounts my friends’ drank. Today I have no problem saying that I no longer drink and the reasons why, as my body feels so much better without it. I no longer need alcohol to feel alive or to engage with people as I feel a sense of natural JOY everyday and so there’s no longer any need.
Like Shevon, one time of alcohol poisoning was not enough for me to say “never again” and then actually not ever taking a chance on feeling like that again.
“I have a good idea, lets get drunk.” … this thought used to ‘pop into my head’ now and then and about once a year, wanting to escape, I would fall for it and binge drink until I was way “gone” and made myself violently and often dangerously ill.
My first binge drink: Our ski coach took the high school team to a ski race famous (should be infamous but it is still admired…) ski race where free kegs of beer were offered along the trail and at the end party… I was 14, we helped ourselves to all we could hold an more…
Responsible, loving role models anyone? Isn’t it time we become those role models?
Considering that so many celebrities have drug and alcohol problems it does lead us to ask ‘Why do they need it?’ Celebrities are hailed as having it all – having all of the money to buy whatever they like and having people look up to them and often worshipping them. So if this is the lifestyle to aspire to and they have it all, why would they need to harm themselves with drugs and alcohol? We know so many celebrities that have died as a result of both – is it time to question who and what we are making famous and why? Could the fame be a part of the problem?
Super top comment here Shevon about why are we seeing our celebrities as role models when they are harming themselves with drugs and alcohol?
We need to start asking questions what is going on for them that takes them to drink poison and Why are we choosing to ignore this when most of us know they are performing with this altered state of mind?
Thank you for your questions here – there is much for humanity to start pondering on.
I have experienced this celebrity phenomenon first hand. My Dad was a professional footballer in our town and somewhat of a local celebrity. Everywhere we went, people knew him and wanted to talk to him.
It must have been strange having that sort of attention. Feeling like people were watching you. Everyone wanting to buy you a drink.
Perhaps it brought an unwanted pressure, because the alcohol became a thing. As we have seen with a number of high profile football players over the years, there is a reliance and a downward spiral.
Why does that happen? You are famous. You have money. Everyone loves you. Why does alcohol become a thing? What does it give you?
A boost of confidence at first, perhaps. More animated expression. An edge off your anxiety. Some off time from the pressure and worry. A reward. Comfort.
Watching it all though, it’s clear how it weakens you inside.
It weakens you physically: your face and body change, your skin gets thinner and the colour changes, your hands shake during the day, you hunch a little, you sleep lighter and wake in the night.
It weakens you emotionally: your moods are more up and down, things affect you more easily, you think less clearly, become less wise, less patient and less passionate about life, you start caring less.
It undermines your confidence in being social without it. Like you forget how to be you.
What is there here for us to see? For us everyday Joes in our own experiences and as we look out at the celebrities on TV?
Reading this blog and the blood brain barrier and then reading your blog on Amphetamines https://simplelivingglobal.com/the-raw-truth-about-amphetamines/, where you speak of first pass metabolism, it tells me that as a human race we are trying in every way possible to ruin the human body through the use of substances. Reading these blogs and your questions it makes me as one reader ask – Why do we put so much effort into harming the human body? As it is such an intelligent vehicle, if we listen to it. Is there something there that we are deliberately silencing through the use of drugs and alcohol? Is there more going on here than it simply being about ‘guilty pleasures’?
“There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption.
The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth.”(Professor David Nutt) – why is it, that we do so hardly accept this fact?
Lets not go over this because we like to stay with our drink and not give up on it.
Lets face what is going on, not just for ourselves but for mankind. We are called to reflect our behaviors because they do and will inspire others, as the behaviors from other generations did inspire us. When we all ‘just go on’ what is ‘normal’ in the moment, what means it is accepted, we are accountable for a lot of harm. Lets have look what we are accepting – what we do to us and others – and see if we still want to go on with it then.
Great comment Sandra Schneider and I agree we are ‘accountable for a lot of harm’ when we just bop along and say nothing or jump on the bandwagon and go with the normal of what is being accepted.
This blog confirms alcohol is a scientific proven poison and yet we somehow see it as normal and legal to consume it whenever and at whatever age we want because it is readily available and accessible.
If you ask anyone on the streets what is the main ingredient in a party or other celebration they would all say alcohol.
What Professor David Nutt has to say is theTruth – there a no safe limits so lets stop pretending and wake up. We each have a responsibility and as Sandra says in her comment ‘we are called to reflect our behaviours because they do and will inspire others’.
Alcohol is such a dangerous drug. By calling it a drug we are saying exactly what it is. Alcohol is no different to illicit drugs like cocaine, marijuana and heroin for example. However, as it is legal it is an accepted drug. It’s interesting that even though we know the harm that alcohol causes and that there has been so much research confirming its ill effects, it doesn’t carry any warning labels like cigarettes. Why is that? Why is our education and knowledge about the harm of cigarettes out in society, but alcohol is still coveted to some degree as even though there is a lot of evidence confirming the harm, somewhere along the line we still want to say that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for us. Until we accept a one unified truth about the harms of alcohol we are going nowhere.
You are right when you say that alcohol is an accepted drug. Any substance that alters our natural state of being is not the Truth for our body. Those who advocate it, champion the benefits of campaign to ensure we continue called it a social drink or whatever the latest term is will never change anything.
Alcohol is causing serious harm and what we need is more awareness and the media bringing this to the public would help. However, there is the possibility that those who do have a responsibility may be enjoying their glass of wine in the evening to take the edge off life or simply need a drink to fit in with others and keep going as it is full of sugar.
Once upon a time cigarettes were endorsed and seen as healthy and look where we are today so who knows the same may happen one day with alcohol. There is now enough evidence confirming it is most certainly a poison for our body.
In today’s Evening Standard newspaper (4th November 2016) they’ve reported that a Senior House of Commons clerk ‘fell to his death after a heavy drinking binge.’ In the days BEFORE he died it is reported that he drunk himself into an “alcoholic stupor” and was taken to A&E. He was under heavy pressure at work and was nearly 3 times over the drink-drive limit when he fell from his 6th floor flat. His partner has shared that in the days leading up to his death he had noticed that his partner had become anxious about a presentation that was coming up at work.
This case is a prime example of why the questions in this blog need to be taken seriously. In asking WHY we need alcohol in the 1st place. Could it be, as this case shows, that we seek alcohol when we are struggling with life and don’t know how to deal with it? How many of us feel like this – if we are honest with ourselves?
This is huge and thank you Shevon for adding this valuable comment to this blog.
So here we have a senior staff member working for the UK government ‘heavy binge drinking’. What was going on that no one noticed or are we choosing to ignore it?
Are we simply accepting that ‘alcoholic stupor’ is ok?
Have we considered the loss not only to the government department but his partner, friends and family. A whole community is affected and unless we ask the WHY questions will anything really change.
As you say Shevon, how many of us are feeling like this if we are honest with ourselves.
It’s no surprise Simple Living Global that you mention gin at the beginning of this blog, as there is a gin resurgence happening in the U.K. By the end of 2015, annual gin sales were on their way to exceed £1,000,000,000 (billion). It is estimated that gin sales will top £1,300,000,000 (£1.3 billion) by 2020. Gin is also reported to be very popular amongst young people with – 42% of those surveyed, between the ages of 18 and 34, had drunk gin in the previous 12 months, compared to 27% of those aged over 45. (Survey by Mintel).
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/18/uk-gin-sales-artisanal-distilleries#comments
300 years later and our world may look different but in Truth we haven’t actually moved on and evolved from 18th century alcoholism. What is going on?
What is going on?
Great question Shevon and thank you again for adding value to this blog by giving us the update about gin sales. This figure is alarming but is it alarm bells for us or do we just ignore it.? Do those who just see this as a bit of news need alcohol in their daily life?
Over a billion pounds for one alcohol – add up the rest and we have a booming alcohol industry worldwide.
Who benefits?
Who is making the big fat profits?
Who are the shareholders?
WHY has nothing changed 300 years later?
WHY are we the most intelligent species on earth drinking poison?
Thank you for asking these very important questions Simple Living Global.
I have to say that if it wasn’t for this website, I would have stopped questioning things a long time ago.
Take for example the increase in gin sales, in daily life I am actually noticing a lot more people buying gin and also prosecco. So it’s not just something I am reading on paper and reporting on this website, but something that is being observed in real life too.
I thank this website for that, as reading the blogs on this site does raise awareness and so when I am ‘out there’ I see much more.
I have never noticed there being popularity re some alcoholic drinks over others and so it has lead me to question why gin and prosecco are currently so popular?
Not only has the UK sale of gin increased but also the demand for it overseas as more than 139 countries bulk-buy gin. Export sales in 2016 were up 12% from 2015 reaching £474 million. (Daily Mail, 25th February 2017).
This is being hailed as an impressive achievement; personally having read the stark facts and realities on this article by Simple Living Global, I find it very worrying.
No matter how much we deny it, we do all know that alcohol is not any good for us yet we still insist in lying about this fact to ourselves and to each other. Why? What is driving our need to drink alcohol? What is it about the way that we are living that we need alcohol? For us to ingest a poison like alcohol there has to be something that we are avoiding feeling as alcohol is taken to “take the edge off” or “help us get out of it”. I know for myself that once I dealt with the hurts that I was carrying then my need for alcohol was no longer there as I simply started to enjoy being me.
So it seems alcohol has become such a norm for humanity that we’ve even got monks making and SELLING IT and making millions. Not only that, but they are adding caffeine to it and calling it ‘tonic wine’. The locals are calling it ‘violent wine’ because of its affects. What on EARTH is happening here? How is this in any way divine?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-38290379
Its interesting isnt it – where places that advocate health and wellbeing, e.g. NHS organisations, or other related organisations whilst they dont have any alcohol on their premises at work, they will go out together and have alcohol, or buy one another alcohol as Christmas presents. Yet, they see more than most the impact alcohol has on our body. I went to see a relative the other day who asked me to give a bottle of alcohol to another relative who has dementia – this other relative has a lot of medicines to support and, alcohol would not support them at this time – and when I mentioned this the relative realised that giving alcohol was not a good idea. It feels like it is so ‘normal’ in our society to have alcohol or to give it to others as presents – even though we know the impact it can have, and it is rarely considered that it is possible not to have it.
There is certainly something to question here. Now that I know that both alcohol and caffeine are stimulants, what need is driving us to make drinks with both? This is most definitely harming and not healing for the human body or society as violence is also involved.
We began the conversation a long time ago but it is time we talk more openly and more often about the great lack of accountability in advertising, in our role models and in our selves…
I know I can not wait for society to model a loving and responsible life. I know I need to really feel what is loving or not for myself and work to live from my heart and part of this is speaking up when something feels wrong, harmful or untrue.
I used to like to think I was only harming myself when I chose unloving behaviours (alcohol being one) but the more I observe the world the more I realise that we are ALL role models all the time and this means that I am accountable for harm well beyond myself when it comes to any choice to do something that harms me or keeps me smaller than I am (act un-lovingly in any way).
Why do we like to think of monks, priests, the bishop and others as people ‘closer to God’ or ‘examples who hold wisdom beyond the norm’ even when they don’t show us anything different; when they don’t show us a more loving way to live or to treat ourselves and one another?
Voicing what is unacceptable to me and not just ‘going along with’ any norm that does not ‘feel right’ to me is a big responsibility in itself as it means I am taking responsibility for what I know and in doing so taking the opportunity to model/offer something different for the world; something more loving and supportive.
The Week – Issue 1105 24 December 2016
49 people died in the city of Irkutsk, Siberia after drinking bath essence, which was used as a cheap substitute for alcohol.
It is believed they had been sold a tincture in which the ethyl alcohol which is normally present was replaced with methanol, a toxin found in antifreeze.
Police had found a factory producing counterfeit bottles as well as brands of vodka.
Alcoholism is a major problem in Russia where one in four men die before age 55.
Doctors estimate up to 12 million impoverished Russians regularly consume “surrogate” alcohol, such as surgical spirit, perfume and window cleaner.
How serious is this and how come this is not front page news headlines around the world, so we all get to be aware of what is really going on in our world?
We as individuals have a general tendency to think if it is not in our front yard let’s ignore it, but what if we do need to know how bad things are in other countries?
What state of mind must these people be in if they are willing to take a poison because that is what alcohol and all these substitutes are to the human body?
At what cost is this to human life and why are we not all demanding answers?
Could it be possible that counterfeit of anything is there to profit because there is a demand in the first place?
In other words this factory and all the other rogue traders would simply not exist if the punters were not readily available buying dodgy products.
We are always quick to blame and point the finger and kill the suppliers but is it time we also look at why these suppliers get business?
It is us who demand and then the supplier comes up with the goods.
Is it time to ask questions and keep asking questions, so that we can get to the root cause of why anyone chooses alcohol or similar poisons to take them away from their natural state of being?
Its New Year’s Eve and I was looking on Twitter/social media. Many of the police and ambulance organisations are giving out warnings of not drink driving, and staying safe so that they don’t have to care for those who go over the top tonight. There were postings from a few hospitals who asked the public to be responsible, as when they are irresponsible regarding alcohol the A&E depts have to treat them, and that puts pressure on the staff who in A&E who are already treating others who have more serious illnesses or conditions not related to alcohol. Why is it that we can be irresponsible with ourselves and our body hurts, but it doesnt stop there, our irresponsibility for instance with alcohol on nights like tonight have a far reaching ripple effect – to the extent that our emergency services and NHS have to focus on fixing/patching up those who have over done it – and whilst the NHS/emergency services triage to ensure they treat the most seriously ill first, those with alcohol related problems mean staff in these services are pushed to the limit to try and deal with everything that comes through their doors.
Around 40% of the NHS’S workload is related to “modifiable health risk factors” such as EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, smoking and lack of exercise say Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/07/more-spent-on-treating-obesity-related-conditions-than-on-the-po/
So here we have the chief of the health system in one country telling us that Alcohol is a problem for the health service. We all know after reading this blog that it is a scientific proven poison and yet we seem to merrily go along ignoring this fact and adding burden to our already overstretched health systems.
What is it about the nature of alcohol that we have so readily accepted in society as a ‘norm’?
WHY do we feel that going on a bender or binge to ‘drown our sorrows’ is actually going to change anything?
WHY is it that those big advertisement campaigns which tell us to drink alcohol ‘Responsibly’ really has no effect on our decision to go out on a night out?
WHY is it that we get so hooked on this poison that is killing us inside?
WHY is it that we just don’t seem to value our one and only precious body in anyway?
WHY are we not educated about the fact that alcohol contains sugar which we all know is a poison in our system?
WHY do we think a little tipple is good for us every night?
WHY do we endorse alcohol like it is a medicine and encourage others to join the bandwagon?
WHY are we not properly informed about the ins and outs of alcohol so we can make our own choice?
WHY are we using alcohol to forget our problems on a pub crawl?
WHY are we not able to party party without alcohol as the main drink?
WHY are we ok with being irresponsible knowing the NHS will take care of us when we drink alcohol in excess?
WHY do our authorities not challenge those that need to take Responsibility for their behaviour?
WHY are we consistently coming up with solutions and band aids to a global crisis about a poison we so readily have available?
Is it time to stop and pause – Is there another way?
https://simplelivingglobal.com/is-there-another-way/
I read an interesting article today about the harm alcohol does to others – http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/news/42739 – over half of adults in Wales have been harmed by someone else’s drinking. Alcohol has a ripple effect – as does anything we do.
Over half harmed by another’s drinking. That is huge, and I suspect it is not even the tip of the iceberg.
For example, I know how much I was affected by my parents’ drinking. I grew up around alcohol at my parents’ pub, at family gatherings, at football matches. Drinking was so normal, my brother and I were drinking from our early teens and very much to excess as we got older, albeit in socially-acceptable settings. I stopped drinking when I finally realised how much alcohol changes you and that I actually didn’t like that.
How many of us are affected by alcohol but never make it onto a statistical survey like at that link?
Just reading this blog reminded me of the many hangovers I used to suffer. My weekends commenced on Thursday’s because that was when my weekend would start and I loved going to the pub. I would ring the pub earlier and ask them to put a couple of beers in the freezer so by the time I got to the pub they would be icy cold or crystallised and the following day I would be nursing a croaky throat or a sore head. Every time I went on holidays, I would carry a bottle of water which had clear alcohol and I’d buy the soft drink and pour my alcohol into it – it was a cheap way of getting drunk!
There were times when I was so drunk I had no idea who or what I was and to abuse my body further I would go for a run the following day – I was so abusive to my body. I cringe just writing about this – how irresponsible was I.
I stopped drinking a few years ago and have absolutely no regrets wishing I had stopped drinking many years before.
A relative recently asked how I enjoyed life when I told him I didn’t drink any more, he was recovering in Brain Injury Unit and just spent 3 weeks in Intensive Care Unit after coming off his motorbike – he had been drinking.
I love getting up in the morning after spending time with family or friends and remembering everything about my evening with out nursing a sore head.
In the news this week – https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/26/boozy-retirement-threat-to-over-50s
“Last week Tony Rao, a consultant psychiatrist who has long campaigned on the dangers of older-age drinking, warned that the number of over-50s admitted to hospital because of the amount of alcohol they drink has more than trebled in a little over a decade.”
A week doesnt go by without the mention of alcohol and its issues – not just the harm it causes us but the continued drain it has on healthcare and other resources.
Maybe there is some truth in your quote you heard from Pythagoras.
Do we all understand what this is saying to us?
Could it be WHY things are the way they are because some who are in positions of power are they themselves partial to the odd glass or two of this legal poison we call alcohol?
In other words, we cannot challenge and put a stop to a poison that is clearly harming the human body if we are making a decision from a body that actually drinks alcohol. So it is a bit like a blind spot in us and we certainly don’t want the law to change and take away our drinking pleasure.
Question is – what will it take before we address WHY anyone needs to drink a poison under the name “free will” when in truth it affects not only us and our body but much much more..?
Daily Mail – 4 March 2017, page 10
Hot news – National Newspaper saying Fire Services in England are calling for drink-driving limit to be reduced to just under one pint of beer for men and half pint for women. Also the limit will be further reduced for lorry and taxi drivers, learners and newly qualified.
They want this legalised.
WHY? well it is a bit obvious really – latest figures are showing alcohol has contributed to a rise in road accidents and those injured in the UK and they want that reduced.
Great news but is this the answer?
Is there more we can do here?
Can we go for a total ban?
Are we ready to take the level of RESPONSIBILITY that is needed?
This blog is presenting statistics and facts that when a poison like alcohol enters our body, it alters our natural state.
That means any amount however small is going to affect us and there is no getting away from this immutable fact.
Do we need to ask WHY is it that we are even allowing anyone to drink poison and take the wheel?
What value are we placing on human life, our environment, our public services who pick up the mess from our irresponsible choices, our community and our country when we think it is ok to drive around under the influence of a mind altering substance that is legal called Alcohol?
WHY are very few of us challenging this?
Are we afraid to stand out?
OR do we keep quiet as it suits us?
This has been a really educational read Simple Living Global. I have not heard of the Blood Brain Barrier before, it makes me reflect on the days when I used to drink, the horrendous headaches and nausea that increasingly got worse and were starting to give me health problems. It makes me appreciate the incredible design of our bodies, down to such detail as a barrier to protect the brain .. and we drink a substance, you so rightly call poison, that is used as a disinfectant and to run a car, that passes through this barrier going deep into the capillaries of the brain. Just this piece information alone speaks volumes in asking why are we consuming this substance when it brings such harm to the body?
An elderly person I new was in a care home for respite, they had an illness that included mild dementia, I noticed on visiting them one time that they were much less interactive and able to focus on what was being said, I found out they were being given a whisky because they ‘enjoyed it’. I pointed out the decline, I had noticed and talked about some of the effects of alcohol with those over seeing them. Thank fully the alcohol was stopped and there was a noticeable improvement the next time I saw them. This really brought home to me the importance of awareness of the harm alcohol causes .. on a personal level and also for those we are responsible/care for.
I have learnt so much more, alarmingly so, of the effects of alcohol from reading this blog and will return to read it again. Thank you.
Thank you Simple Living Global for this in-depth expose on the harmful effects of this most insidious of drugs.
I say insidious because of how alcohol is considered a societal norm and if you don’t drink alcohol, you are considered abnormal and in some cases you are ostracized.
It is said that alcohol was created anywhere between 4000 and 7000 BC with beer being created about 9000 BC
Humans have been creating alcohol for a very long time now using a variety of ingredients to ferment:
Grains, fruits, honey, rice, corn, etc.
The only case I have heard of where the authorities of the day tried to reduce the consumption of alcohol was the Prohibition Era in the US from 1920-1933.
The intention was to reduce the consumption of alcohol by shutting down businesses that manufactured, distributed and sold alcohol.
Strangely enough, although it was now illegal to manufacture, distribute and sell alcohol, possession and consumption wasn’t.
Initially there was a decrease in alcohol consumption but with human nature as it is and the need for alcohol, it led to the rise of the home distiller, the bootleggers, the rum-runners, the speakeasies and the gangsters.
Home made stills sprung up across the country, especially in the mountains of the Appalachian states, famous for its ‘Moonshine’.
Ironically, the spirits that came from these stills were often stronger than anything that could have been purchased before prohibition. The moonshine would often be used to fuel the cars and trucks that carried this illegal juice.
While prohibition was originally intended to reduce beer consumption in particular, it ended up increasing the consumption of hard liquor.
I have no doubt at all that those in authority know how harmful alcohol is and that they need to reduce the consumption of alcohol.
Could it be possible that nothing of true meaning has been done, or is being done, to reduce consumption of alcohol is because of the huge amounts of tax that is collected through the sale of alcohol and outweighs the necessity of putting peoples health first?
When it comes to personal opinions, if someone doesn’t like what is being said, they will always say, ‘well, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it’.
Most people accept that science is a fact and not someone’s opinion.
When someone starts justifying to me why they drink alcohol and that it is good for you, my response is simple:
If you believe in science, then you need to go no further than:
‘ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON’
Great comment Tim and thank you for giving us more insight into the history of alcohol.
What sticks out is the fact this moonshine was used to fuel the cars and trucks that transported this dangerous substance we today call alcohol. It then ended up increasing the consumption of hard liquor.
So when are we going to put human life before the dollar sign?
The truth is if we stopped and got absolutely honest for one moment, it is super clear and obvious things are getting worse and nothing will change whilst we have those in power endorsing this substance called ALCOHOL which is a SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISION.
When our justice system condone that we can by free will ‘drink ourselves to the ground’ if we choose to, we all need to question what message this is sending out to our youth of today.
Is this the licence to do what we want with no accountability for the consequences?
Is this the permission we seek to let loose and do what we want, when it comes to drinking alcohol?
Is this offering us the right to harm our body because we can if we want?
Is this truly supporting our health system that has to deal with the harm alcohol brings?
Is this confirming the future of our society that things will be getting much worse?
Where is the RESPONSIBILITY and where are we going to start with this word?
Lets face it this word makes most of us turn the other way, ignore it or pretend its for someone else?
Finally, something to consider and ponder deeply on –
Could it be possible that if we enjoy the odd drink or have any association with alcohol in our own body system, this stops us from making powerfull decisions on behalf of humanity?
In other words how can we challenge something and make changes, if we ourselves are doing what we are asking others not to.
Simple maths = no change.
A report last year (http://www.ias.org.uk/uploads/Alcohols_impact_on_emergency_services_full_report.pdf) shows the impact alcohol has more widely on society for example:
“Up to 80% of weekend arrests are alcohol-related, and just over half of violent crime is committed under the influence.
In 2009/10 there were 1.4 million alcohol-related ambulance journeys, which represents 35% of the overall total.
Estimates for the proportion of Emergency Department attendances attributable to alcohol vary, but figures of up to 40% have been reported, and it could be as much as
70% at peak times.
Alcohol is typically found to be involved in 10-30% of all fires.
Moreover, alcohol-caused fires are usually worse: 50% result in casualties, compared to 14% for other fires; and they cost five times more on average.
Our survey of front line staff confirms the magnitude of the problem: alcohol
takes up as much as half of their time. The issue is particularly acute for the police, for whom 53% of their workload, on average, is alcohol-related. However, even fire and rescue teams, who reported being the least affected of the emergency services by alcohol, typically spent one in five working hours dealing with the consequences of drinking.”
And yet it is still ‘legal’ we still use it, and, worse still it is often advocated in ‘studies’ as being good for us. Looking at this report alone – what good is alcohol to us as individuals or as a society?
The Government in England and Wales are considering bringing in minimum unit pricing and increasing taxes on cheap high strength alcoholic beverages, like cider.
43 doctors are amongst those who have written to the Chancellor Phillip Hammond, requesting the change, as the impact of drink-related harm is becoming more evident.
The article on this link reports that crime, ill health and lost productivity, as a result of alcohol use, is amounting to £52 billion each year. This is an increase from the £21 billion previously estimated.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/02/alcohol-related-lost-output-and-ill-health-costs-uk-52bn-a-year
The poignant part about this is that only some alcoholic beverages are being considered.
This is further supported by the announcement in March 2017 that the Government are specifically looking at introducing a tax band to target high strength white cider – http://www.ias.org.uk/What-we-do/Alcohol-Alert/March-2017.aspx#TOP-STORY-Treasury-opens-consultation-on-new-tax-band-for-white-cider
This would mean that these products would have to pay a higher tax duty rate. Wine is also being looked at.
If 167,000 years of working life are lost each year in England due to alcohol, is it just some alcoholic beverages that need to come under scrutiny or all of them?
I watched your link for the real life stories on alcohol today, it really brings home how poisonous alcohol is to the body leaving permanent damage to health, breaking down peoples lives, affecting relationships and those that know them.
It confirms to me my choice to no longer drink alcohol and that I will not return to it.
When reading news reports of late, in our popular press, I have started to question whether there is any bias in the reporting, particularly when it comes to incidents where alcohol is involved. We can find, on checking different sources of the same news report, that some will report on the fact that alcohol was involved and other news reports will leave that information out.
A great question to ask is –
Is the writer themselves an advocate of alcohol?
If they are it follows that any reference to alcohol use could be easily left out in the reporting and it makes sense as, if we are not questioning things in our own lives, we do have a blind spot and therefore – how can we report truthfully or at least with honesty about any situation?
This brings a whole new level of discernment in assessing any information that we read and knowledge that we receive.
It’s so true Jane repeatedly there are articles in the news on a weekly, if not daily basis on the harms of alcohol.
3rd April – Metro
‘Women who binge drink before becoming pregnant could harm their babies. Their children are likely to have high blood sugar levels, placing them at risk of diabetes.’ (p.7)
This research was conducted on rats, however it does make sense that harms from alcohol continue WELL AFTER we have stopped drinking.
Metro Newspaper – 12 April 2017
2016 – UK
£24,000,000,000 spent on alcohol in pubs, bars and restaurants
£400,000,000 higher than 2015
Statistics are showing that britons are opting for more expensive products on a night out. So what exactly is this saying to us?
Are we really celebrating this as a solid performance?
Are we really able to drink poison responsibly in anyway?
Are we uncomfortable when we are challenged by blogs like this?
Are we choosing to forget that ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON?
Are we talking to the staff in our A&E what they witness as the effects of alcohol?
Are we taking the words ‘Free Will’ as a licence to abuse and assault our body?
Are we questioning our Intelligence when it comes to drinking alcohol?
What is the Intelligence that makes us accept poison as ok to drink?
If drinking alcohol, A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON, isn’t harmful enough, we are now mixing our favourite ‘SPIRITS’ with caffeine based energy drinks.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-energy-drinks-alcohol-dangerous-mix-health-0329-20170322-story.html
The studies in the above article show that a higher rate of injury was reported when mixing the two together.
They noticed that not only was there an increase in falls, car accidents and suchlike, but also the incidences of suicidal behaviour and violence had increased.
According to study lead author, Audra Roemer, one of the problems of mixing these drinks together is:
“The stimulant effects of the caffeine in energy drinks can work to mask the sedative effects of alcohol, although energy drinks don’t lessen the impairing effects of alcohol on the body and brain. This could result in people underestimating their level of intoxication.”
Here we have a form of refuge (alcohol) that even one small drop of it will take us away from who we truly are, being mixed with a drink that contains another drug (caffeine) to take us even further away from who we truly are.
What is it in us that we need to find ever more harmful ways to check out and numb ourselves?
Caffeine is a highly addictive drug.
Alcohol is a highly addictive drug.
Mix the two together and you have a potential bomb just waiting to explode.
The last words in this blog, from Professor David Nutt, is a huge message for us all and one that we would be wise to heed.
“There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption.
The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth.”
Professor David Nutt.
Prosecco is an Italian Sparkling wine from the Prosecco region of Italy and for many years it has always been seen as second best to champagne but fine prosecco’s have become more widely available so they are now as popular as champagne.
It seems that adding prosecco to products is all the rage these days, from:
Ice pops
Teas
Sweets
Casseroles
Chocolates
Lip balms
Soaps
An article in the Daily Mail newspaper talks about adding prosecco in our batter mix to make pancakes and also adding it to sugar to make the syrup for the pancakes.
The recipe was launched by a wine café chain and they say they are working on a prosecco tasting menu. The co-founder of this chain says “we have a huge demand from our customers who want anything in a prosecco form.”
What is going on here?
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison.
Why do we need to have alcohol at breakfast time?
Why do we need to add alcohol to any food or product?
What is it in us that gets us excited about alcohol laden food?
Why do we need prosecco flavoured soap??
Why are we ASKING for any food or product to be made with any alcohol?
Its not just the pancakes that have been flipped on their heads – it looks like we have too!!!
We have pilots who are actually jailed for being intoxicated as reported in one such case in Canada (Metro, 5th April 2017, p.17)
I am not surprised that this is taken seriously, given the responsibilities that a pilot has for so many people, turning up to work drunk would be a form of gross misconduct.
Having worked in aviation there is an extensive amount of checks that cabin crew have to carry out, for both passenger and staff safety, let alone the pilot, so there is a massive responsibility in being fit for work.
This article is quite interesting as it discusses further the risks and the prevalence of pilots drinking.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/pilots-drinking-drunk-on-duty-safety-law-rules-cabin-crew-alcohol-on-board-a7216336.html
What I get from reading this is that the use of alcohol is damaging regardless of the job that we do and it’s ill effects are far reaching.
Whether we are responsible for 100’s of passengers or not, our alertness and ability to do any job will be ill affected when we are drinking alcohol, as having toxins in our body does not enable us to have clarity of thought and to see things distinctly.
Sky News – 1st November 2018
The news today shared that a pilot was nearly 10 times over the alcohol limit, just before an international flight. The discovery was made 50 minutes before the flight was due to take off and in the end there was a 69 minute delay.
Do we ever consider that our actions have a ripple effect and do affect others?
We may think that we are harming just ourselves when we behave in an ill way, but what if others are always affected?
This case is a great example of that.
The flight potentially held 244 passengers and so that’s the minimum number of people affected, but what about their friends and family and whoever else may have been waiting for them at the other end?
The pilot is due to be sentenced at the end of the month and whilst it is important that we have the judiciary, who show us the consequences of our choices when we break the law, what will happen to this man post sentence?
Will he be supported to understand why he was drinking and jeopardising his career and putting others at risk?
Will his employer learn anything?
Is there more for us all to understand here?
Is it possible that this case does not just send with a criminal sentence?
News story in Daily Mail on 18 March 2017 says that one in 7 divorces linked to heavy drinking by wives.
Alcohol abuse in a marriage due to the behaviour of the wife has tripled since 1980.
The story talks about the ‘corrosive effect’ of alcohol as one factor that is causing couples to part and drinking alcohol at work such as taking lunches with colleagues or networking clients was cited in a number of cases.
The Marriage Foundation are saying that alcohol is rather a product of unhappiness rather than a cause.
Whatever our personal opinions are and casting no judgment – are we experts on the subject of alcohol and the harm it is doing not only to marriages but families, communities and beyond?
If we are drinking this poison called alcohol because that is exactly what alcohol is, then do we have the authority to talk about it in a way that gets to the root cause of why anyone would want to put poison into their body?
Next – what on earth is going on for a working mother and where is her internal Responsibility compass when she chooses the business lunch and says Yes to alcohol?
Even without children or if we are young, single and free does it make any sense to put a a poison into our body at lunch time and then work?
What is the real quality of our work if we have our natural state altered because that is exactly what alcohol does?
WHY do organisations turn a blind eye to alcohol in the name of ‘networking clients’ for business lunch?
Are those – the big kahunas, who give it the thumbs up and think it is ok, drinking alcohol themselves and so they cannot see the harm as they are blind to it?
Does it make sense that if we are doing something and we endorse it – like drinking poison called alcohol, then we cannot really get to the root cause or even question why another chooses to drink?
This article shares a personal story from Matthew Todd writing for The Guardian newspaper on the harms of alcohol and his wake-up call.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/11/alcohol-abuse-affects-mental-health-rarely-discussed
What is really interesting is that he says that professionals rarely understand addictions as they have their own problems and that he was rarely asked how much he was drinking when he was in therapy.
This proves the point that we are unable to help another if we are blind to the same issue within ourselves.
The statistics quoted of a 94% increase over the last 10 years of 15 – 59 year olds being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related behavioural disorders and this increasing by 150% for people age 60 + is alarming and reinforces the fact that things are getting worse.
What will it take for us to make a change and view alcohol enmasse for the harming poison that it is?
http://www.medicaldaily.com/dangers-binge-drinking-just-21-instances-unhealthy-alcohol-use-may-cause-early-409112
Medical Daily – 23 January 2017
Most of us think that it takes years of serious alcohol abuse before damage occurs.
A new study, published online in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that binge drinking sessions were enough to cause symptoms of early-stage liver disease.
The study was carried out on mice but reading this blog and with a dose of common sense, it would not come as a surprise.
Our body is not naturally designed to drink a poison which we call alcohol. To give it binge drinking sessions, the liver simply cannot handle it.
University of Rochester states that Binge drinking is dangerous.
It increases the risk of accidental injuries such as car crashes, falls, burns and drowning.
In addition, binge drinkers have increased risk of killing someone; committing suicide; engaging in child abuse or domestic violence; high blood pressure; heart attack; inflammation of the stomach, pancreas, brain or spinal cord; sexually transmitted infections; and poor control of diabetes.
Binge drinking can also put you at risk for alcohol abuse disorder – a mental and physical health condition where individuals find themselves unable to control their drinking; as a result they may face many work and relationship problems.
We hear that we have a binge drinking culture so where is it going to end?
Do our youth know about all of this harm to the human body?
Are we not educating them at a very young age so they know the real harm of alcohol?
Have we stopped long enough to question why anyone would want to binge drink?
Are we concerned of the human toll globally with this binge drinking culture?
What are we waiting for and who is going to tell us what to do?
Is anyone going to listen to us or do we just accept things as they are?
Are we aware of the list of increased risks mentioned above and how does that make us feel?
Is it time to get really honest and start with the fact that Alcohol is a poison?
A study by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) has found that half a glass of wine or a small beer raise the risk of breast cancer by up to 10%.
That’s 10g of alcohol.
What is alcohol doing to the body if 10g of it increases the risk of cancer?
Are we shouting this from the rooftops? Are we hoping it will not apply to us?
Here is a news article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39998678
Here is the medical study: http://www.aicr.org/continuous-update-project/reports/breast-cancer-report-2017.pdf
I was talking this weekend with a father of a teenage son. He was sharing the current parental protocols on parties.
He recently dropped his 15 year old off at a friend’s 16th birthday party. The party was a house party at the family home. The parents had arranged buckets of beer for the boys and buckets of prosecco for the girls. There was also a bucket for anyone who needed to vomit.
The thinking was to enable the kids to do what they were going to do anyway, but to do it in a ‘safe’ environment. Apparently all the parents of the class were doing this and felt it was a good way to ‘get the kids used to alcohol’ so they didn’t go crazy later in life.
When he went to pick up his son, there was a teenager laying on the front lawn vomiting and he was told by the dad that there were another 2 out the back.
One thing he came to while we were talking was that he felt it would be hypocritical for him to expect his kids not to drink alcohol if he himself was drinking in their presence. He hadn’t until that point thought about himself as a role model.
This was such a mind boggling story for me to hear. How we normalise alcohol. How we pass it on to our kids and how they aspire to it because of what they see around them.
What a responsibility we each have as individuals, as parents, as role models and as part of what makes up society and all its norms.
A bulletin from the Office for National Statistics shows the adult drinking habits in Great Britain from 2005-2016.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/drugusealcoholandsmoking/bulletins/opinionsandlifestylesurveyadultdrinkinghabitsingreatbritain/2005to2016
In 2016, 56.9% of respondents in an ‘Opinion and Lifestyle Survey’ aged 16 years old and over drank alcohol in the week before the interview, which equates to 29 million in the population.
7.8 million binged on alcohol.
Those earning £40,000 or more annually are more likely to be frequent drinkers and binge on their heaviest days with binge drinking being twice as common among the high earners (21.8%) compared to the lowest earners (10.7%).
Interestingly, binge drinkers in the higher income bands were more likely to be men but the binge drinkers in the lower income bands were more likely to be women.
Men are more likely to binge than women with 62.8% of men that drank compared with 51.3% of women but when it came to binge drinking the gap narrowed with 28.2% of men exceeding 8 units of alcohol and 25.3% of women exceeding 6 units of alcohol on their heaviest days.
When you look at age specifics, females aged between 16-24 actually binged more than males aged between 16-24.
Similar patterns were observed in England, Scotland and Wales.
Of the three countries, Scotland had the highest figures of binge drinkers and of the English regions, binge drinking was more common in the north with the south west of England being the lowest.
The report states that these figures are based on conclusions drawn from ‘weighted’ population counts, which means that the figures are a representation of the population.
It is also likely that the figures reported here is an underestimation of the drinking levels to some extent because people either consciously or unconsciously underestimate their alcohol consumption.
The report goes on to say that that the proportion of adults who said they drink alcohol is at its lowest level since 2005.
This survey in 2016 showed that 59.6% of respondents drank alcohol compared to 64.2% in 2005. There have also been similar reductions in those who drank alcohol on 5 days or more and an increase of 2% of those who drink no alcohol at all (teetotalers).
It is a great sign that the consumption of alcohol is decreasing but these figures are still eye boggling.
Considering that alcohol is already known to be a SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON by those in authority, i.e. the Scientists, the Surgeons and Doctors, the Government, with so many people in authority saying how harmful alcohol is, why isn’t more being done to get this message across?
Is putting a few pence on the price of alcohol every time there is a budget really going to make a difference?
Will it really stop people buying alcohol or is it possible that it will just get people to buy a cheaper brand of alcohol?
Is it possible that the incidence of 5 days or more drinking is getting less and the rise of binge drinking is increasing because the price of alcohol is going up and people are saving up for their ‘nights out’ and making the most of it?
Alcohol is the cause of many problems our society faces, and yes, it is up to each of us individually to take responsibility for our choices, but it is also the responsibility of those in authority to make sure people are aware of the harm that this legal ‘proven poison’ is doing to our bodies.
Alcohol is a SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON and increasing the price of alcohol every year to deter people from drinking alcohol and then telling people… it is okay to drink in moderation, drink responsibly, to have a glass of wine as it is good for you because it once used to be a grape, to have a drink because it is good for the heart…is this not a conflicting statement?
Is there any True Responsibility here?
So it’s official – alcohol degrades brain function.
Even ‘moderate’ drinking results in structural changes to the brain leading to ‘brain atrophy’ or ‘right sided hippocampal atrophy’.
There is no ‘safe level’ of drinking and anyone still thinking alcohol is in any way healthy is deluding themselves.
Here is the report: http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2353
Here is the NHS on the subject: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2017/06June/Pages/Even-moderate-drinking-may-damage-the-brain.aspx
Perhaps science is finally starting to catch up with common sense.
An article from ‘medicaldaily.com’ talks about how that 5 major organs are being destroyed by our alcohol consumption:
1. Heart
2. Brain
3. Liver
4. Pancreas
5. kidneys
http://www.medicaldaily.com/alcohols-effect-body-5-majors-organs-are-being-destroyed-your-alcohol-consumption-291440
The article talks about how alcohol, when consumed responsibly and in moderation, can be enjoyed without repercussions.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the immediate effects of alcohol can begin in 10 minutes after our first sip but it is the long-term effects of alcohol that we should be more worried about.
Research suggests that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a variety of different cancers and can cause severe damage to almost all of the body’s major organs.
Alcohol is absorbed into bloodstream first through the stomach then the small intestine. Within a few minutes the alcohol is distributed via our blood to our whole body.
A doctor on a video in this article presents that some alcohol is processed through the mouth or sweat but most of it is processed through the liver.
Generally the liver does a great job at processing alcohol but excessive drinking really taxes the liver and can lead to serious health problems including insomnia, weight gain, sexual difficulties, liver disease, brain damage and even death.
The doctor also gives a few tips of what you can do to minimize the effects of alcohol:
1. Eat something before you start drinking
2. Have snacks while you are drinking
3. Pace yourself with a glass of water or juice between each drink
If alcohol can be enjoyed by drinking responsibly and is championed as being good for us in moderation – why then are doctors telling us to make sure we eat before and during drinking alcohol and drink water and juice between each alcoholic drink?
Is it possible that even one sip of alcohol is excessive?
Is it possible that even one sip of alcohol can have repercussions in our body?
Alcohol, like any drug, alters our natural state.
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison.
Is it possible that the only safe level of alcohol we should put into our bodies is ‘0’?
I listened to a guy on the radio recently. He was the consultant in charge of one of the A&E departments the night of the recent London Bridge terrorist attack.
He was sharing that some hospital staff are now choosing not to drink and to stay in on a Friday and Saturday night instead of going out socialising.
He says they know if they do drink, they won’t be able to help if they get the call and they feel an increased responsibility.
He said they know that drinking inhibits their abilities and their awareness and that they all know this.
Researchers have found that High Blood Pressure is also a health risk of Binge Drinking.
In a study from the University of Montreal Research Centre they found that the blood pressure of adults aged 20 – 24 were 2 – 4 mmHg higher than those that did not binge drink.
756 young people were tested at age 20 and then again at age 24.
Going forward the researchers will track the same participants at age 30 to see if their blood pressure gets worse.
The main interests of the study are to see whether:
1. Decreasing alcohol intake with age reduces the risk of high blood pressure
2. Young adults are damaging their bodies permanently
http://www.medicaldaily.com/binge-drinking-young-adults-hypertension-374202
So this is a large scale study and something for us to take notice of.
Repeatedly we have reports that binge drinking is
a) increasing
b) having a detrimental affect on our health but for some reason we continue.
In The Real Truth about Alcohol, Simple Living Global have already cited that in 2015 the cost of binge drinking in the UK alone cost the taxpayer £4.9 billion.
So it is not just our physical health but our financial health and economies that are being adversely affected too. https://simplelivingglobal.com/the-real-truth-about-alcohol/
Something clearly is not right.
An article in Bloomberg talks about how ‘Europeans are drinking themselves to death.’
Europeans drinking habits are putting its people at risk of developing digestive cancers, according to a new report by the continents leading doctors.
The average European puts away one to four drinks a day which classifies them as moderate drinkers which increases the risk of colorectal and oesophageal cancers.
According to data collated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it shows that Europeans drink more than people on any other continent, an average of 11.2 litres of alcohol per year which is equivalent to just under 2 drinks a day.
Americans drink 20% less than Europeans while Africans drink half the amount of Europeans.
One in four Europeans over the age of 15 drinks heavily – more than four alcoholic drinks at least once a week.
According to a gastroenterologist Professor, “The majority of people aren’t aware that alcohol is a risk factor in these cancers.”
Nearly one in four deaths from gastrointestinal diseases can be attributed to alcohol intake, according to a WHO report from 2014.
The chief executive of the British Society of Gastroenterology says, “There are carcinogenic effects from alcohol that primarily affect the gastrointestinal tract. Fundamentally, there is no such thing as no-risk drinking.”
The WHO estimates that new cancer cases are expected to increase from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million in 2030.
At the moment, Lithuania tops the list of the countries that have the heaviest drinkers with Lithuanians drinking 3.2 alcoholic drinks per day, or 18.2 litres of pure alcohol per person, per year.
By comparison, drinkers in the USA are downing 1.6 drinks per day.
Lithuania’s government have just passed sweeping reforms of its alcohol laws.
It will ban alcohol advertising, raise the drinking age from 18 to 20 and outlaw alcohol sales between 8pm and 10am.
Is, banning advertising, raising the legal drinking age and outlawing the sales of alcohol at any time of the day, really going to make much difference?
Raising the cost, banning advertising, increasing the legal age and outlawing sales of alcohol at certain times are all tried and tested methods of getting people to look at and reduce their alcohol consumption but the fact is, none of these methods have ever had any measure of lasting success.
Is it possible that instead of the above, more education on the harm and the diseases alcohol causes, would be much more beneficial and would have much more of an effect on people’s attitude towards alcohol?
With people in authority, like the chief executive of the British Society of Gastroenterology, saying there is no such thing as ‘no-risk drinking’, why are we not listening?
As history has shown, the more you tell people they can’t have something, the more they will try to find a way to have it.
Britons are reported to be most at risk in Europe for alcohol-related cancers – bowel and oesophageal.
https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/04/britons-are-among-most-at-risk-in-europe-for-alcohol-related-cancer
Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance has said –
Alcohol is a group 1 carcinogen.
He has also said that the findings are no surprise, when enough alcohol is sold in both England and Wales for every drinker to consume 50% more than the weekly limit recommended by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers.
The awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer is just 10%.
What is this telling us about drinking habits in the UK and our attitude towards alcohol?
Without knowing the statistic about alcohol-related cancers, having lived in the U.K. all of my life I am very aware that alcohol is a big part of the culture and so it is ‘normal’ to be bladdered (get drunk) after work or at the weekend, rather than not. So this statistic is of no surprise.
However what is a surprise is our general lack of awareness of the harms of alcohol including the risk of cancer.
The UK isn’t alone with the high alcohol consumption – none of the 28 European countries were rated as light drinking. Light means one drink or less per day.
The call is for Governments to do more to raise awareness but is there more that we all can do?
Could discussion and education in schools, in the home, and in the media for example, be what’s needed so we can all become more aware?
Do we have a lack of awareness because in Truth we don’t really want to know the harms?
I used to drink heavily and get drunk but once I stopped I’ve realised what a real waste of time it is.
However I only stopped when I started asking questions about my life and could feel how miserable I was and that there had to be more.
If we placed all of the focus, time, money and energy that we spend on alcohol on what supports the true health of humanity our world would be very very different.
An article dated 24 July 2017 in the Guardian talks about how “heavy drinking will kill 63,000 people over the next five years, doctors warn.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/24/heavy-drinking-will-kill-63000-people-over-next-five-years-doctors-warn
Doctors are urging the government to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol as research reveals extent of liver disease.
Almost 63,000 people in England will die over the next five years from liver problems linked to heavy drinking unless ministers tackle the issue of cheap alcohol with the cost to the NHS being £16.74 billion.
Analysis by a University’s Alcohol research Group predicts that 32,475 deaths, the equivalent of 35 a day, will be the result of liver cancer and 22,519 deaths from alcoholic liver disease.
The Alcohol Research Group has also produced new calculations showing that, if a 50p MUP for alcohol were introduced in England, within five years it would mean 1,150 fewer deaths due to drink, 74,500 fewer admissions to hospital because of alcohol, a £326million saving to the NHS and a £711million drop in the value of crime caused by alcohol consumption.
Liver disease is one of Britain’s biggest killers claiming about 12,000 lives in England alone. The number of deaths associated with it has risen by 400% since 1970 and an estimated 62,000 years of working life are lost every year as a result of it.
The director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies accused the government of not doing enough to limit alcohol-related harm. “Whilst it is a key government priority to tackle avoidable mortality, we have seen very little action to prevent liver disease, one of the top causes of avoidable deaths.”
The director also states, “This report shows the enormous financial burden alcohol places on our country. The evidence is clear: raise the price of the cheapest alcohol to save lives and money.”
At the moment the Scottish government is involved in a long-running legal battle to introduce a 50p MUP for alcohol, as it has been trying to do since 2012.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and others are appealing against the Scottish Court of Session’s earlier ruling that the policy could be implemented.
The legislation in Scotland is the first of the four home nations to bring in minimum pricing with Wales following suit and Northern Ireland expressing an interest in doing the same.
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison, but this in itself is obviously not enough for us to stop drinking.
Any system that reduces people’s alcohol consumption must surely be a good thing but with this MUP there also needs to be more education on the harm that alcohol causes.
Is it possible that people will buy alcohol whatever the price is raised to?
Is it possible that cheaper alcohol may contain substances that are much more harmful than other drinks, which then exacerbates the problems?
Is it possible that having an MUP is going to create an underground market for the sale of cheap booze?
The drinks companies will always be up in arms if their profit margins are being affected.
Is it possible that people’s health is more important than a balance sheet?
It seems nonsensical, even hypocritical, that governments around the world complain about an issue like alcohol, that has such health and financial implications, but does nothing to tackle these issues even though they have the power to do so.
The money raised in taxes from the production of alcohol is always going to be a strong motivator, but is it possible the amount of money spent on dealing with liver disease or any repercussions of drinking alcohol, from diabetes, obesity, other cancers, crime, unsociable behaviour, accidents, etc. far outweighs the money coming in from the tax revenue?
There is a study about the effects of alcohol about to start -http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/is-alcohol-good-for-you-an-industry-backed-study-seeks-answers-a7822501.html
Which is a large scale study on the impact of alcohol over 6 years – it is heavily funded by the Alcohol Industry – so it will be interesting to see whether or not the full results of the study come out in truth – or whether there is any bias – as one Professor says:
“Research shows that industry-sponsored research almost invariably favours the interests of the industry sponsor, even when investigators believe they are immune from such influence,”
Talk about contradictory advice – this article last week states on the one hand moderate alcohol supports diabetes, and in the same article it states how alcohol causes other health conditions…
“People who drink three to four times a week are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who never drink”
and then
“Consuming alcohol contributes to a vast number of other serious diseases, including some cancers, heart disease and liver disease, so people should keep this in mind when thinking about how much they drink.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40740247
How on earth do people make sense of this?
Surely its time for us to face up to the fact that the game is up with alcohol… it causes harm to the body, and has a ripple effect in so many ways – in crime, in domestic violence, in relationships, in attendances in hospital and so on… surely enough is enough?
In the news today – more confirmation that alcohol is not good for the body –
“Official advice claiming that moderate consumption of alcohol may be good for you has been dropped in Scotland, where NHS staff are now being told to warn that even light drinking poses risks to the heart.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/new-health-guidelines-warn-that-even-light-drinking-can-be-bad-for-your-heart-k0lfkmq5t
Daily in the news is the topic of Alcohol – today I saw this article – http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237_5?nlid=56444_2381%3Fsrc%3Dstfb&utm_content=buffer5763d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
that states that NO amount of alcohol is safe.
Why is it that we still accept alcohol as part of our daily lives – given that NO amount of alcohol is safe for us to consume?
And in the news again today – alcohol – it has wide reaching negative impacts – this time on air travel.
“The number of air passengers arrested for drunken misbehaviour on flights and in airports has risen by 50 per cent in the past year, an investigation has found.
Two senior peers have pressed the government to place the aviation industry under the same strict licensing laws as pubs and nightclubs, after cabin crew described being groped, verbally abused and physically assaulted by inebriated passengers.
The voluntary alcohol sales code adopted by airlines and airports 12 months ago is failing to foster responsible drinking and should be scrapped, flight staff said.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/arrests-of-drunken-air-passengers-up-by-50-252q9dmp7
Evening Standard – 2 August 2017
London Ambulance Service has launched its first summer sensible drinking campaign as alcohol drinkers caused more 999 callouts than Christmas partygoers.
They are responding to calls on a Friday and Saturday night and are asking for friends to take responsibility to get them home safely and look after them because it is stopping them from dealing with potentially seriously ill or injured people who could be waiting for help.
Asking people to drink responsibly – is there really such a thing?
Asking friends to help if their friends drink too much – is that a solution or a cure?
Are we giving the right advice or are we going to dig and ask more questions?
WHY has summer drinking overtaken the Christmas binge booze season?
What is going on for people that they have a need to drink alcohol in excess?
What type of community, society, nation and world have we created with alcohol?
WHY are we being advised to look after those who drink too much so that they do not “end up alone, vulnerable and in need of an ambulance”?
Are those calling ambulances really calling for help and we are not paying attention?
Are we dealing with them in a way that supports them to learn from the incident?
What would change if they were fined and had to pay every time they used the service?
Are friends who may have alcohol in their own body be the true support that is needed?
Are we simply expecting some to stay sober just to help out those who chose not to?
Is passing the responsibility to friends to take care of the drunk person actually making any difference?
Are we looking at solutions to our ever growing social problem or are we ready to get honest?
Could it be possible that we can look at alcohol however we choose but the bottom line is it alters our natural state and harms us beyond words as this blog is spelling out?
Could it be possible that there will be more incidents and more rise in alcohol related statistics until we get to the root cause of WHY anyone drinks alcohol in the first place?
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/alcoholism-epidemic-more-1-8-americans-are-now-alcoholics-1634315
International Business Times – 11 August 2017
Alcoholism epidemic in the USA – more than 1 in 8 Americans are now alcoholics.
Alcoholism has risen 49% in 11 years in the US.
National survey 79,000 people
29.6 million Americans
WHY are Americans becoming increasingly heavy drinkers?
WHY is the greatest rise among women and older people?
WHY are ethnic minorities drinking more alcohol now?
“The increasing rates of alcoholism in the US are a symptom of a broader problem with addictive substances.
Proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health budget are ‘potentially disastrous for future efforts to decrease alcohol problems’
If we ignore these problems, they will come back to us at much higher costs through emergency department visits, impaired children who are likely to need care for many years for preventable problems and higher costs for jails and prisons that are the last resort for help for many”.
Marc Schuckit – Psychiatrist
University of California, San Diego.
If we just take a stop here and re-read this we will be left in not doubt that something is seriously not right.
WHY are we using a scientific proven poison to the level it is at today?
WHY is it classed as a licit substance so simply a licence to drink this poison?
WHY are the policy makers and the law makers not getting a hold on this?
WHY have things got so bad and seem to be getting worse as there are no signs yet that we have nailed it?
WHY is alcohol so readily available for human consumption?
Are we going to learn in another 50-100 years as we have for tobacco, that it is a killer and there is no getting away from that fact?
Are we waiting for more and more research to tell us what our common sense has always known?
WHY do we insist our young children never touch alcohol if it really was ok for us to drink?
WHY are we not joining the dots and using our common sense here?
Just reading this news story, it would be true to say – SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Is it time we started to ask what is the root cause of WHY anyone would drink alcohol in the first place?
What if we started with this blog and then all the comments on this blog and pondered deeply on what is being said?
Where is this going to end if we do not start to talk openly about this toxic legal substance that is ruining lives all around the world?
I was reading more about alcohol-related dementia and how it is reversible.
People who drink moderately but consistently or who binge on and off can get the following symptoms:
Lost sensation in their extremities
Unsteadiness on their feet
Memory loss
Difficulty performing familiar tasks
Impaired judgment
Problems with language
Malnutrition caused by loss of thiamine (vitamin B1)
Changes in personality
The onset can come as early as 30, but often starts in the 50s onwards.
Drinking in line with recommended weekly limits increases the risk of this brain shrinkage by 3 times.
The amazing thing is that the onset and severity has been found directly to correlate with the amount of alcohol consumed.
And it can be halted by removing the alcohol.
What if you knew alcohol actually shrinks your brain. Would you want that? Would you continue drinking?
And what if your brain function was degrading and you knew you had the answer to stopping it?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/06/glass-wine-day-enough-damage-brain-could-increase-alzheimers/
Good point – I talked with some people recently – who have 2 glasses of alcohol every night and when one of them went to their GP the GP said – 2 glasses is okay – as long as you only have it in moderation – but did advise having two days off a week to ‘rest the liver’. We all know the harm alcohol is doing, when will we say ‘enough is enough?’
If we really are choosing to evolve, could it be possible that we need to start asking some serious questions about our relationship with alcohol and why we champion it so much?
Why even in our dying days and in the face of terminal illness do we need to hang onto alcohol taking it in whatever way we can get it into our body, even if it is through a straw, because we can no longer lift the can because our muscles are wasting or because we no longer have full control over the muscles in our throat?
What is the point of this?
Is this intelligent?
Why do we support this and not stop for a few minutes to question what is going on and whether this is actually sane behaviour?
Is this approved by the medics or does it not matter as the person is at the end of their life?
Do we continue to allow culture and tradition to dictate, over what our body’s are screaming out trying to tell us, with the harm we are doing to it through the use of alcohol and the many other poisons we allow into our bodies?
And more in the news today – https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/23/baby-boomers-drink-and-drug-misuse-needs-urgent-action-warn-experts
“Urgent action is needed to tackle drink and drug misuse among baby boomers, experts have warned, with a growing body of data from around the world suggesting that substance misuse is increasing among those in their mid-50s and older.
The call follows the release of recent figures which revealed that in 2015/16 more than half a million adults aged between 55 and 74 were admitted to English hospitals with alcohol-related injuries, diseases or conditions – more than for any other age group.”
Thats a lot of extra pressure on the NHS when the NHS is already stretched to capacity. If we decided to gradually get rid of alcohol the impact would be enormous.
And in the news today:
Cancers linked to alcohol consumption:
Prostate cancer
Breast cancer
Mouth cancer
Throat cancer
Oesophageal cancer
Liver cancer
Stomach cancer
Colorectal cancer
“From the very first sip, even at very low levels of less than half a drink a day, you can experience an increased risk for a range of cancers,”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-08-23/does-one-drink-a-day-damage-your-health/8770438?pfmredir=ms
What is it about airports and alcohol?
I read about short-haul airlines calling for a crack down in airport sales, due to an increase of 50% year on year in alcohol related arrests on their flights. Proposals include a ban on serving alcohol before 10am and capping the number of drinks served per traveller in the airport.
Apparently out of 4,000 cabin crew surveyed, 87% have witnessed drunken behaviour.
This got me thinking.
Why is there so much focus on alcohol at airports? Certainly in the U.K. you are funnelled through the alcohol aisles after security and as you leave departures.
It turns out it’s a huge money spinner. £300m of alcohol was sold in airports last year. That’s 1/5 of the alcohol retail total for the entire UK.
All that duty free…
For those who made the decisions to introduce duty free in the first place – what was the motivation?
And for those who decided on the layout of the airports – what were they wanting to achieve?
Was the focus capitalising on that ‘kick back we’re on holiday’ sentiment?
Were they supplying to demand or feeding it?
Was anyone thinking about wellbeing?
And as we start to see the consequences of those choices, will we make a change?
It is one thing reading about something and totally another when we actually see it for ourself in real life.
Today 4:50am in London a massive queue whilst I was at the traffic lights. I asked my husband is this a nightclub line or what?
It was a pub open all night. There were heaps of people outside smoking and inside it looked jam packed and I am wondering what on earth can keep them up all night?
Would society benefit to carry out a qualitative research study based on the ethnographic approach, where they can be right in there and find out what on earth keeps people going all night?
Common sense tells us that we are not naturally designed to be awake all night and the consequences to our body are huge. If we read the Sleep blog on this website there is more on this.
I realised that it was great being up early and out there to actually see what is going on in our world and whilst I cannot become a researcher overnight or start rallying around trying to make things happen, I can write and I can make a comment, so to me that means something is being said about what I know and can feel is not true in our world today.
Evening Standard news story – 25 August 2017
Student dies after collapsing in a restaurant bathroom and was found unconscious.
The inquest heard she had drank half a bottle of whiskey and choked on her vomit, which stopped the flow of oxygen to her brain.
Is this what we call ‘having a good time’ as a close friend said who was there?
Should we be endorsing this as a good time?
Is this what our youth class as a good time when celebrating a birthday?
What about this girl’s family and the knock on effect to all who knew her?
Is this going to stop anyone from drinking alcohol or are we just going to see it as another news story?
Are we ready to join the dots and take note that our human body is not designed to have alcohol and if we choose to drink half a bottle then for some there are very serious consequences, as in this case?
Cause of Death is quoted as –
Hypoxic brain injury
Cardiac arrest
Asphyxiation Vomitus
Alcohol toxicity
“…what underlies all of this is Alcohol, I’m afraid.”
Coroner – Mary Hassell
How many more deaths do we need reported and how many more research studies do we need to tell us that ALCOHOL is killing us?
Alcohol misuse is so prevalent and such a drain on resources. How much responsibility do we take knowing it is not just us who get affected – the ripple effect can be immense.
Its the Notting Hill Festival in London this weekend, and the Ambulance Services have been tweeting live updates – and asking people not to over do things. In preparation for Notting Hill they said:
“Ambulance crews prepare for Notting Hill Carnival – 23 August 2017
London Ambulance Service is stepping up its preparations for Notting Hill Carnival, and encouraging Londoners to stay safe this bank holiday weekend.Around 160 frontline and control room staff will work on the Sunday and 180 on the Monday, with clinicians out on the streets responding to emergencies on foot while carrying specialist equipment including defibrillators.The Service will work alongside St John Ambulance and colleagues from other ambulance trusts during the carnival (Sunday 27- Monday 28 August) to staff nine treatment centres and provide medical assistance to hundreds of patients.Tactical Commander for the event Paul Gates said: “As ever we want Londoners to stay safe while having fun at the carnival.“Last year we treated over 1,000 patients and we’re expecting this year to be just as busy. I’d urge those attending the carnival to drink alcohol sensibly and avoid illegal substances. We respond to around 150 alcohol-related incidents alone at carnival, so please look after your friends and make sure they get home safely and don’t end up in the back of an ambulance.” http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/news/news_releases_and_statements/ambulance_crews_prepare_for_no.aspx?lang=en-gb
There has been a big campaign in recent months by ambulance services about alcohol and the pressure it puts on the use of ambulances.
Evening Standard – 25 August 2017
The article is about our hard-drinking culture in London.
Why do we have this and what is being explored here that we could possibly learn?
In Northerly drinking cultures – Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Russia, alcohol is like a forbidden fruit, closely associated with loosening inhibitions, as well as social problems, moral panics and temperance movements.
“By blaming alcohol, we sidestep the uncomfortable question of why the English, so widely admired for our courtesy, reserve and restraint, should also be renowned for our oafishness, crudeness and violence.”
Kate Fox – Anthropologist, Study ‘Watching the English’
Her hypothesis is that the English suffer from a “chronic sociability disorder…that makes it difficult for us to express emotion and engage in the kind of casual friendly interaction that seems to come naturally to most other nations.”
So what exactly is this spelling out to us and is it fair to say that this is a British thing?
Or could it be that it is more obvious in this generally English reserved holding back nation?
In other words it is common as most of the world agree – the British are nice, polite and rarely offend.
What on earth is Chronic Sociability Disorder and WHY do we not have funding and more research studies to confirm this?
If there is some truth in what this woman is saying, then how interesting that we find a substance – a poison – to ensure we have a solution to this problem and use it express everything that we choose, for whatever reason to not say.
What is this telling us about us and WHY?
WHY do we need something to alter our natural state to get that loose tongue going?
WHY do we need the excuse to drink alcohol to feel sociable with others?
WHY are we choosing to use alcohol in the first place and what exactly does it give us?
WHY are we not interested in the true harmfull effects of alcohol?
WHY are we allowing alcohol to be used in this way to deal with our unexpressed emotions?
WHY are we lacking in the social department and have difficulty with connection with others?
WHY are we not endorsing and fostering our innate natural sense of being with others, without the need for a scientific proven poison called alcohol?
Are these questions and this comment and this blog trying to tell us something about alcohol?
Are we ready to at least consider that something is seriously wrong if our behaviour changes when we consume alcohol regardless of the amount?
Are we ready to admit that there is no such thing as Responsible drinking when it comes to Alcohol?
An article in the BBC News, 26th August 2017, talks about the horrific crash on the M1 motorway involving two articulated lorries and a minibus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-41065582
Eight people in the minibus died with four others receiving life threatening or serious injuries.
Having seen the pictures of the crushed minibus, it seems incredible that they all didn’t die.
Both lorry drivers have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving with one of the lorry drivers also being arrested on suspicion of being over the legal alcohol limit.
As a former HGV lorry driver myself, I have seen a lot of accidents involving lorries and smaller vehicles and I am very aware of how accidents do and can happen. One thing is for certain, the smaller vehicles don’t stand a chance against a potential weight of 44 tons.
There are very strict rules regarding HGV driving but rules will never remove human error or human arrogance.
Whatever the reasons may be, it is a total lack of responsibility for any professional driver to be drinking any amount of alcohol if they are going to be working the next day.
The devastating consequences of this type of accident is clear to see, so to add alcohol to the mix is reprehensible and totally unacceptable for any professional driver.
If the driver of the HGV is proven to be over the legal alcohol limit, then of course he should be subjected to the full force of the law, but that still doesn’t take away the fact that people have lost their lives due to his choices and it is those choices he will have to live with for the rest of his life.
Whatever our views are on alcohol, whether it is a car, a lorry, a bus or a bicycle we are driving, the consequences of mixing alcohol and driving are well known and are usually catastrophic.
We all know that driving and alcohol is not a good combination.
We all know that the Government has stipulated that we are allowed to drink a certain amount of alcohol before we are over a ‘man made legal limit’.
We all know that having that one drink could lead us onto that next drink, with the intention of getting a cab or a bus, but then a few more drinks could lead us behind the wheel of our own vehicle.
We all know that alcohol loosens our inhibitions and adds to our carefree and careless attitude to getting behind the wheel of our vehicle.
If we know all this, if we know of the dangers involved, if we have all seen on the news or in the papers the terrible and harmful consequences of a drunk driver, why do we still take the risk and go for that one drink?
Why, as a race of beings, are we so arrogant that we think we are OK, even with one drink?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-09/america-s-drinking-problem-is-much-worse-this-century?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews
Bloomberg news – 9 August 2017
Americans are drinking more alcohol than they used to, a troubling trend with potentially dire implications for the country’s future health-care costs.
30 million adults binge drink at least once a week according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
“This should be a big wake-up call. Alcohol is our number one drug problem…”
David Jernigan, Director Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth
The John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Adult consumption increased across all demographics especially for older Americans, minorities and people with lower levels of education and income.
This article covers a lot more including the costs that show up in higher health-care needs, lost productivity and prosecuting alcohol-fueled crimes, from drunk driving to homicide.
“We just tend to overlook Alcohol. There is no national strategy in the U.S. that matches recent, high-profile efforts to combat opioids, smoking or illegal drugs.”
Jurgen Rehm – Senior Director
Institute for Mental Health Policy Research
The Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.
So do we need a solution fast or is there something else we need to look at?
Is making alcohol more costly through higher taxes really going to work, or will it drive it into the black market, as it does with other illicit substances?
Is restricting hours for sale of liquor licenses and limiting availability, going to stop the real drinkers who will do what it takes to get what they want?
Have we truly got the resources for medical screening and is a cultural shift realistic?
If Americans and most of our world think excess drinking is simply a character flaw and not a medical problem, is this where we need to find out more?
Could it be possible (with due respect) all the above and every other solution we have thus far come up with, is not cutting it when it comes to alcohol abuse?
Could there be another way and we are not choosing to go there?
Could it be possible that the policy makers and all those who continue to endorse or foster this scientific proven poison cannot and will not make radical changes and fund new studies because they themselves enjoy alcohol?
Could it be possible that we are not on the front foot really as we are one step behind with all our solutions to fix a problem that is spinning out of control?
Could it be possible that we need to put all our effort and intelligence into finding out the root cause of WHY someone wants to drink poison that alters their natural state and harms their body?
Alcohol in the news today – this time about the rising popularity of Prosecco – and the potential it has to rot teeth –
“How our prosecco obsession is rotting the nation’s teeth: Dentists issue warning over the sparkling wine’s high sugar content”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4828240/How-prosecco-rotting-nation-s-teeth.html#ixzz4rgol2zCi
Again more ripple effects – not just on our own health, and teeth (if it is rotting our teeth what else is it doing to our body?) but also the ripple effect on the dentists and healthcare staff who have to deal with this when we do get into trouble/when our teeth rot.
In New Zealand, the Medical Association wants the government to ban alcohol being sold in supermarkets.
They say that wine and beer and the like sold alongside shopping staples such as bread and toilet paper, makes it easy and cheap to buy what is in fact a ‘dangerous drug’. It ‘normalises’ it – people just pop a bottle of wine in the trolly ‘without a second thought’.
Apparently, alcohol consumption increased ‘exponentially’ when they introduced it’s sale through supermarkets. It also means kids are exposed to alcohol marketing on 85% of their supermarket visits.
It now costs NZ$5bn a year to deal with alcohol-related harm – police call-outs, injuries and health issues.
The chair of the Medical Association says evidence suggests alcohol is worse than methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin. It is a cheap, addictive and psychotropic drug.
She said ‘Alcohol contributes to domestic violence, many cancers and car accidents…. If you are putting alcohol next to your bread and milk, you are essentially saying having alcohol is the same as having bread and milk on a daily basis.’
Isn’t this just absolute common sense?
Isn’t the psychology similar to supermarkets displaying chocolate at the till to tempt you while you queue?
Are we open to the possibility that alcohol is worse than methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin?
If we could accept that as the truth, what changes would we make? Would this medical woman’s words seem wise?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/07/ban-alcohol-from-supermarkets-urges-new-zealand-medical-authority
Alcohol in the news today – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41188917
talks about the rise in alcohol-free beers, alcohol-free drinking festivals, alcohol-free spirits and alcohol free night clubs:
“The alcohol-free drinks market is booming too.
In only five years, the amount of low or alcohol-free beer sold in the UK has risen by nearly 50%.
And the world’s first alcohol-free spirit Seedlip launched 21 months ago. In 12 months, it experienced a 1,000% rise in sales.
There are now clubs for people who want to get together without alcohol and the UK’s first alcohol-free drinking festival was held in London last month.”
“The clubs and the festival want to cater for the increasing number of Britons choosing to give up drink.”
When you give up alcohol there can be issues with others e.g. “one of the biggest challenges comes from friends: “It’s actually seen as bad or weird not drinking. It’s like you’re a minority, people look at you like you’re an absolute weirdo.”
Maybe this is the beginning of a change – and maybe one day there will be no alcohol that we actually drink for ‘pleasure’ – as the only alcohol that is used is for industrial cleaning/chemical purposes.
An article from CNN, 21st April 2017, asks: “Is wine healthy?”
The answer – Yes, wine may protect our hearts when consumed in moderation. Benefits of moderate alcohol consumption such as wine include a 30% reduction in the risk of heart attack compared to non-drinkers.
Another question asks: “Isn’t red wine better?”
The answer – Red wine has been praised for its resveratrol content. Resveratrol is a polyphenol (plant chemical) found in the skin of red and purple grapes. It has antioxidant properties and it also helps to make arteries more flexible which lowers blood pressure.
According to a professor of epidemiology and nutrition, who has been researching the effects of alcohol and chronic disease for decades at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says a few studies suggest that consuming red wine may be more beneficial than drinking other alcoholic beverages. But, he adds, the amount of polyphenols in red wine is simply not enough to explain the benefits on health.
In studies on resveratrol given to mice, the mice were given the equivalent amount of resveratrol that would come from 8-10 bottles of wine which of course is very harmful to humans.
What’s more, research that has looked at resveratrol in humans isn’t that promising.
One recent study involving close to 800 men and women 65 years or older concludes that resveratrol consumed from dietary sources was NOT associated with longevity, nor did it decrease the incidence of heart disease or cancer.
The professor also states that “When you consume wine in moderation, most or all of the benefit is coming from the ethanol (alcohol) in wine.”
Near the end of the article it states:
A note of caution.
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer.
For men, drinking a couple of glasses of alcohol a day was associated with a 26% increased risk of cancers such as liver, colon and oesophagus.
Women with a risk of breast cancer should be cautious when consuming wine.
Let’s get real here.
On one hand the article tells us alcohol MAY be good for us and on the other it categorically says that alcohol increases the risk of cancers.
It tells us that the ‘benefit’ from wine comes from ethanol and not the grape itself.
Is it possible that the process of turning grapes into wine removes any benefit there may have been?
IT IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN FACT THAT ALCOHOL (ETHANOL) IS A POISON.
If that is the case, how can there be any benefits from drinking alcohol?
Why are we so determined to show that drinking alcohol is beneficial to us?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/14/driver-m1-crash-killed-eight-people-did-not-have-lorry-licence/
The driver of a lorry was asleep on the motorway for 12 minutes before the fatal accident that killed 8 people.
We could just sit and blame or we could use this tragic story to start asking some very serious questions?
How on earth can someone with that amount of Responsibility ie driving a Heavy Goods Vehicle. even contemplate or consider sleeping on the road?
What was going on for this person that makes them want to just sleep literally at the wheel without any awareness of the consequences?
What was going on in the mind of this driver that just stops on a motorway lane to sleep?
Is the alcohol which we all know is a mind altering substance the reason this has happened?
Are we going to ban everyone from drinking alcohol when driving as no amount is safe?
Are we going to get real now and see the harm that is caused when someone is over the drink drive limit?
Are we ready to say No to a scientific proven poison called alcohol that can have such a devastating effect on us and others?
Are we going to join the dots and make simple sense that sleeping on the motorway is dangerous and anyone in their right mind would never attempt it?
Are we going to do something about this or just put it down to a terrible news story?
Are we going to realise that lack of sleep and alcohol abuse are a lethal cocktail?
Are we going to put our common sense hat on and see this all for what it truly is?
How do we as a nation get over the worse motorway tragedy in 25 years?
NOTE – this comment is also published on our Sleep Blog
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/alaska-gold-rush-town-struggles-hard-drinking-legacy-49744042
ABC News – 10 September 2017
This news story is telling us that a town in Alaska is trying again to address hard drinking that is deeply entrenched there. This time it is proposing law prohibiting intoxication in public places like the city’s main street because there are tourist shops and people stumbling or passed out.
Locals are saying such a law would unfairly target residents who are struggling with alcoholism while failing to address root causes.
Jenny Mills, a member of the Regional Wellness Forum says “we need to address the underlying causes and not pursue a punitive route because it is not addressing the problem”.
Is it time to listen to the locals who are talking about addressing the root causes?
We are not born drinking alcohol, so we know something happens to us and then we start.
Reading this blog does present another way and the questions alone give us a starting point to dig deeper and not keep offering solutions which are like band aids to a bullet wound.
If we are to turn the tides once and for All, we all need to start with a dose of real honesty.
As Jenny Mills is saying we need to address the underlying causes and without that consideration we are not really going to make any true change. History has confirmed that fact.
On another note, many of us want to visit Alaska for whatever reason and most still have the picture postcard image but this story confirms it is far from that.
As a race of beings can we honestly say we are doing well and have evolved when a place like Alaska with a small population compared to most countries is struggling with an alcohol problem that is not going away?
The Week – Issue 1143, Page 20
23 September 2017
Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies warned pregnant women last year, against drinking any alcohol, on the grounds that there is no “safe” level.
So why would we appoint someone in a powerful government position, give them a grand title and then dispute it or think she is talking twaddle?
Scientists can make studies look like they want and some of us know that, but what if we just stopped and applied some common sense? For starters this blog is presenting a fact that alcohol is a scientific proven poison. So for those who fund studies about alcohol and those who carry out studies – could it be possible that they have a blind spot where they think it is ok to drink alcohol because they like the stuff and drink it? Possible?
We keep hearing there is no safe limit and yet we keep wanting and demanding more studies and research. What is the real purpose and could we spend our public money by studying those, like the author of this blog, who have not drank alcohol for over a decade and more to the point, find out WHY people drink alcohol in the first place?
In other words, get to the root cause – as this drug is killing our world and things have got worse incase we haven’t noticed.
This Week – Issue 1143, Page 6
23 September 2017
New students in the UK starting university have been issued with bright coloured wrist bands across the country. It has their name and their hall of residence to help them home after a night out.
What exactly is this telling us?
What is this spelling out to us?
How Intelligent is our academia that thinks it’s a useful solution to help those who get drunk?
Are we learning anything here or can we join the dots?
Would it be wise to address WHY there is such an accepted culture of drinking?
WHY is there a strong correlation with alcohol and university life?
Would that be a real study that we as the general public need to know more about?
WHY are we ok with turning a blind eye to this scientific proven poison called alcohol?
Why is our so called current intelligence killing our youth before they get a job in the real world?
How are we supporting and preparing them for life after university, if drunk behaviour is seen as the ‘norm’ and ok to do?
Is is that easy to shake off a momentum of drinking alcohol post university?
Are these the sort of questions we need to be asking, or do we need more blogs like this all around the campus with talks on the real harmful affects of a poison and what it does to our body?
Metro – 13 October 2017
University students on a annual bar crawl with t-shirts saying “rape is not a crime” and other similar offensive quotes causing anger amongst other drinkers.
With the words ‘Free Will’, we can all do what we like these days and most of us might rant but the fact is nothing really changes. We have a passport to do whatever we want when it comes to free will and free speech and words. No one can stop us as we are living in the 21st century and lost our moral compass way back.
This bar crawl is a popular event and what we should all be asking is How Intelligent is that really?
Next – what Intelligence comes up with words like ‘Rape is not a crime’?
Does anyone question our current form of Intelligence?
Would this be a good place to start to get real and honest?
We all know alcohol is a proven mind altering scientific poison, as this blog states.
Does our mind need to be in an altered state to accept abuse in any form?
Do we think a joke t-shirt with words like this are ok as it is not seen as harmfull?
Are we prepared to stand up and say No to abuse in whatever form or do we have our versions of what we say No to?
How many of us have double standards and wonder why the world is as it is today?
I was in an airport lounge and a business guy there was very drunk.
He had missed his flight and had 5 members of staff fussing round him.
They had got him on a flight early the next morning at no charge and had sorted him a hotel to which they were going to escort him.
They clearly wanted him gone but were being polite and nice about it. So much so that he wasn’t getting the message.
The attendant in charge told me it happens all the time and she would love to be able to boot them out without ceremony, but she can’t.
It made me think of A&E departments across the UK where the effects of alcohol take up time, energy and resources every day.
Are we really powerless to deal with this?
What lessons are actually learned when we behave as if it doesn’t matter or make it all pleasantly go away?
An article in the Daily Mail, 28th October 2017, talks about how “5 glasses of red wine a month could help you get pregnant.”
If you are trying to get pregnant, the current advice from the NHS is to abstain completely from alcohol.
A study suggests that a moderate amount of red wine – no more than five glasses a month – could actually boost the chances of conceiving.
White wine, beer, spirits or more than five glasses of red wine a month did not have the same effect.
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in the US set out to examine the effect of alcohol on fertility because previous findings were ‘conflicting’.
The objective of their study was to determine if alcohol intake is associated with ovarian reserve as determined by AFC, Antral Follicle Count – the standard way of assessing a woman’s fertility.
They were unsure about how exactly red wine might boost ovarian health, but said it could be that it contains the anti-inflammatory compound resveratrol.
The study was done on 135 women aged 18-44.
Was there any point to this study as it doesn’t reach statistical significance?
We have hundreds of millions of women of child bearing age and yet this study was done on only 135 women.
Can a study like this ever be representative of all?
Also, this study produced a lot of results that were ‘maybe’s’, ‘might be’s’ and ‘unsure’s’ – no confirmations either way which asks the question, should this study have been published?
Is it possible that the newspapers need to be more responsible when printing articles like this?
Is it possible that this study could influence women to drink more alcohol?
Who actually comes up with this research?
Is it possible that wine producers have some influence over this research?
Is any research free of influence?
We are given contradictory information, with some professionals saying that exposure to alcohol by a developing foetus may cause irreversible developmental damage but at the same time stating it is OK for women trying to conceive to drink six units of alcohol a week.
Giving contradictory information, does not make it easy for those that want to make the right choices.
Is it possible that this just highlights the irresponsibility that goes into decision making?
Flying premium economy on planes, they bring round a tray before take off, offering sparkling wine and water.
Looking around, most people take the wine. Watching how they take it is super-interesting. It’s like ‘oh go on then, what a treat, I can really relax now’.
Alcohol is a diuretic – it acts on the kidneys to make you urinate out more than you drink. Flights are known to be de-hydrating experiences – why would you add to this?
There is an unpleasant smell in the cabin after the glasses have been collected – the smell of bad wine breath as the body processes it.
Last night I spoke with some people about the fact that I do not drink alcohol.
It was very easy to share as I have not drank alcohol now for about 7 years.
I was asked the question don’t you miss it and I could honestly say No and that the Truth is I became very aware that I would start to feel ill after drinking just a glass of wine like I’d drank 10. That was the sign for me that my body was saying No – I had a similar experience re stopping smoking cigarettes.
So in saying No, I don’t miss drinking alcohol I could confidently share that my body is now of greater value to me and so I won’t allow toxins like alcohol into it at all.
An article in the Independent, 7th September 2017, talks about the “Alcohol industry accused of ‘downplaying’ risk of cancer form drinking too much.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alcohol-cancer-risk-health-downplayed-too-much-drinking-claims-a7935441.html
Researchers said one of the most important findings was that the industry appeared to specifically omit or misrepresent evidence in breast and colorectal cancer.
The study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet say: The industry is using “denying, distortion and distraction” strategies to minimise evidence in activities that have parallels with those of the tobacco industry.
Researchers anaylised information relating to cancer on the websites and documents of almost 30 alcohol industry organisations between September and December last year, finding that most showed “some sort of distortion and misrepresentation” of evidence.
The industry most commonly presented the relationship between alcohol and cancer as highly complex, implying there was no evidence of a consistent or independent link.
Other tactics include denying that any relationship existed or claiming that there was no risk for light or moderate drinking, as well as presenting alcohol as just one risk among many.
The researchers said one of their most important findings was that the industry appeared to specifically omit or misrepresent evidence on breast and colorectal cancer, possibly because they were among the most common cancers.
In light of the findings, they urged policymakers and public health bodies to reconsider their relationship with the industry, which is involved in developing alcohol policy and disseminating health messages to the public in many countries.
Alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for a range of cancers including oral cavity, liver, breast and colorectal cancers and accounts for about 4% of new cancer cases annually in the UK.
There is limited evidence that alcohol consumption protects against some cancers, such as renal and ovarian cancers, but in 2016 the UK’s Committee on Carcinogenicity concluded that the evidence is inconsistent and the increased risk of other cancers as a result of drinking alcohol outweighs any possible decreased risk.
The Professor of Public Health at the LSHTM and the study’s lead author said: “The weight of scientific evidence is clear – drinking alcohol increases the risk of some of the most common forms of cancer, including several common cancers. Public awareness of this risk is low and it has been argued that greater public awareness, particularly the risk of breast cancer, poses a significant threat to the alcohol industry. Our analysis suggests that the major global alcohol producers may attempt to mitigate this by disseminating misleading information about cancer through their ‘responsible drinking’ bodies.”
He added: “Existing evidence of strategies employed by the alcohol industry suggest that this may not be a matter of simple error. This has obvious parallels with the tobacco industry’s decades-long campaign to mislead the public about the risk of cancer, which also use front organisation and corporate social activities.”
The chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies said: “This report shows that, like the tobacco industry before them, alcohol companies are misleading consumers about the evidence linking their products to cancer.”
The chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK said: “With only one in ten people aware of the risk between alcohol and cancer, people have both a need and a right to clear information about the health risks of drinking alcohol.”
He goes on to say: “The time has come to stop relying on voluntary agreements with an alcohol industry that is putting profits before people’s health.”
This last sentence says it all really.
The knowledge that alcohol, like tobacco, contributes to cancer and other health implications has been known for a long time, so why HAS nothing, or why IS nothing, being done about it?
Why are we relying on a profit-driven industry to promote public health?
Is it possible that those that have the authority to change policy do not do so because the truth is that they also need alcohol to ‘take the edge off’?
Government’s and health authorities are not doing enough to change the public’s awareness on the true harm that alcohol causes at the same time as bemoaning the fact that alcohol related conditions are increasing year on year.
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison – Do we really need to go any further than this immutable truth?
Metro News – 3 November 2017
Illegal traders in Ecuador selling contaminated alcohol.
16 people died.
21 people under medical observation.
880 gallons seized.
We could say – not our country so it is nothing to do with us.
OR we could ask – how on earth is this going on and WHY?
Who would want to buy contaminated alcohol for personal consumption?
WHY is there an illegal trade for this in the first place?
Can we stop just blaming the supplies and take a look at the demand?
Think about it, if there were no customers for this dodgy poison called ‘contaminated alcohol’ then these rogue traders would have no one to sell it to and would be out of business.
So if we join the dots, it is the punters who want it cheap cheap and bingo someone creates something, regardless of the harm to human life just to make money and here we have business.
If these people did not die, would this illegal trade have come to light?
Is this a one off or can we get real and admit it is probably a tip of the iceberg?
Can we even enter the thought that it is probably happening in other parts of the world?
What is going on for people that is wanting them to take a scientifically proven poison we call alcohol in the first instance?
What is it about us humans that overrides all sense of Responsibility and gets into this cycle of harm because let’s face it, no one is winning and the way we are behaving is not getting any better?
Is it time to read blogs like this and gain a deeper understanding of the true harm of alcohol and all the related ills it brings to the human body and society as a whole?
An article in ‘The Telegraph’, 6th December 2017, talks about “Notorious House of Commons bar shut after member of staff is ‘glassed’ in fight with another pass holder.”
The incident took place outside the bar and reportedly involved two men aged 57 and 64 years old.
A bar on the House of Commons estate has been closed temporarily after a fight broke out which left one member of staff seriously injured after allegedly being glassed.
A House of Lords spokesperson said in a statement: “Following an incident on the Parliamentary Estate last night involving two parliamentary staff, after leaving the Sports and Social Bar, an investigation is under way and the bar will be temporarily closed until that investigation is complete.”
The bar, notorious for cheap alcohol and heavy drinking, is frequented by young parliamentary aides and older members of staff who work on the estate managing the grounds and carrying out maintenance work.
There have been calls for the Sports, as it is known by staff, to be closed after the drinking culture in the Houses of Parliament was blamed for a number of sexual assaults.
An unofficial guide written for House of Commons staff warns: “Watch out for the karaoke night on a Thursday, not something you want to end up in by mistake.”
Last month it was announced that the bar would no longer be run by an outside company but by House of Commons staff in a bid to control rowdy behaviour.
New restrictions on guests and opening hours were also introduced and Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons said: “There should be no place here on the estate, or in our constituency offices, where people can be abused or their allegations not taken seriously.”
It came after a former bar manager said she was pestered by MP’s for sex while working here. She told another newspaper that some MP’s “spent all day boozing and fancied their chances because they thought they were very important people.”
As alcohol has shown once again, it does not discriminate where age is concerned.
It doesn’t matter how old we are, we all succumb to the lack of inhibitions that follows when we drink alcohol.
Irrespective of where we work and what job we do, alcohol and work should never be allowed to mix.
The fact that the bars are subsidised just adds to the likelihood that this ‘drinking culture’ will be abused.
As a driver of Heavy Goods Vehicles and London Buses, I was never allowed to drink and drive, for obvious good reasons.
Of course, those in Parliament or the House of Commons won’t be in charge of any large vehicles that could harm anybody but they are in charge of the policies that they bring into Law.
Is it possible, with the ease that alcohol is available, that these policies may be influenced by someone drinking alcohol?
If so, is it possible that these policies have the potential to affect a huge number of people?
Whatever our views are on alcohol and whether we drink alcohol or not, the fact remains, alcohol takes us away from who we are and alters our natural state.
When that happens, anything can happen.
Thank you for sharing this very valuable information Tim.
We seem to have this ill perception that those that run countries are squeaky clean or are to be looked up to, but reading what you have shared here and various other news stories over the years about Government officials, this is very far from the truth.
I remember reading a news story a few months ago about the appalling and lavish behaviour of high ranking government officials. Copious amounts of alcohol, receiving large daily allowances for doing nothing and snoozing amongst debates were some of the behaviours described.
There was even one report of a man who resigned due to drunk and disorderly behaviour who was then later given an important ministerial role.
Others have received 6 figure sums in expenses for doing nothing.
When we consider the fact that many of these roles are paid for through Tax Payers money, what are we actually paying for and endorsing?
Much of Tax Payers money goes towards subsidising these ministerial bars and restaurants and so are we supporting irresponsible policy makers and why?
Very important questions for me to consider. It would be great to have ministers who do not use drugs or alcohol, that take care of themselves and take their role seriously. I would definitely vote for ministers that have this level of integrity.
Daily Mail – 6 May 2017
A retired Urologist called the NHS the “National Hangover Service”.
£2.7 billion a year is the cost to the National Health Service for treating ALCOHOL ABUSE.
£1 billion a year on Ambulances and A&E services to look after drunks.
25% increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions in last decade.
This is not about youngsters but all too often those that society call ‘wise and respectable’ adults in their 30s 40s and even 50s.
How serious is this and where is this going to end?
What is it about us that when it comes to alcohol, we seem to get away with things?
But are we really getting away with anything?
Is our caring Health System taking on this burden because we expect it?
Are we abusing our unique National Health Service because we know we can?
WHY are decent so called ‘wise and respectable’ citizens behaving in this way?
Are we going to wait for more studies and more funding (that we clearly don’t have) to tell us this cannot continue?
Are we as individuals going to be serious when it comes to taking Responsibility for all our choices in life?
Are we going to ask the question WHY we need to drink to the point where we end up in hospital?
Are we going to consider applying what is being presented in this blog anything that makes sense to us?
Are we going to continue on our downward, out of control behaviour, because others are doing it and so that somehow makes it ok?
Are we looking at the annual cost of £2,700,000,000 and could this money be wisely spent on where our health system needs it?
‘The Week’ magazine, 1st April 2017, printed a letter from a member of the public titled “Doctoring the facts.”
It was to do with how, when we see our GP’s, we lie about our alcohol consumption.
The writer explains that he is 63 years old and has drank alcohol for most of his life. He drinks between 30-40 units per week and has done so for years.
He says if he told his GP how much he drinks, it would be met with incredulity and a good telling off. So he doesn’t tell him.
“There are many people like me who accept that you can’t have a reasonable discussion about moderate drinking and therefore lie about their consumption. If we are to have a proper debate, we need to stop looking at alcohol consumption in terms of sensible drinkers as good and all others as bad. Until we do, you will always have a massive cohort of drinkers who are not represented because we have chosen to keep our GP happy.”
In the same article, another member of the public writes in and says that he lies to his doctor about how much he drinks.
He says, “I sometimes encounter my GP in a bar we favour, when we both quickly conceal our cigarettes under the table and pretend that the large glass of wine is our first. Any overt reference to our peccadilloes is met by him threatening a prostate examination.”
Its clear from both letters that lying to our GP about our alcohol consumption is fairly commonplace.
The question is, WHY?
Why do we feel the need to lie?
Is it possible we know deep down that we shouldn’t be drinking this much?
Is it possible that we know deep down that we are hurting ourselves?
We claim that alcohol, drunk in moderation, is OK.
Even health professionals, those that see the harmful effects of alcohol every day and should know better, claim that alcohol in moderation is OK.
Is it possible that we, and those who should know better, lie to ourselves because, in truth, we need alcohol?
Is it possible that the only ones we are fooling are ourselves?
The first writer talks about not looking at alcohol consumption, in terms of sensible drinking, as good and all others as bad, but is it possible that drinking alcohol in any measure is not sensible?
If alcohol is a scientific proven poison, how can one drink of alcohol be considered sensible?
I realise that saying to people you don’t drink alcohol is not really enough.
WHY I no longer drink the stuff is worth sharing, so here is the laser version –
Growing up alcohol was around and if you got a cold or was not well, it was brandy.
Even at a very young age, I recall the burning in my throat literally and then being knocked out that I slept and slept.
Next – we were encouraged to drink shandy, which was lemonade mixed with beer or lager. I recall the cold feeling in my middle area, probably my intestines or stomach and that feeling stayed throughout the decades when I went for the cold fizzy drink, be it shandy, cider, lager or beer.
Then to keep up with others in 90’s it was all about cocktails. These were lethal as they tasted tropical and I had no idea what went into them besides them costing a bomb. A few cocktails and I was totally gone. No idea whose mind I had and things were hazy and vomiting was normal. Again that cold damp feeling I had in my gut was there always.
Next – getting a bit older the wine thing was what others were doing, so I am on the bandwagon, but I really hated red wine. It had no fizz and was dull tasting. I liked the sweet cheap white wine – the fizzy stuff but it looked cheap and un-classy to drink.
Bingo – I got the answer. Champagne and it worked thereafter. This was the drink of my choice as it was sweet and tons of fizz. Only problem was it was expensive but hey ho I got what I wanted and I had a partner who was happy to join me.
Again after every drink I remember that cold dull damp feeling in my stomach and the headaches soon after that would linger.
So this was my alcohol life and there was no such thing as a party or celebration without alcohol. The other thing I clearly remember is that I had to drink loads to stay awake, so never could I do a nightclub unless I started drinking early evening and kept going.
What a crazy way to live and today I can see no logic in why I would subject my body to such abuse, knowing what I know about this legal poison we call alcohol.
When I gave it up, I was the odd one out but looking around now, after a decade, I know I have reaped the benefits and my vitality levels and youthful face and body confirm that this way of living does work.
Very, very interesting, Bina, thank you for sharing.
What I know about alcohol for myself is that it weakens you. In my experience, it:
– drains your energy
– degrades the quality of your thinking and decision-making
– affects your ability to connect with others
– ruins your sleep
– affects the body in a heap of unpleasant and unhealthy ways – digestion, skin, hydration levels, balance, circulation, eye-sight, memory …
I gave up alcohol pretty much overnight. I was so done with it.
Done with how it is such a focus for ‘good times’.
Done with how it made me feel the next day.
Done with how it interfered with my wisdom.
Done with how it changes people – faces, behaviour, movements, judgement, integrity.
Done with how it smells.
Done with the waste of money.
I value my vitality and my energetic integrity so highly, there is no way I would consider consuming alcohol again.
Scientist have spent 3 years studying the flow of liquid across wine bottle lips, using slow motion video. This is so that they can design wine bottles that do not drip.
If we spent that amount of time, energy, money and focus on the root cause of illness and disease, including why we drink alcohol in the first place (a large factor in certain cancers and liver disease), we might actually be one step closer to healing some of these issues, rather than retarding our growth.
Of what true good does having alcohol wine bottles that don’t drip really have?
Does it support the Suicide rates to reduce or the numbers of people that experience domestic violence?
At an event this week, the room was cold. I kept my big scarf and coat on for ages on top of my party dress until it warmed up.
One woman laughed and said ‘oh yes, you don’t drink do you, so you don’t have your beer coat on like we do’.
This knowing was so interesting to hear.
Alcohol stops you feeling. Fact.
This link has real life footage of people falling into railway tracks whilst drunk?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-42368466/the-drunk-passengers-who-fall-on-to-rail-tracks
How can anything that makes people go off the rails like this ever be advocated for?
How can we honestly say that alcohol is good for the human body?
Some of us may argue that ‘Oh this only happens if we drink too much’ but as has been said in this blog by Simple Living Global, alcohol is a scientific proven poison – FACT.
A poison that causes great harm to humanity.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/16/vodka-falling-fashion-bored-consumers-plump-interesting-gin/
The Telegraph – 16 December 2017
The headlines are telling us that Vodka is out of fashion as ‘bored’ consumers are going for ‘interesting’ Gin cocktails.
Gin and Tonic was named the favourite drink and no surprise Britons bought 47 million bottles of Gin in 2016 as there are now more small-batch gin distilleries allowing people to buy locally.
There are over 100 brands of Gin now available on the UK market like Christmas gins with frankincense and myrrh.
We all know what spirits are a strong distilled alcoholic drink.
So that is telling us it is more potent and powerful as it has been distilled.
Should we all be asking WHY is there such an increase of Gin now?
What is going on in everyday life in Britain that is correlating to this rise?
WHY are we asking for this, as the suppliers are there simply because there is a demand?
Are we going to contemplate, ponder, consider or start asking questions now?
Can we just sit and accept all of this and see where it ends up?
What is it about the human psyche that gets hooked into all this stuff and think its ok to harm our body and if things get bad, we have our health systems to help us?
Are we going to wake up and realise that things are not great, if we have 47 million bottles being sold of just one type of spirit in one year?
What will it take for us to turn the tides once and for all and admit that alcohol is killing us?
There are loads of unwritten rules about drinking in the UK.
One of these struck me at a Christmas party this year.
Everyone is supposed to drink. You are seen as odd if you don’t. And it’s about drinking a lot.
But if you do drink a lot, you are supposed to be able to ‘stay the distance’ and ‘hold your drink’, not fall about drunk.
People who can hold their drink are respected.
People encourage each other to drink more and more and everyone is friends and laughing. But there is an unwritten rule not to tip over the edge into embarrassing drunkenness. Woe betide anyone who does that.
The judgement begins. And that person is quick disowned. Either as no longer fun or as a liability.
But what if control in the context of alcohol is an illusion? What if the decision is made at the point you start, not at the point you think you choose to stop?
How much are we all complicit in this illusion? Feeding the cycle until we say no more and choose another way.
An article in the ‘Independent’ 30th November 2017 –
Scientists have developed the world’s first ‘Healthy’ alcoholic drink using tofu.
A popular food in Asian culture, large amounts of whey are disposed of during the manufacturing process of tofu.
While this may sound like a harmless by-product, when discarded as untreated waste, it actually adds to environmental pollution and oxygen depletion in waterways.
As such, scientists at the National University of Singapore decided to do something about it and in the process developed an entirely new type of booze.
An Associate Professor and a PhD student took three months to concoct the drink by altering its composition through a lengthy fermentation process and turning the yellowish liquid into a light wine-like brew.
Made by adding sugar, acid and yeast to the whey, the drink is said to taste slightly sweet with a fruity floral flavour and have an alcohol content of 8 per cent.
But aside from tasting great, it’s also thought to boast some seriously health benefits too.
Since tofu is made from soybeans, it contains notable high levels of soy nutrients, while the waste also features an abundance of calcium.
The Associate Professor says: “As a result, the new drink provides health benefits like liver, heart health and cancer prevention.”
So while we are allegedly getting the health benefits for our liver, heart and to prevent cancer, conversely, we are poisoning ourselves with alcohol which is well known to affect our liver, our heart, our blood, our brain, the whole body in fact and give us cancer.
Why is it that alcohol producers champion the fact that because something has health benefits in its natural form, they assume it will have the same benefits after the fermentation process?
Is it possible that, (just like red wine, another alcoholic drink that is purported to have health benefits because it comes from a grape), the fermentation process wipes out all the health benefits that soybeans contains?
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison.
Is it possible that, the premise that fermented fruit or other products maintain their health benefits because they are natural, doesn’t really make sense if the product is turned into a harmful poison?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42353206
BBC news – 15 December 2017
Parents are giving children alcohol too young and ordering takeaways too often, researchers warn.
The body and brain of a child is not yet fully developed and the study found one in six parents give their children alcohol by the age of 14.
A separate study said regular takeaways were a risk to the heart and other health problems.
Previous research has shown that those who start drinking alcohol at an early age, are more likely to not do well at school, have behaviour issues and develop alcohol problems in adulthood.
Official medical advice recommends that children don’t drink alcohol until they are at least 15.
Set clear rules for teenagers and booze, experts say.
Is this where the real problem starts?
The fact that our experts are endorsing alcohol in the first place?
Are our governments – the officials taking real Responsibility?
Are we aware that these teenagers today are the future generations?
Could it be possible that those in authority, whether it is policymakers or parents may just have a blindspot if they themselves are drinking alcohol on a regular basis?
Could it be possible that drinking at an early age, knowing that alcohol can be addictive, is the start of many problems to come?
Could it be possible that there is no such thing as ‘drinking responsibly’ even though the adverts tell us we can?
Could it be possible that our teenagers have no real role models around and those that are supposedly role models, all consume alcohol?
Could it be possible that all our solutions and strategies cannot guarantee safe drinking, when it comes to alcohol because it is a poison?
Could it be possible that if all children were educated on the facts and research about alcohol with articles like this, then they have a choice if they want to drink or not drink alcohol?
Today’s news is that ‘Drunk tanks may become norm, NHS boss warns ‘selfish’ revellers’ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42506706) – as currently for instance over busy times like Christmas/New Year, Emergency Departments are less able to cope when ‘selfish revellers’ have over-indulged. It is estimated that 15% of Emergency department attendances are due to alcohol consumption, which rises to 70% on a Friday and Saturday – yes you read correct – rises to 70% of emergency department attendances at weekends are due to alcohol consumption. Therefore by having the ‘booze buses (which are being trialed in cities in England already) they take the pressure off A&E leaving them to be able to support patients who turn up with other injuries/emergencies/illnesses.
Maybe if the drunk tanks do become a feature of the future – we could add a fine for using one e.g. just like if we get a parking ticket. As all of this adds a lot of cost to already stretched health, and police services.
I saw this on the news yesterday too, Jane.
The footage they showed of drunk people falling about on a Saturday night in different cities in the UK was incredible to see. I’m wondering if they put a video together of all that footage and showed it on prime time TV every week, whether we would reflect on our habits around drinking – actually have a good look at what we are doing.
The money that is spent on alcohol – both its consumption and the clean up – must be absolutely huge. I didn’t hear the cost of ‘drunk tanks’, but I’m guessing it would be pretty huge to roll that out nationwide. The idea of those using them contributing to its cost makes great sense.
I’m also wondering if the authorities have considered banning alcohol, or if that would be seen as an unpopular step too far.
I agree JS – maybe a ‘parking fine’ type approach for using the drunk tank – as even though it diverts drunk people needing care away from emergency departments, it still comes from the same pot of money that is needed for the already overstretched NHS. More so it legitimises it is okay to do this, and maybe some will see attending drunk tanks as ‘trophies’.
Early on the eve of New Years eve I see on the twitter feed the ambulance and emergency services are already asking that emergency services are respected for real emergencies, and that those out for the evening regard themselves (e.g. by not getting drunk), and regard others (e.g. by not using services that are needed for others).
Lets hope in future generations it will not be this way. The cost to society of alcohol problems and liver disease is increasing exponentially – as this blog highlights. To need a solution such as a ‘drunk tank’ surely highlights that something is out of kilter in the way we are living?
There was a story in the news recently that told of a young man of 28, a father of one, who was reported missing on the 23rd December 2017, after a night out and his body was found at a recycling plant.
Apparently he had climbed into a bin which was collected in the early hours of the morning.
Straight away the tributes came pouring in saying he was ‘the nicest lad’ and what a waste of life this was. And it is.
This is obviously a very sad story and one that has a huge effect on his family, friends and colleagues.
But, however sad this incident and its consequences may be, are we overlooking one very important point here?
This young man got into the bin because of alcohol.
There have many incidents over the years where people have died due to them being so drunk, and this will be another one, and we will keep saying things like, this is a waste of life, this shouldn’t have happened, this is so sad, but yet we continue to drink alcohol.
Alcohol relaxes our inhibitions, reduces our ‘common sense’ factor and invites us to do things we would never soberly do.
I know this because on one night out many moons ago, I got so drunk I just wanted to sleep and I found a cubicle in the men’s toilets of this bar I was in and laid on the floor until I got kicked out by the bouncers. I then found a doorway in a shop and laid there until a friend found me several hours later. On the way home in a taxi, I vomited all over the cab door.
Apart from being so cold because I had lost my jacket, and getting in trouble with my wife, I was fortunate in this instance that nothing serious happened to me.
Alcohol is literally a killer and when we consume too much of it, we just don’t care what we do to ourselves.
Even one drink of alcohol could lead to another, then another, and before we know it we are totally ‘out of it’.
Isn’t it about time we start to get honest about the true harm that alcohol does to us?
Great Jane and JS the awareness you are both sharing here about Drunk Tanks.
Let me add to this – The same day as this news story – Friday 29th December 2017
BBC Radio had a discussion on this topic where experts, professionals and general public can speak.
One caller said he could not see a problem if people wanted to get drunk as it was Christmas and this should be expected. He added that those using Drunk Tanks are paying taxes, which pays for the NHS so they have already paid for this service and there should be no fines to pay.
Whatever our personal views are – let us for one moment put our common sense hat on and look at the bigger picture here.
Drinking alcohol, which we all know is a poison is telling us something is not right?
WHY are people choosing to drink in excess in the first place?
What is going on for them in their life that leads them to do this?
WHY are we not questioning this stuff until we get to the root of it?
Is it time we started to educate our younger generations with informative blogs like this one, so that they are in a position to make informed choices based on what they know?
Relying on role models in society right now is not having much of a positive effect if we are being honest.
Next – are our solutions, like Drunk Tanks endorsing excess alcohol drinking in some way?
All these questions do need to be asked, if we are ever going to get Responsible as a society?
There is a lot in the news about ‘dry January’ – e.g. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dry-january-giving-up-alcohol-new-years-resolutions-a8139316.html
One of the issues with dry January is the ‘rebound’ effect – and so it is suggested it is better to go for two dry days a week rather than one month.
Alcohol consumption has increased in the last 60 years, it is often said that we are not honest when we look at how much alcohol we actually drink, and there is often peer pressure to continue to drink.
With the upward trend in alcohol consumption has come alcohol related health issues e.g. since 2009 there has been a 44% increase in the over 50’s having alcohol related health issues.
This article also states “If we discovered alcohol today, we would restrict and criminalise its use in the same way we have for drugs such as heroin. Objective examination of harms associated with 20 of the most commonly used legal and illegal drugs ranked alcohol as the most dangerous.”
As this is so, why are we talking about a dry January, or dry two days a week – why is it we ingest something so harmful and toxic that is the most dangerous of drugs?
Here is more research that suggests alcohol is not good for us
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/03/alcohol-can-cause-irreversible-genetic-damage-to-stem-cells-says-study?CMP=share_btn_link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42590781
BBC News – 6 January 2018
Restrictions on the sale of Alcohol at UK airports could be introduced in an effort to reduce the number of drink-related rage incidents on planes.
In 2017, a House of Lords report found disruptive incidents on flights “more often than not” involved passengers who had consumed alcohol before boarding.
A BBC investigation also found a 50% increase in arrests of drunken flyers.
All the evidence does show that this is a problem that is only getting worse, says Chief Executive of Airlines UK.
If we simply join the dots, there is something about alcohol that leads to our ill behaviour. This blog covers the ins and outs of this scientific proven poison that is legal.
Are our solutions to restrict sale going to actually work?
Are our holiday passengers going to find another way?
Are we coming up with a strategy that is the tip of the iceberg?
Are we going to wait for more scientific proof or do we have enough right now telling us, as the Chief bigwig is saying – that it is a problem and it is only getting worse?
We all know how creative we become as humans when we want our needs met and we are good at finding other ways.
Who is going to stop us popping into a supermarket, en route to the airport and getting our booze stocked up for the journey, before we get to the security gate for check-in?
Are the authorities really one step ahead and is this going to stop anything in the long term?
Are we still looking for ways to enjoy ourselves in the name of alcohol even though most of us KNOW it is a harmful poison to our body?
What is it about us that needs the altered state to go on holiday so we use alcohol?
What is it about us that demands and is outraged if there was ever a ban at airports?
WHY do we need alcohol in the first place, might be a great question to start with?
Then we could add the long list of questions in this blog and educate our youth and adults about the dangers of Alcohol.
Without asking WHY questions, we can never get to the root cause of why we need a poison drink to get going for our holiday, which can lead to ill behaviour and harm others, but above all harms our human frame.
It has been said that if alcohol was invented today, it would for sure not be seen as a legal substance for all to consume, as it is today, because the classification is poison. We cannot get away from that immutable fact.
Talking this week to a 22 year old New Yorker.
He had his first drink of alcohol recently, after being encouraged to do so at a work event.
He was unequivocal about how disgusting it was and was incredulous about why people would want to drink it.
Many of his friends had enjoyed the ‘thrill’ of getting access to alcohol under age at university and he shared that getting a fake ID to get in to nightclubs to drink is a very ‘normal’ thing to do in the US – the fake ID business for college students is apparently booming.
He said his life had been way too busy to bother with partying and he saw drinking as a waste of time and money.
And yet he was feeling the pressure to drink at work events.
He was heartened to be around others who don’t drink and who hold themselves steady in that.
Talking to a businessman last night about his relationship with alcohol and how it serves him.
He shared that he is an anxious person and he uses alcohol to medicate for that.
He said he is much more relaxed when he has had a drink and he feels he ‘performs’ better as a result. He gave an example of a recent negotiation and how much more persuasive he felt he was after doing the teleconference at night after a drink.
He had not considered that such higher ‘performance’ could be available to him without the alcohol. He had found a solution and hadn’t considered if there was another way.
What if he didn’t need the alcohol at all? What if his natural ability and flow was in fact being blocked by the anxiousness?
He found the possibility so appealing but could not see the ‘how’.
It made me appreciate the wisdom available on this website. It is something to which we should all have access.
It is much needed in the world.
I read a recent newspaper article about a hit and run driver who was under the influence of alcohol and was said to have brought shame on his family due to their culture.
On reading the article, a few questions arose –
Why is it that we have followers of particular religions, where the religion says not to drink alcohol but the believers still do?
Why do we have young men and women from various cultures, where alcohol is unacceptable still drinking it in secret?
Do we ever question Why or Do we just look on and judge?
Do we ever really stop to question why intelligent people who can do all manner of technically advanced tasks trash their bodies with alcohol?
Could there be something unresolved, maybe from our upbringing or in our childhood, that we are carrying into adult and so regardless of how ‘successful’ we are in the world, alcohol is used to numb the pain?
Could this apply to all of us who drink or have drunk alcohol and could it be possible that once that something is resolved and healed, there is no longer a need to drink alcohol?
I have not drunk alcohol for 7 years and I know that it is not something I will ever drink again.
What happened was as I started to receive true support in my life, which led me to make honest self-enquiry into why things were the way they were and sought to get to the root of them, as I dealt with each situation and took responsibility for my life and made changes, I found that I was drinking less and less alcohol, to the point where one glass would leave me with a stonking hangover the next day.
That was my sign that I no longer needed alcohol or even wanted it in my body and so I made a choice to let it go.
I have never looked back since.
Alcohol – there are big misconceptions about this drug.
Many believe it is a way to relax after long days, wine is widely recommended here in the US, for 1 glass a day to help with multiple ailments even from medical professionals.
Honestly, it’s a mechanism to check out. When I was in college and younger days drinking was to be someone else, not to be me, alcohol was a way to check out, be cool etc. I haven’t had a touch of any alcohol since 2008 and I now think to myself why did I ever need it in the first place in my younger days.
The Guardian – 5 February 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/science/sifting-the-evidence/2018/feb/05/could-ketamine-help-treat-alcohol-dependence
Alcohol abuse is the fifth biggest risk factor for illness, death and disability across all ages.
With current treatments often failing to prevent relapse in the long term, researchers are investigating using ketamine combined with psychological therapy to help people stay dry.
Evidence for the use of ketamine in the treatment of alcohol problems came from Russia in 1980s.
In this study patients with alcohol problems were given three weekly ketamine treatments along with psychological therapy. 12 months later – 66% of those who had the treatment were abstinent compared to 24% who received treatment without ketamine.
This abstinence rate is higher than any documented for other relapse prevention methods.
2018 – two universities in the UK are conducting further study on this.
Ketamine is deemed successful as it has fast and powerful anti-depressant properties. People with alcohol problems often experience depression.
Depressive symptoms are thought to be a major factor in the relapse of alcohol use.
Further research has suggested that ketamine promotes the growth neurons and connections in the brain. These processes are essential to learning and memory and are suggested to be impaired in people who have depression or problems with alcohol.
Does this kind of treatment offer any true healing?
Is using one drug to treat a dependence on another the answer?
Have we studied what the long terms effects will be on those taking ketamine?
Whilst the behaviour of drinking alcohol might stop – is it possible that new behaviours may be adopted that are the same or even more harming than when the person was just drinking alcohol?
Have we asked why we are choosing to go for the quick fix?
Is ketamine use really the answer to alcohol problems or will we just be circulating the same issues by doing this – getting no closer to WHY we started drinking alcohol in the first place?
Is this wise?
I read on the front page of the UK Metro newspaper yesterday that low strength alcoholic drinks are being sold as replacements for soft drinks.
A Cambridge University study found that the way lower alcohol products are being marketed is to suggest they are healthy and suitable for all times of day.
For example, fruit flavoured alcoholic drinks have labels showing calorie count information and pictures of fruit ‘adding to the impression they are healthy’.
The doctor who wrote the report said “Increased availability of lower strength alcohol products has the potential to reduce alcohol consumption if consumers select these products instead of ones with higher alcohol content … If not, they may simply increase the number of occasions on which people drink alcohol.”.
So are we being marketed to like this because we want these low alcohol drinks? And if we do, why?
Is it that we want to turn away from the hard stuff and drink less? Or do we actually want to be able to drink more and not feel bad about it?
There is an important place for regulation in this – it is hard to see how it could ever be legal for companies to market alcohol using any sort of ‘healthy’ claims.
However, there is also an increasing need for careful discernment in what we buy, or perhaps rather, what we let ourselves be sold.
I was sitting behind a guy on a long flight and it was clear he could not speak English. So there was a lot of repeating and sign language going on with the airline staff.
However, what was interesting is that when the trolley came he did know a few words – VODKA ICE. Again, when they came with tea and coffee, he requested vodka and then again when there was not trolley staff asking him what he wanted.
What was interesting is that this was a long flight and this man suddenly developed what we would call a cold and he needed to blow his nose constantly for the rest of the journey.
My take is something is clearly not right and the body is communicating, as it always does and it is up to us to listen.
I have heard that when we are up in the air, the way alcohol is processed by the body means that we are more drunk on less amounts. Speaking from lived experience, a very long time ago, I would say that this is true.
I often wonder if one day, a bit like how vaping and cigarettes are banned on aeroplanes, that alcohol will end up being the same because man will realise what this blog is spelling out clearly –
This currently legal drink of choice is a scientific proven poison that alters our natural state.
Will we continue to wait for another thousand research papers or are we going to get there with our own common sense?
ADD to that the fact that airports are considering banning alcohol for passengers before boarding flights because of the trouble caused by drunk passengers, we can say something is not right about alcohol and ignoring blogs like this is not wise.
Time we took note of the facts and became aware of the real dangers of alcohol.
I read this week about a machine that has been invented to pull 6 pints of beer at the same time.
It pours the drinks in 7 seconds, which makes 1,000 drinks poured per hour.
This is serving those in crowded environments like pubs and sporting events, where the demand for alcohol is high, so more people can be served more drinks quicker.
I wonder what would happen to consumption levels if each glass of beer had on it one of the facts from this blog.
Talking to someone yesterday who is giving up alcohol and what they are missing about it. Something came up that I found really interesting.
This person talked about the point in a drinking night when time becomes irrelevant.
They talked about the fact that this point always comes a good few hours in and they love it. They recognise it in the moment and embrace it. From that moment, there is no awareness of time and they just enjoy themselves. The next time they become aware of time is usually in the early hours and it is time to go home.
This really struck me and felt like it was all about responsibility. If we see time as somehow linked to responsibility then escaping from time would be a great relief. And alcohol can get us there.
But what if we can’t ever escape from responsibility, we only delay it?
The Week – 2 March 2018 Issue 1165
Drinking linked to early dementia
Heavy drinkers have a substantially increased risk of developing early-onset dementia, a study has found, published in The Lancet.
Data examined on millions of adults discharged from hospital in France between 2008 and 2013.
57% patients diagnosed with dementia before 65 were heavy drinkers.
ALCOHOL CLEARLY DOES DAMAGE THE BRAIN.
Dr. Michael Schwarzinger, the study’s leader said it is likely that it has a “much larger” role in dementia than previously believed and it should be classed as a “major risk factor” for the condition.
Dear World
Here is yet another study telling us the harmfull effects of alcohol.
Millions of people were in this study over a 5 year period.
Have we considered the cost of this?
Have we realised the time and effort that goes into a study of this scale?
Would common sense cut it for any of us now, as deep down we all know alcohol is not for human consumption?
If it was totally ok – how come parents do their utmost to stop their children consuming it?
WHY are we certain that alcohol is not for a baby?
Where did we say the age thing suddenly changes what the human body can accept without studying the facts?
If we look back – Smoking Tobacco has taken us over 150 years to say YES it needs to be banned and it is killing us.
We knew it over a century ago but those who it suits continued to demand more and more research and so we continue on the cycle going nowhere other than creating even more ills.
Are we doing the same for Alcohol that a hundred years from now they will say that this blog, this website and all those contributing were on it back then in the early 21st century, without any research study, but just using this simple thing called COMMON SENSE?
An article in The Week magazine, 25th November 2017, talks about: Scotland: raising the price of drink.
“In Scotland, a unit of alcohol can cost less than a third as much as a Twix”, said the Times. From the 1st May this year, that will change.
The Scottish minimum alcohol pricing law was passed with broad cross party support in 2012 but has been held in the courts since then.
Recently the Supreme Court finally dismissed an appeal by a whisky trade organisation.
As a result the minimum cost of a unit of alcohol will be raised to 50p.
A three litre bottle of strong white cider currently available for less than £4, will cost more than £10.
The cheapest bottle of whisky will cost £14 and the cheapest four-pack of beer will cost £4.
The law came about in response to soaring alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths; in the 1980’s there were about 600 such deaths in Scotland per year; by the mid 2000;s this had risen to 1500.
Big Alcohol fought the measures tooth and nail showing that, like Big Tobacco, it will seek “to delay, distract or dis-rail” any measures that may reduce its vast profits.
The legal battle may have been fronted by the homely sounding, Scotch Whisky Association, but it was funded by the industry at large; it was “strong white ciders and cheap vodkas” being protected here, not small Highland distilleries.
A reporter from The National (Glasgow) said: “There are well founded class objections to minimum pricing – namely that it deprives the working poor of the little relief and escapism they can have in lives of alienating and frustrating grind.”
This last paragraph speaks volumes.
Is it possible that this is just a self-fuelling cycle of misery?
We want the alcohol for relief and to escape our ‘grinding’ lives, the alcohol then wears off and once again we clearly see what we wanted to escape from.
What do we do – we drink more alcohol for the relief and to escape in the hope that it will all go away tomorrow.
Is it possible that putting the price of alcohol up will push the poorer people into drinking alcohol that comes from less reputable sources?
Is it possible that this will increase the hospital admissions and death rates?
Is it possible that the Government should be looking at ways to help people with the root cause of why they feel they have lives of ‘alienating and frustrating grind’ instead of increasing the price of their ‘relief and escapism’?
Could it be possible that the alcohol manufacturers are only interested in their profits, so they will always put that before people’s well-being and we cannot put the blame at their door because we are the ones that are buying their product?
Until we choose to look at why we need a scientific proven poison to give us relief and a place to escape to, we will always have someone to supply what we need.
I was taking a drivers license test and one of the questions was how much alcohol are you legally allowed to drink and still drive.
It was a realization to me that we actually allow people to drive when they have alcohol in their system.
Does that make any sense, when 10,000 people a year in the USA die from alcohol related accidents?
ABC News – 17 March 2018
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/america-binge-175-billion-drinks-worth-study/story?id=53795860
88,000 people die from excess drinking of alcohol each year in America.
More than half are related to binge drinking.
37 million adults reported binge drinking according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The definition given in this news story for binge drinking is men having 5 or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour window and women 4 drinks.
The study found there were 17.5 billion binge drinks consumed per year.
14 billion of these drinks were consumed by men who were drinking twice as much as women.
The study shows that binge drinkers are greatly increasing their chances of harming themselves and others.
This news story also quotes which states have the highest number of binge drinks per adult.
For the purpose of this comment, we will focus on what has been said above.
The first thing we can all agree on is SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT if even one person, let alone 88,000 in one nation alone on this planet is dying from excess alcohol.
Reading everything that this blog is presenting about the REAL TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL and then every single comment thereafter, we are left in no doubt that alcohol is a poison that is not for human consumption and never has it ever been regardless of what we have read or heard.
Alcohol alters our natural state, so the first question is WHY does anyone want to have their natural state of being disturbed and what on earth is going on for them that leads to them to take a poison?
ADD to that – how bad must things be if someone consumes 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks in a 2 hour session?
How would our body process that vast amount of poison and what is it doing to our mind?
What are the chemical and physiological changes inside our body that go un-noticed when we consume alcohol?
Whilst large studies like this highlight something is seriously wrong, we seem to have accepted it as just news and continue doing what we are habitually doing without stopping and questioning why this is going on and how did it get to this point.
37 million binge drinking is no small number and this is one country.
What if we added up the rest of the world – will it be a wake up call?
How many of us are not even admitting that we like to drink and it’s part of our social life and it suits us regardless of the fact that it is a scientific proven poison?
The alcohol industry is huge and will continue to grow as there is a demand.
The tides cannot turn until we, the consumers make changes and until then we will continue on an ill road where we consume a poison as a lifestyle choice because we can.
The questions to the reader here is – was it worth it and at what cost?
Daily Mail – 3rd February 2018
Headline – ‘Be wary of booze if you’re retired and bored.’
The article says that it is most likely to be middle class retired people who are likely to be problem drinkers.
New statistics state that for people in their 50’s and 60’s, alcohol is now the 6th most common cause of disability, with alcohol-related dementia of particular concern.
Dr. Tony Rao – old age psychiatrist, Kings College London, blames this on a culture of drinking at home.
Also the effects of retirement are also cited as a cause. With so many changes happening at the same time – loss of daily routine, loss of friends (work colleagues), children often leaving home at this time and physical health faltering people may reach for alcohol as a way to fill the void.
Reading this article highlights to me that we can live our whole lives making it about others and what we do but then when we are left without all of those things, if we are unable to deal with life without taking a substance – was investing in all of those things really true?
Could it be possible that it is more important and essential to take care of and get to know who we truly are and live a life where we have a foundation of that to stand upon, so that whatever comes our way and whoever and whatever comes into our lives or leaves, we are ready and able to deal with it?
Evening Standard – 23 March 2018
Reading through a supplement magazine that comes with the daily newspaper, there was an article about a family who have made it big in the fine dining business in a very short time.
What is clear is they have nailed it as to what the demand is and what is needed to supply that demand. Bingo big profits and what most investors would call a success.
“The biggest thing in the City is how quickly can you get your drink. Bars are normally 10-15 deep. These taps enable six second pour.
So 16 pints is not going to take an hour or half an hour to get one, it is there in 10 seconds. All efficiency.
This is great some would say, as we have the Intelligence to create something so fast that it makes things move fast and gives us what we want, BUT the question here is –
What on earth are we doing if Alcohol is a scientific proven poison?
It is a drug – a substance that harms the human but as we demand it, the suppliers give it to us. If there was no demand they would have to find another way to make their profits.
We can continue to blame suppliers but it is us – the individuals that make up society that are the ones that need to look at what it is we are asking for and where those choices actually lead to.
It is common knowledge that many get addicted to alcohol and the cost to society is something we could avoid if we get to the root cause of WHY we need a poison to alter our natural state in the first place.
Next – we really need to educate our children and teenagers with the information presented in this blog so that they are well equipped with the understanding and detail of what this poison is doing. They then have the choice if they want this as part of their lifestyle or not.
I know I was a social drinker, but there were times I would drink without any recollection of what or why I was doing it. I hated the feeling it gave me in my body but was quick to override this and continue on my nights out using this numbing drug to forget the misery, agony and deep hurts that I carried with me everyday.
Alcohol helped me to push down any feelings that were ugly and I had no awareness that by dealing with what the root issues were, there was simply nothing there to bury anymore, so alcohol was simply not needed.
The other thing I have come to realise is that if we want to educate or inspire others then we really do have to walk the walk and talk the talk. In other words we need to be free inside our body of what we are advocating by our living way and on some level, I am certain others feel that. I know from experience people listen when I say something that is coming from my own body that is free from the ill – in this case a great example would be alcohol.
Not coming from being a preacher or halo head but from an understanding, as once upon a time I had that poison running through me.
A recent news story where a junior doctor was spared going to prison after being caught drink-driving twice in 2 months.
Would a jail sentence be the answer?
Would that send a strong and clear message to anyone about choosing to drive after consuming alcohol?
Do we need to look at the whole thing here and not cast judgement but instead question what on earth is going on?
Here we have what society would class as thee most elite of us who are Intelligent because of what they study. So how Intelligent is someone who chooses to drink excess alcohol for whatever reason and then takes control of their car and crashes in a busy area where there were pedestrians?
Does any one of us stop and question the current Intelligence we are all subscribing to and say SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT?
We all know these junior doctors are smart and yet they are making mistakes which tell us something is not adding up.
What is really going on for them and why is this happening?
This is not an isolated one off story – lots more of this stuff is going on.
Reading this blog it is clear that alcohol is a poison and we cannot get away from that fact.
So let us join the dots and ask WHY would an Intelligent doctor in training even consider poison as a lifestyle choice that would have consequences?
Is it time to go back to that statement – SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT
Then we can all get talking and keep asking questions until we unite and work it out.
We created the ill, the problem in the first place so surely we have the power inside of us to get out of what we have created.
Let us not point fingers, blame, judge or sweep this one under the carpet.
Let us start with a dose of honesty and begin asking questions as this is the only way we are ever going to get to the Truth.
The Week – Issue 1170 dated 7 April 2018
Statistic of the Week
Passengers responsible for 417 SERIOUS AIR RAGE INCIDENTS in 2016 on British Flights.
75% of the incidents involved alcohol.
Here we have the Civil Aviation Authority spelling out that there is nothing civil about our behaviour on flights and we certainly have not got any authority when alcohol seems to be involved.
WHY is this and when are we going to keep asking questions until we get to the answer?
Is this the same as cigarette smoking on flights where once upon a time it was ok and then the ban?
Are we going to wait for more “incidents” and more research to back up what we all know right now?
Alcohol is a harmful substance and it alters our natural state and that means ugly behaviour for some who choose this poison.
Just because our world has made a poison legal does not negate the fact it harms us and affects our behaviour.
It is up to us as individuals to get real and honest and make the changes we want to see in our world, because each of us has a Responsibility.
If we do not like something then we are the ones that need to make the change.
No point waiting for another statistician or policymaker to come up with another solution in an attempt to look like we have got a hold on the problem.
This blog and the 130 + comments thus far is confirming that Alcohol is not for human consumption. If we want to continue thinking otherwise, then we can expect more of this type of statistic.
It is high time we realised the cost not only to human health but to society, as the knock on effect of the harm of alcohol is seen everywhere.
We can no longer pretend that it is not going on.
At a business event, the panel of speakers were each handed a bottle of beer. All bar one accepted.
Within 20 minutes they were excusing themselves in sequence from the stage, to use the bathroom.
The diuretic effect was played out for the audience.
Everyone carried on like it was normal, but it all registered.
The Week – 21 April 2018 Issue 1172
A glass of wine at night is far from protecting our heart and is likely to result in earlier death.
Largest ever study of its kind.
600,000 drinkers used data for researchers to tell us that nightly glasses of wine cuts life expectancy by 4 – 5 years.
The study showed modest drinking is outweighed by the increased risk of other cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, aneurism and heart failure.
“It was clear there are no health benefits from drinking alcohol” say Professor Tim Chico of Sheffield University who was not involved in the research.
Can we ask WHY do we need to do such a huge study with over half a million records to go through to come to this conclusion?
Could we have got the same answer with this blog and all the comments and what it presents?
Have we stopped to consider that researchers will keep bringing us what we know because we demand more evidence to tell us ALCOHOL IS NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION?
We can look at it from different angles and perspectives and hypothesise this and that, but the immutable fact remains clear and one day we will all unite on this.
For now, it seems that we are asking for more evidence and it’s the same supply and demand thing going on.
Daily Mail – 26th August 2017
British women highlighted as the most likely in the world to harm their unborn child due to drinking alcohol.
A major study found that four times more children in the UK suffer alcohol-related birth defects than the global average.
One in every 13 women who drink during pregnancy will have a child with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Study author – Dr. Svetlana Popova from the Canadian Institute for Mental Health Policy Research said this should be a ‘public health priority’.
This does need to be a public health priority, I had not realised that women drinking alcohol during pregnancy was so prevalent.
Are we willing to spend the time, money and our resources on this; to put all that we know aside and really speak with women who are pregnant and ask WHY they are drinking alcohol which is not only harming themselves but also their unborn child?
If any of us are drinking alcohol, are we true role models for these women or does it take someone who is not drinking alcohol to communicate with them with a genuine care that can be felt?
It has taken until 2016 for a chief medical officer to announce that pregnant women should abstain from alcohol completely.
We know that alcohol is a very damaging substance, but will education alone do it, or do we also need people who are living another way who are able to reflect that life can be lived with true JOY without any need for any alcohol?
Listening to a conversation this week between colleagues after a night out.
The highlights of the night out centred around who was risqué and whose usual office persona was different when drinking.
It made me question why we like this. Why we encourage and celebrate unusual, out of character and risqué behaviour.
Is it simply entertaining?
Or is it that we aren’t in the habit of appreciating and accepting people simply for who they are?
Perhaps because we aren’t able to do that for ourselves.
I live in an area where there are a lot of restaurants and this afternoon, so many people were sitting outside having an alcoholic drink.
Then in the supermarket I also sighted people buying alcohol and I noticed this more than usual.
Why is it when the sun come out that the majority turn to alcohol?
Why does our behaviour change because the weather has changed?
What is it about the warm weather that makes us reach for alcohol?
Have we ever stopped to ask these questions?
Drinking alcohol especially in the sun is deadly, as this article tells us –
https://www.livestrong.com/article/443781-the-effects-of-alcohol-sun/
Is this just another example of how we are determined to harm the human body?
The Times – 13 April 2018
The largest study of its kind has concluded that 2 glasses of wine per night can take 2 years off our lives.
Drinking 1 glass of wine per night already starts to harm our life expectancy and more than four bottles a week can take off 5 years.
Each daily alcoholic unit above recommended levels appears to shorten life as much as a daily cigarette.
This was a large scale study with the researchers looking at 600,000 people who drink alcohol over 19 countries. Most of the people studied were in the UK and they were followed for up to 30 years.
During the 30 year time period – 40,000 died and 39,000 suffered heart problems.
I have seen various reports over the years of a glass of wine being good for the heart and this is the first study to actually tease out what this means.
The researchers found that drinkers had a lower rate of non-fatal heart attacks BUT they had a higher risk of strokes. So not so good for the heart.
Lead researcher Angela Wood said: “Yes, your risk of a non-fatal heart attack will decrease, but your risk of stroke, heart failure, non-fatal hypertensive disease increases.”
Tim Chico, University of Sheffield said: “I would not be surprised if the heaviest drinkers lost as many years of life as a smoker. This study makes clear that on balance there are no health benefits from drinking alcohol, which is usually the case when something sounds too good to be true.”
So here we have it spelt out plain and simple – NO HEALTH BENEFITS.
Is it time that we stopped all of this focus on research to prove any further harms on alcohol?
Do we not have enough?
Is it not plain to see with our eyes the deterioration in anyone who is a drinker?
What if we studied those who have made a lifestyle choice not to drink alcohol?
What would we find?
What if we completely stopped and instead put ALL of the research money that we are currently spending towards finding out – WHY people use alcohol and take the same opportunity to offer true support so that we can actually address alcohol use?
There is no mistaking that alcohol is a scientific poison that ruins many lives.
Daily Mail – 29 July 2017
Hoteliers in Malia in Crete are lobbying for a law to stop block bookings of ‘boozy holidaymakers’.
At the time of the article they had already withdrawn 10,000 British holidaymaker bookings.
Town hall officials are also applying for a court injunction stopping tour operators offering holidays with organised pub crawls and all-day partying.
Locals say British people are behaving ‘like animals’ – fighting, urinating and being sick in the streets and having sex in public places; fuelled by cheap alcohol, including fish bowl sized cocktails.
One clinic reported prescribing the morning after pill to 100 women a day, in peak season.
After the film The Inbetweeners in 2011 where a group of school friends went on their first boozy holiday abroad, it triggered a 243% rise in hotel searches for the resort compared with the year before.
‘At the moment, the tour operators offer packages where 200 – 300 young people at a time are put up in hotels with a day partying. They spend the day drinking, then the holiday rep comes up with a whistle and a flag and escorts them into town where they go on these organised bar crawls visiting up to 17 venues. The holidaymakers are out of their minds before they even set off. The local authority has already called the British consulate. The ambassador has flown in to try and broker some kind of solution.’
The people of Malia have clearly had enough. I was aware of the party holidays but not the extent of the behaviour.
This is clearly unnatural behaviour that we would not do if we were sober.
Are we following a picture of how we think life should be – if holiday searches go up 243% after the release of a film?
What happened to asking our body how it feel after we consume alcohol?
Many years ago I worked as an air steward over the holiday season on flights like these to holiday resorts. On the way out, the flights were noisy and boisterous with lots of alcohol orders. Coming back it was another scenario – the passengers were very pale, suffering from hangovers and ringing the call bells continuously for water a) because they had run out of money and b) because they felt so ill.
I have seen what these boozy holidays do to people and my question is –
Is it worth it?
Talking to a couple yesterday, they were telling us about their old neighbours.
An East-end Londoner, it was the husband’s habit to spend Saturday morning in the local pub, drinking with his friends. When they moved house out of London, the wife would drive the husband more than an hour, back to his old local so he could keep his habit.
From 10am when the pub opened, he would spend 5 or so hours drinking with his old friends. After 5 hours, he would wait outside the pub, head hanging loose, shoulders hunched, leaning against the wall or staggering about until his wife arrived again to collect him.
The couple relating this story said it was pretty sad to see that, week after week, but the understanding was there as to why this man wanted to do this every week.
They said the man and his friends didn’t really talk much. The pub was a haven for them to go and be left alone. Somewhere to come back to that they knew – something familiar and comforting. Somewhere that didn’t ask anything of them. And the alcohol facilitated that well.
They wondered if the wife was happy to get the husband ‘out of her hair’, because it was otherwise hard to understand why she would go to such lengths to support him in this and how she could be happy about all the money he must have spent.
The conclusion was there must have been something in it for both of them.
It reminded me of the pub my family owned growing up – we lived above it.
There were always men in one particular section of the pub called the bar – we thought of it as the men’s area. Men always arriving alone. Often sitting quietly with their pint.
Sometimes sitting up at the bar for some company with the person serving. Sometimes meeting with others for a game of darts. Always drinking.
I wondered then, as I do now, why have men in particular been drawn to the pub? Why has this institution of the local ‘boozer’ grown up in this way?
With the pressures of life, was the pub simply an easy escape?
Was anyone listening to these men at home or did they get further into a shell through lack of expression?
Why did they want to be alone with their pint?
Or if they liked to gather in the pub, was it because it is easier to talk with alcohol in the system?
And did they keep coming back because the come down felt terrible in comparison?
With traditional, local pubs being gentrified all over the UK, I am wondering whether this tradition will shift and if so, what other patterns of behaviour will emerge, if the reasons for wanting to go to the old school pubs have not been addressed.
There is a lot you say here JS and I found it really interesting to read.
This old school going to the pub on your own maybe a dying thing now.
In 1979 – a long time ago, I recall my ex father in law going to the pub every single day as part of his ritual and coming back very late when it shut. It was predictable and there was never any change. I remember how sad and lonely he looked all the time. All the family just accepted it and no one ever questioned anything.
I wondered if the pub was something ‘familiar’ and the alcohol, as we know from this blog, altered his natural state. He was not the only one as there were heaps of others doing the same including my dad. He would go and sit on his own as one day I popped in and saw him with his thoughts far away.
All I know now is that when my dad is not drinking, he really is the most gentle and sensitive man with such a deep regard for everyone including himself. Of course he did not have counselling or change overnight. A serious accident happened and then we had a new dad. We joke that it was his soul and God saying enough of that behaviour, time for real change.
What I have now is such a deep understanding as to WHY we have a need to drink alcohol and this has helped me to not cast judgement. I am here to not impose or react to those who choose to drink a scientifically proven poison, but reflect how I live and this in itself will bring change.
Some may read this and think I am making some big claim or dismiss it, but I am certain one day science will KNOW that what is being said here and all across this website makes sense, but first we have to know our world is all about energy. A word we do not often use in everyday language.
One day I will write more about this, as this understanding is why I am, where I am at today and those who know me would agree it really is an amazing place.
Talking to an older woman yesterday, about the impact of alcohol on her marriage and that of her friends.
She shared how many of the husbands would go off drinking, always in this bar or that, without their wives.
She told one story where her friend had been looking for her husband in town and when she found him standing at the bar of one of his regular haunts, she poured his pint over his head.
The point was not that these men were womanizers, but that they went out there drinking, and the wives were expected to live with that.
The wives didn’t like it, but they went along with it. Then over the years, the resentment grew, but by that point the behaviour had become ingrained. And it didn’t occur to them to leave their husbands – it was just something you lived with, uncomfortably, and wished life was different.
She shared how the pressure to ‘be a good wife’ played in to all this. These women’s generation, raised to put themselves second and serve the husband. If they had instead cut off the behaviour early on, where would they all be?
It is clear to see the huge part alcohol has played in so many lives and continues to do so.
Has anyone heard of the term ‘bottle to throttle’?
It is a rule for airline pilots where they should not drink alcohol for a certain numbers of hours before flying an aircraft. This is usually set at 8 hours.
I was also surprised to read in this BBC News article that there is a legal limit of 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood that pilots can have in their body.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-44451094
So just like driving a car there is a permissible amount of alcohol that is allowed.
Is this contradictory, as we already know that science has proven that alcohol is a poison and it wreaks havoc with our ability to deal with day to day life, so why is any alcohol limit allowed in any industry, especially one where we are responsible for the safe keeping of others?
The other thing that strikes me is do we ever question what is going on for the person who risks losing their job and livelihood through alcohol use?
Would anyone take such a risk if all was well in their own life?
We have many people in top professions and we are hearing of more and more who are ending their lives through suicide. Hearing of pilots and any other professional relying on alcohol as a way to get through and deal with life tells me that something is not right.
Rather than just punishing someone with a prison sentence are we also making available true support so that they have an opportunity to deal with the root cause of the problem?
15th June 2018
A major study into the health effects of alcohol has had to be stopped as it has been discovered that much of the money given to scientists from the NIH – National Institution of Health (who were conducting the study) came from the alcohol industry.
It is reported that the health institution had been engaging with the alcohol industry regarding the research and had requested funding. The alcohol industry also offered input into the design of the trial.
We all know that if we have a vested interest in something it is a very rare person who would be open to the truth of any harmfull activity in that industry being exposed and so with that in mind – would the alcohol industry really put money behind funding research that could expose the damaging health effects of alcohol?
Is it possible that the results would always be biased?
Let’s think about it – how many of us would demand the absolute truth from a research study as that could mean our whole lifestyles could go for example we could lose our jobs, our partners, friends, family, everything?
Bearing this in mind is it any wonder that the real truth of how society works and what is really going on is rarely exposed as there is too much at stake?
The article ends with a very poignant point from Dr Adrian Fugh-Berman – Professor of Pharmacology at Georgetown University who said that the health institution “should focus on studying what industry does not want to study”.
What if we all started asking the questions that no one really wants to ask?
What would happen then to the alcohol industry and to every industry?
Could this effect great change?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/health/alcohol-nih-drinking.html
An article in The Week magazine, 9th June 2018, talks about how sales of alcohol-free beer have surged 64% in a year, the results, say analysts, of improved recipes and greater awareness of the health risks of alcohol.
The trend is especially marked among over 45’s.
While this statistic is a welcome piece of news, generally it is expected, that as we get older, we do become more aware of our health and what is and what is not good for us.
If this statistic were about 18-30 year olds, then the news would be so much more powerful.
If this were related to the younger generation, it would mean the message was getting out there and the consequences would be a possible reduction in alcohol related accidents and alcohol related diseases or illnesses in their later years, the benefits of which are many.
The question still needs to be asked though, why do we still choose the beer even when there is no alcohol contained within?
Is it psychological or do we still get something out of an alcoholic-free beer?
Talking to a chap at an event about how he uses his heart rate monitor.
He said his normal resting heart rate is about 45bpm and this is the same at night, when he also wears his monitor.
When he has been drinking, his heart rate at night goes up to 65/70bpm.
He was reflecting on why this is and concluded his body is having to work really hard to process the alcohol out of his system while he sleeps.
He said he was not ready to change anything based on this information but that he knew it was a sign that alcohol is an affront to his body and something would eventually have to give.
Talking to an Estonian about family meals growing up. They were always quiet, with very little talking.
When she got older and left home, she would bring wine back home for meals and that ‘loosened them up’ and got them talking.
Later, when she stopped drinking so much, her family would push her to drink when she went home, because they wanted the fun times meals and relied on the alcohol for that.
She said this was sad, because she had only ever wanted to talk to them.
An article in The Week magazine, 21st July 2018, talks about a ‘Winemakers revolt’.
There are moves to force French winemakers to feature more prominent health warnings on their bottles and this has caused outrage in the industry.
In an open letter, 64 representatives of leading winemakers accused the French Health Minister of threatening “the soul of France”, by proposing that all bottles carry two 2cm wide logos, warning against consumption by pregnant women and minors.
They said she was trying to turn wine into a “criminal product” and suggested her ultimate aim was to ban alcohol altogether.
More than 8,000 babies a year are born with health problems caused by their mother’s drinking.
Advisory labels are already compulsory, but there are no rules about their size and colour.
The president of France was reported to be siding with the wine lobby and there was speculation that he may sack the Health Minister in his next cabinet reshuffle.
Why is it that, when anything is proposed or introduced that will have an overall beneficial health impact, there are those of us who go up in arms, because we feel it may infringe on what is so obviously made more important – our profit margins?
To me this is common sense stuff – if a product has the potential of harming someone, which of course alcohol does, then why shouldn’t the people that are going to use that product be given all the necessary information that would offer them the options of making different choices?
Its been known for a very long time that drinking whilst pregnant is not good for the foetus and there is a age limit of 16 before you are allowed to drink alcohol in France, so these proposed labels are just saying what everyone already knows.
Should we have to wait for more than 8,000 babies to be born with health problems, because their mothers’ drank alcohol or, is it possible that action should have been taken as soon as the first baby was born with problems associated with alcohol consumption?
For all the arguments, and there are many, stating that alcohol consumed in moderation, even with pregnant women, is OK, are we missing one salient point here – ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON
The winemakers in their open letter, likened this action to ‘threatening the “soul of France” and trying to turn wine into a “criminal product” – Is it possible that winemakers are more interested in their businesses, rather than the health of the people that they are trying to sell their wares to?
Is it possible, that we have strayed so far from our inner truth, that we can make a substance that not only alters our natural state but harms us as well, and then claim it to be our ‘soul’?
Citizen Journalism – reporting on the street talk today – 9 August 2018
28 year old man jumps off a lamp post and has serious leg injuries.
His relative told me he found some girls online and went to their university campus and after getting drunk he was trying to impress them with his daredevil stunt by climbing a lamp post.
The girls were student doctors.
Our health systems are already unable to cope with the rise in illness and disease.
How many of these incidents are occurring every day that could easily be avoided?
What are so called Intelligent people doing drinking a scientific proven poison that we call alcohol?
Do we need to be asking more questions or do we just leave this to a bad luck thing and a laugh down the pub in months to come?
What about the knock on effect?
How many family and friends get affected by one ill choice?
Could it be possible that we are yet to accept the facts that alcohol alters our natural state, which then means something like this is going to happen?
Could it be possible that we will see a rise in these types of accidents which are totally self inflicted because no one is stopping us?
Could it be possible our governments are not on the front foot when it comes to legislation around alcohol and drugs?
Could it be possible that we have no idea how much cost it is to the public purse with alcohol related incidents?
Do we each have a responsibility to do what we can to not endorse something we know is harmfull to the human frame, no matter what way we look at it?
Is it time for real education and getting into schools and presenting the facts from this blog, so our kids know exactly what alcohol is and what it does and then they are given the choice?
Could this be another way to turn the tides as nothing right now seems to be working?
INDEPENDENT NEWS – 23 August 2018
NO SAFE LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION – major study concludes
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alcohol-drinking-no-safe-level-health-heart-disease-cancer-study-a8505181.html
According to a major new study – giving up alcohol is the only way to avoid the health risks associated with alcohol.
The new study concluded that any supposed boosts to health are massively offset by the costs.
Researchers covered 195 countries between 1990 and 2016 and amassed data from hundreds of other studies, which makes it the largest collected evidence base to date.
Dr Max Griswold – one of the study’s lead authors says that the relationship between health and alcohol is clear. Drinking causes substantial health loss in myriad ways, all over the world.
One drink a day increases the risk of developing an alcohol-related diseases including cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis. This increased by 37% for those who had five drinks.
UK’s chief medical officers have previously stated that despite official guidelines, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption – a point that has been reinforced by this study.
This study shatters the myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you says Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou who has worked on the new research.
Dr Tony Rao commended the effort to unravel the complicated relationship between alcohol and health and said “we can now be more confident that there is no safe limit for alcohol when considering overall health risks.” He was not involved in the study.
The study published in the journal The Lancet noted their efforts did not take in all aspects of alcohol consumption. Ample data were not available for alcohol-related violence and traffic accidents or for the illicit production and consumption of alcoholic drinks.
“These diseases of unhealthy behaviours facilitated by unhealthy environments and fuelled by commercial interests putting shareholder value ahead of the tragic human consequences, are the dominant health issue of the 21st century.”
Dr. Robyn Burton – King’s College London
On this last note – is this making sense to us?
WHY are we not putting people before profit?
Is Doctor Burton on the front foot when he tells us about the dominant health issue of the 21st century?
195 countries and a huge task to collate more and more data and analyse studies to tell us what we really actually do know – Alcohol is not for human consumption and never has been.
Man has conveniently found a drink that supports us to alter our natural state, numb us from any feeling and we seem to like that effect. Like any drug to keep getting the thing to work for us we need more of the same and this is what leads to the excess intake and addiction.
Read the full REAL TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL – this blog and then continue to read the 180 other blogs on this website and the reader will be left in no doubt that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT in the way we are choosing to live human life.
It is like we are programmed to destroy the human vehicle, trash it, so to speak with little or no regard until something goes wrong. Even then most of us want our health system to fix us so we can get back to ‘business as usual’.
We do not want to question or ask how on earth did we get to that point in the first place and where is the root of the cause which got us ill.
How many are involved in studies and research and policymaking that actually like alcohol or drink it socially?
Could this be a blind spot so when we hear about facts we just ignore them as nothing inside us ignites enough to wake up and stop to ask more questions?
Do we need those who are clear – absolutely clear and by that no alcohol consumption on their radar for at least a decade or more?
In other words would the vibration of someone who presents free of alcohol from their body be the ones we are most likely to resonate with if they told us or have written about it, simply because it holds a different quality?
This study is a total stop and a wake up call for all of society.
Humanity can no longer continue using a poison for social or other reasons and it is high time we all supported those who need help by talking about this at the dinner table and in every day conversations. However, we do need to be honest and admit that no change is possible if we are drinking alcohol – regardless of the amount – as it simply confirms we are not free of it.
It is like asking someone to stop eating chocolate but we continue to eat them without anyone knowing. No point as it is empty words.
Finally, what we all need to get honest about is this question –
What is the real cost when we drink alcohol?
This is not just about the money but the detrimental effect to the human frame and all those affected by our choice to consume alcohol.
The landmark study published back in August 2018 confirmed to humanity that there really and truly is no benefit to drinking alcohol.
The headlines at the time read “There is No Healthy Level of Alcohol Consumption – Major Study”.
See the above comment. Simple Living Global reported the news at the time and it is clear for all to read. What we choose to do thereafter is entirely up to us but let us not forget, we cannot un-read what we have just read. Neither can we un-feel what we just felt.
Another point worth noting is researchers covered 195 countries over a period of 25 years, which makes it the largest collected evidence base to date.
So how come in 2021 – 3 years later we have news circulating now, that the evidence from this landmark research study (which is going down in history) is flawed.
WHY would anyone want to try and contra, go against or refute what has been stated? Let us be reminded this is big stuff.
We have almost every country involved, and we call this a longitudinal study, which spans over two decades.
Who would want to carry out such a study and what is their intent?
Who stands to gain from it and who is funding this type of research?
What is going on behind the scenes so to speak, that we challenge such a major study?
ALL these questions need to be asked before we kick back and think it is totally ok to drink poison, which let’s get real – Alcohol is.
Simple Living Global have no interest in preaching, teaching, converting or any form of coercion when it comes to Alcohol. We are simply here to bring awareness, then it is up to each and every reader to make their choice.
If we carried out a study with young children and teenagers presenting this blog and over 250 comments thereafter, we could observe their movements as they grow up and also see how they fare, when it comes to alcohol consumption.
What is missing in our everyday conversations is how “normal” we have made a toxic poison and we endorse it by making it legal and wonder why we have so many alcohol related illnesses, disease and deaths, as a result of this normalisation.
Daily Mail – 25 August 2018
An article with the resident newspaper’s doctor, talks about how a high profile TV presenter has admitted his life is built around alcohol, but that he is not an alcoholic.
In an interview, he told of one of his regular drinking sessions in that he drank four pints of Guinness, four bottles of beer, a glass of champagne and five glasses of wine.
The TV presenter also said that while he accepted he was ‘undoubtedly dependent on alcohol’, the word alcoholic is outdated.
The doctor talks about how he has worked in drug and alcohol services and seen countless professionals, both men and women, who seem to have it all but every day and night they are drinking throughout the day with their glasses of wine over lunch, the pint or two in the pub on the way home and the G&T or whatever they have available when they get home – with many of these people telling the doctor the same thing: “Yes, I know I drink too much, doctor, but no way am I an alcoholic”. With this frequency of drinking, it is not unusual for people to clock over 100 units of alcohol per week.
The recommended limit of alcohol consumption is 14 units a week.
It seems evident that we are not able to distinguish ourselves whether we have a dependency on alcohol or not.
If we even need or want one alcoholic beverage, is it possible we are dependent on the stuff?
Why do we have a ‘recommended’ limit of alcohol consumption?
And why is it 14 units? Why not 13 or 15, and who decides this?
In no way am I condoning the consumption of alcohol, but we are all different and alcohol affects us in different ways.
Is it possible that there is no ‘safe limit’ of alcohol consumption?
Is it possible that having a ‘limit’ actually promotes alcohol consumption?
We seem to be under the illusion that we can handle our drink no matter what the quantity is but the plain fact is that, alcohol changes our natural state of being and allows us to do things we wouldn’t normally do and be someone that we wouldn’t normally be without the alcohol.
The most compelling point for not drinking any alcohol whatsoever is that – ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON.
If that is the case, which it is, then why is alcohol a socially accepted norm?
Whenever I am at the checkout at my local supermarket, I always look at what other shoppers are buying.
Alcohol features in 9 out of 10 people’s baskets, even if they are doing a small shop.
Why is it that most of us seem to be unable to live without alcohol?
What is the appeal of this scientifically proven poison that is a legal drug?
Why are we endorsing such a poisonous substance?
Why is the demand so high for alcohol?
What is it giving us?
I have not drunk alcohol for 8 years and I have to say that I feel so good without it.
When I used to drink, it was always to fit in with others, so I looked cool or it was used to numb some pain.
Alcohol was a way for me to zone out and forget about my worries.
However it never did and I am sure most of us would agree that it doesn’t.
The biggest change for me was getting deeply honest with myself, about how my life was and letting go of what was not working. The letting go of alcohol did not come straight away in that process, but as I started to respect myself more in other areas of my life, like saying no to certain relationships and going to bed earlier, giving up alcohol was a very natural step.
The great thing is that it was a choice made from my body and what I felt would support me best. Giving up alcohol, never came from anything anyone told me to do and this is very empowering.
I keep seeing alcohol replacement drinks advertised.
Non-alcoholic wine. Non-alcoholic beer and the like. Our local wine shop now has an entire window display dedicated to non-alcoholic wine.
Could this be the beginning of a shift away from alcohol as part of our social structure?
Does it represent a shift in the supply/demand cycle, where producers are recognising that more people are saying no to putting alcohol in their bodies.
Does it say something about the people living in the area and what they are choosing and asking for?
It does also makes me wonder where this is coming from.
Why would we need the ‘non-alcoholic’ version of something, instead of just choosing a regular drink?
And is the non-alcoholic version completely free of the toxins in the alcoholic version?
They are certainly advertising it as having all the ‘complexity’ and flavours of the real thing.
Either way, it will be interesting to watch this tend as it develops.
Metro
24th August 2018
https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/24/british-women-are-among-the-heaviest-drinkers-in-the-world-7877997/
Research has revealed that British women are one of the heaviest drinkers in the world.
Cocktails and the growth of drinking wine in 1980’s are being blamed for the increase.
British females are 8th on the list of heaviest drinkers.
UK, South Korea and Gambia are the 3 countries where females drink as much as males.
Denmark had the highest number of alcohol consumers –
95.3% women and 97.3% men.
The research involved 592 studies and
more than 28 million participants.
So are we asking what is going on, that alcohol use is rising?
Are we going even further to question WHY?
Or are we satisfied with blaming the introduction of cocktails and wine drinking, for this rising trend?
Why are British women showing up as now being heavy drinkers?
Is there something about the British lifestyle or culture that is causing this?
Has anyone asked, what is it that women are really struggling with, that leads them to drink alcohol?
What if, until we start asking questions like the ones above, we will continue to see the alcohol consumptions figures rise?
Daily Mail – 25 August 2018
Ministers are considering cracking down on binge drinking at airports after an increase in bad behaviour on flights.
The number of reported incidents of abusive and disruptive behaviour in the air has more than quadrupled in the last 4 years.
The rules for selling alcohol in airports is different to being landside. Once travellers pass through security, they can be sold alcohol at any time of the day or night. Whereas landside, there are restrictions on the times alcohol can be sold.
The Home Office are looking at changing this by eradicating the ability of airside retailers to sell alcohol at any time of the day or night.
Some airside bars have encouraged binge drinking by selling 2 pint measures, even though they know it is an offence to be drunk on a flight.
Airline industry data shows that 70% of disruptive passenger incidents involve alcohol.
The Civil Aviation Authority revealed that it had 200 incident reports about disruptive passengers in the year up to July 2016. This was before the busy summer flying season had even begun.
The watchdog received 417 complaints in total in 2016, up from 98 in 2013.
Department of Transport is considering taking action by forcing retailers to put duty-free alcohol in sealed plastic bags to stop binge drinking by passengers before they get on a flight.
Are these solutions ever going to work?
How many more will we continue to come up with?
Is it possible that we are avoiding getting to the root cause of why we drink alcohol with all of these solutions?
When I worked as cabin crew I remember the abusive and disruptive way people would often behave on a flight due to alcohol.
Many people would use alcohol as a way to mask what they were actually feeling, including the fear of flying.
What if we were open to asking why we drink alcohol?
What if we started to be honest about what was going on for us before we picked up that can of beer or glass of wine.
What if we are not just drinking alcohol to have a good time, but there is more behind why we drink alcohol, which is known as a scientific proven poison?
BBC News – 13th September 2018
Experts Attack Health Agency’s Ties to Drink Industry
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45502974
Dozens of public health experts have told Public Health England (PHE) they oppose its decision to work with a charity funded by the alcohol industry.
In a letter seen by BBC News, they say the tie up “will significantly damage the credibility of PHE.”
The letter said the link-up between PHE and the charity was a “significant risk both to the effective communication of alcohol advice to the public and also to the reputation of PHE.”
PHE said it stood by its “fresh and bold” decision.
The 46 signatories – including experts in tobacco and illegal drugs as well as alcohol – said PHE’s own research had shown “the limited effectiveness of communications campaigns…to trigger behaviour change.”
They criticise the charity’s advice on reducing alcohol consumption – saying its website does not provide full details on the risks of excessive drinking.
They conclude, “Industry-funded messages and social marketing campaigns should not be a substitute for publicly funded campaigns providing independent and evidence-based information.”
Researchers have also pointed out that some of this charity’s funders do not adhere to the latest health advice on their products.
Since 2016, the safe drinking limit for both men and women according to the Chief Medical Officer for England, has been a maximum of 14 units per week, equivalent to 6 pints of average strength beer or 7 glasses of wine.
But, a well known drinks manufacturer says on both of its beers that the UK Chief Medical Officers recommend a maximum limit for men of 3 to 4 units a day, and 2 to 3 for women.
Questions have also been asked about 3 officials from PHE, including its chief economist, attending a conference in May, which discussed finding a way in which the drinks industry could pay for research into the effectiveness of public health alcohol campaigns.
The conference included representatives from 2 large brewers.
One researcher said it was “reminiscent of the tobacco industry paying researchers for decades to hide the harm they caused.”
Two questions spring to mind here:
Why is there a charity, dedicated to getting people to reduce their alcohol consumption, being funded by the same industry that wants us to buy their products?
Why is PHE, a government organisation that has a statutory duty to protect health and address inequalities, allowing the drinks industry to attend a conference and asking if they could pay to provide research into the effectiveness of public health alcohol campaigns?
https://psnc.org.uk/the-healthcare-landscape/healthcare-whos-who/public-health-england/
Is it possible that there is a serious conflict of interest here?
Is it possible we are going down the same road we have been down before with the tobacco industry providing their own research?
History has shown us that the tobacco industry had funded their own research and had been lying about the results for decades.
But surely we don’t need to go to what history has already shown us – is it possible that common sense can dictate that no business should be allowed to research their own products?
It stands to reason that, if the results don’t favour the business paying for the research, the business will be reluctant to publish the results or even try to hide them.
Businesses have to make a profit, but when those profits are made more important than the health of others, do we need to start asking questions?
“Go sober in October”
I saw an advertising campaign for this on the London Underground.
The people in the picture were dressed like super heroes.
It made me reflect.
Firstly, why do you need to be a super hero to quit alcohol?
Is alcohol so entrenched that you have to be mighty of strength to say no?
Have we considered that saying no is actually also saying yes, for example: yes to well-being at a deeper level and yes to connection with others from our natural state of being, always, not just 1 month of the year.
Second, what if we all carry a responsibility no different to a super hero and a capability to match that?
What if the individual choices we make, including how we take care of ourselves (and whether we drink alcohol), have a massive impact, way beyond what we might consider day to day?
It struck me that this campaign is more insightful that perhaps it realises.
The Week – Issue 1191
1 September 2018
The most expensive draught beer has arrived in London.
It is a coffee-flavoured beer that was brewed in the USA.
It costs £22.50 a pint.
Do we really need more stimulants?
Already we know of all of the poisonous effects of alcohol, as detailed in this extensive article by Simple Living Global and now to top it off we have one that is coffee-flavoured.
Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world.
https://simplelivingglobal.com/why-is-coffee-big-business/
What is it about the way that we are living that we are demanding more and more stimulants?
What is it that we are avoiding by having our physiology aroused by harming substances?
Is it possible that there is something deep within that we do not want to connect to, hence the rise in alcohol and coffee related substances?
Is it possible that if we connected deep within, the insatiable appetite for stimulation would cease, as we would feel fulfilled by connecting to that we are avoiding?
Is there more to us that we are not living, that alcohol supports us to disconnect from?
Talking to a parent at my kids’ old school about the corporate environment in which she works.
She shared how ambitious her colleagues are to ‘get ahead’ and the behaviours she sees around that.
She talked about the drinking culture and the way her female colleagues in particular engage with it. She said it is very common for them to encourage heavy drinking and push the limits, ‘keeping up with the boys’. The social scene and office conversations centre around this and they want to be a part of that.
She finds it hard to engage with and feels judged for not going along with it herself.
It reminded me of my behaviour early in my career, in the City. Heavy drinking was par for the course and it gave me a sense of satisfaction to be seen as one of the boys.
What is going on here, under the surface?
When we behave like that, what are we really wanting? Recognition? A sense of belonging? An escape?
In my case, all 3.
It gives pause for reflection on how much society is influenced by these underlying aspects playing out and how different it could be if we addressed them.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45572561
BBC News – 19 September 2018
Are drink drive limits too high?
If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you can drink a surprising amount of alcohol before you go above the current drink-drive limits.
But even if you are within those limits, you are up to 13 times more likely to kill yourself and anyone else you crash into, than someone who has drunk no alcohol.
The UK’s drink-drive limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
This level was set in 1967.
When the European Commission said new safety research suggested the limit should be cut to 50mg per 100ml, most European countries changed. However, the UK did not.
The 1967 limits were based on a major US study where researchers looked at all car accidents over the course of a year.
Professor Allsop who was an adviser for the UK limits in 1967 is saying now that what is not reflected in the official figures is that there are drink drive deaths where there are collisions that they would not have had, if they had not been drinking.
If we read this blog and everything it is presenting – are we able to be honest and say there is in Truth no safe limit when it comes to alcohol, simply because it is a poison and it alters our natural state of mind.
What most of us do know is that alcohol affects us all differently. Some may show signs with a small volume of alcohol compared to others.
Regardless of this – the question we should be asking is WHY did the UK not choose to align with most European countries in reducing the limit?
Who makes these decisions and what is really going on and are we all aware?
Does any part of the alcohol industry play a part in those making these decisions on our behalf?
WHY are we keeping hold of a drink drive limit that is over 50 years old?
Is it because we are a nation of drinkers and it actually suits us to uphold alcohol as a safe drink to drive a vehicle?
Have we considered that any amount of alcohol affects our physiology and there is no getting away from that immutable fact?
Do we want to interview those who has lost a family member, as a result of a drink driving accident?
Do we want to ask those who work in our hospital emergency departments, to get their take on drink driving, before we make a decision on behalf of our country?
What is it about the UK that endorses alcohol to the point that we are not going to consider something that would benefit us all?
Are those who hold the power to change policies and make decisions enjoying alcohol in their private lives, so it is a blind spot?
In other words, they cannot see the value behind a total ban, because they choose alcohol and are not free or clear of the poison inside their own body.
While we wait for more robust and accurate evidence on this subject, as this news story says at the end, would it be wise to conduct a study on those who no longer choose to drink alcohol and see what changes that brings and then let the public decide thereafter?
Whilst research focuses on more and more evidence, would it be wise to consider another way that benefits all of us and not just some?
BBC News – 19 September 2018
The UK’s drink driving limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. This level was set in 1967. In 2001, the European Commission said new safety research suggested that it be lowered to 50mg per 100ml of blood.
Most European countries changed their limits, but the UK didn’t.
In 2014, Scotland reduced their limit.
A US study in 2014 found even at 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, we are more likely to have a fatal collision.
The official death figure from drinking driving is 240 a year in the UK, but this does not take into account the number of fatal collisions that occur where no-one has been driving over the 80mg of alcohol per 100ml level.
Professor Richard Allsop who was one of the original advisors on the UK’s 1967 drink driving levels has said –
“I’m sure we should lower the limit – down to 50 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood at first, then perhaps after a time down to 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, which is what they have done in Sweden.”
Clearly from this statement by Professor Allsop we are recognising that the current drink driving levels are fatal and need changing.
But what if there is actually no safe level of drink driving?
What if one drop of alcohol in our system alters our natural state and this will affect our driving, so that we are not as alert and in control as we might think?
What if there was no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption – as is quoted at the end of this article by Simple Living Global?
What if people were fined and referred to court if they were found with a drop of alcohol in their system, whilst driving?
Would the court system be able to cope?
Would the police be able to cope?
Would it actually be worthwhile to put our resources in this area e.g. increasing the number of police officers and court staff to deal with this zero levels of drinking alcohol whilst driving?
How many accidents would be prevented and would it make us more responsible on the roads?
Would this action wake us up, or are there some of us working in these systems who would not want this to work, as it would mean that we would be confronted to change our own lives and behaviours?
Does it suit us to have a drink driving level so that we can get away with it too?
Travelling on public transport at the weekend, I read a sign that said –
Take Care After Drinking Alcohol.
Is it possible to ‘take care’ after drinking alcohol?
If anyone observes someone drinking alcohol we can clearly see that we become ill affected when intoxicated and so how is it possible to even take care?
We have heard many reports of people who have drunk alcohol and then have woken up the next day oblivious to their actions.
Some of us may argue that this only happens if one goes ‘too far’ with their alcohol consumption, but what if all of us do things that we wouldn’t normally do when we have drunk alcohol, no matter how small the quantity?
What if drinking alcohol in itself, is not a caring action and therefore any ongoing care towards ourselves, others and our environment is simply impossible?
We seem to have an insane relationship with this legal drug; from university students drinking spirits from a pig’s head to avocado flavoured beers – have we ever stopped to consider why we want more and more of this lethal, legal drug and why we have an insatiable appetite for it to be in more extreme forms?
Have we ever contemplated the possibility that perhaps there is something in our lives that is not quite right as to why we have this incessant need for alcohol?
Is it possible that using alcohol, can mask a number of hurts that we find it difficult to deal with in life, even in the evening wine drinker who takes a mouthful for ‘medicinal’ purposes?
Is it possible that we have a need for alcohol and that it is not just the homeless person on the street, for example, who is classed as having an alcohol addiction that is harming themselves with this drug?
What if we considered that our professors and doctors and professionals of tomorrow are damaging their health all in the name of fitting in, looking cool and being accepted by their peers?
Does this type of binge drinking lifestyle, that is often reported in the news about university students, going to support any of us to deal with challenging clients and the stresses of our posts once we graduate?
Does it grow a workforce who are fit to deal with whatever challenges are presented?
Some may say, well we can drink less or give it up when we graduate, but what if that preparatory phase as a student can be wisely used by educating our students to take deep care of themselves, so that they can deliver once in post and not be crushed by whatever system they choose to serve in?
What if the focus on having a ‘good time’ as a student with all the alcohol and drug abuse that often goes with it, is not in any way evolutionary for mankind?
Metro News story on 23 October was about a 20 year old student on a bar crawl where 100 triple vodkas were ordered.
He died of cardiac arrest in 2016 and the recent inquest has brought media attention.
BBC News – 25 October –
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-45979243
the student died from the “toxic effects” of drinking excessive alcohol on an “initiation-style” bar crawl, a Coroner has ruled.
The Coroner added that there had been a lack of awareness of the “inherent risks” of binge drinking and this student had died as a “direct effect” of consuming so much alcohol in a short period of time and that first-year students should be formally trained about the potentially fatal risks of alcohol.
There is more but if we just stop and re-read what has been presented – do we need to be asking more questions?
Where on earth did this type of ‘initiation’ start and where is it coming from?
A Coroner is suggesting formal education about alcohol so what is the delay?
Are we ready to read the facts and know the Real Truth about Alcohol?
Are those training and teaching our students about Alcohol going to ensure they are absolutely Alcohol free?
Could it be possible that we may have a so-called ‘blind spot’ within us if we advocate and teach on a topic that is actually not lived? In other words we hold a quality inside us that is not totally clear of the very thing we are asking others to do?
Can this blog and the numerous comments which ADD to expand what has been presented by way of more news stories and research be the answer in a very cost-effective way?
Are Simple Living Global on the front foot and is this website full of wisdom that the world has yet to realise when it comes to the Real Truth about substances like Alcohol which is a scientific proven poison?
How on earth are humans going to ingest large quantities of poison and not expect our bodies to react?
How much peer pressure was this young man under, on that night and how many are today suffering as a result of his tragic, needless and wasted death?
Do we blame or do we learn from this so it never happens again?
We each have a responsibility and what I know and live is, I have made sure Alcohol is off the radar and it has been for over 12 years.
I am anecdotal evidence that this poison has absolutely no benefit whatsoever and is not worth it. In other words assaulting my body with poison that harms me simply is not worth it.
Walking past a bar in the City this week, in the middle of the afternoon. I did a double-take on a new vending machine.
Instead of selling snacks, as is common to see in London, this vending machine sold small packets of whisky.
Small squeezy packets. Like the ones parents use to feed their toddlers baby mush, where the toddler can squeeze the contents in easily.
So at any time of day or night, people can now go to the vending machine and buy a dram of whisky.
And the vending machine advertises home delivery too. So you can have these squeezy whisky packets in bulk in the cupboard, ready to grab and go.
When did we arrive at the point where this was something someone would even think to offer?
On the go whisky.
Does it sometimes take seeing something like a whisky vending machine hitting the market to make us sit up and question where we are at and the direction we want to go in?
Mail Online – 19th November 2018
Cold Weather and Long Nights Make People Drink More Alcohol and Increase the Risk of Binge Drinking and Liver Failure, Claims Study
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6404155/People-cold-climates-likely-drink-heavily-study-claims.html
A study has found a link between average temperatures and hours of sunlight and alcohol consumption.
People who live in countries with less sunlight and lower temperatures drink more alcohol than those in warmer regions.
It also found inhabitants of chillier, darker countries were more likely to resort to binge drinking with Brits being revealed as one of the worst offenders for excessive consumption.
The research which was from Pittsburgh Liver Research Centre examined data from 193 countries and found evidence that climate was also linked to liver disease.
‘This is the first study that systematically demonstrates that worldwide and in America, in colder areas and areas with less sun, you have more drinking and more alcoholic cirrhosis’
Ramon Bataller – Senior Author, Associate Director, Pittsburgh Liver Research Centre
Drinking is also linked to depression which tends to be more prevalent when sunlight is scarce.
We now have new evidence that the weather and in particular the temperature and the amount of sunlight that we are exposed to, has a strong influence on how much alcohol we consume…
Weather related alcohol consumption is directly linked to our chances of developing the most dangerous form of liver disease – cirrhosis – which can ultimately end in liver failure and death.’
Dr. Peter Mc Cann – Medical Adviser to Castle Craig Hospital, a Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Clinic in the Scottish Borders also contributed to the report.
Alcohol is a vasodilator, relaxing blood vessels and increasing the flow of warm blood to the skin.
Is there another reason why we are feeling cold and it is not related to the weather?
How is it that illnesses are linked to climates and alcohol consumption?
Will stricter laws on alcohol consumption make a difference?
Will it get to the root of the issue or is there more?
In a cab last night, the driver also worked as a Judo teacher in a deprived part of London.
He was trying to give up alcohol. He said he knows how much of a role model he is for the kids he teaches. Many of them from single parent families, with little or no father contact.
He told me about kids he had saved from gangs and his pride was palpable.
Helping them see they are worth more – that there is another way. With a little support, they can choose. Some of them now have jobs, others are finishing their education.
He said the key is talking. Getting them to open up. That takes work and trust, sometimes over a long period. They watch him for months.
He also mentors the parents. He said much of the time they have no idea how to handle it – they are simply surviving. They watch him too.
He said his super power is patience.
He knows that how he behaves has a massive impact.
He said if he ends up drinking on a weekend, it wastes his energy and his money and he doesn’t want that any more. He doesn’t think that is very inspiring.
He knows he can’t segregate it off – be ‘off’ on a weekend and ‘on’ in the week or in his judo classes.
This struck me as hugely wise.
What an inspiration we can each be for another. And it’s all about our choices – all of them.
The Conversation – 28th November 2018
Is Alcohol Bad For You? It Depends on the Drink and How You Drink It
https://theconversation.com/is-alcohol-bad-for-you-it-depends-on-the-drink-and-how-you-drink-it-107120
Recent headlines claim that a glass of wine or a pint of beer shortens your life. But those conclusions are based on a partial view of the alcohol debate.
No one disputes the fact that people drink too much alcohol. The controversy centres on whether even low levels of consumption are safe.
There is now good evidence that the risks versus benefits of alcohol are strongly influenced by the type of alcohol and the way it is drunk. Yet many studies have not included these factors when making recommendations about safe levels of alcohol consumption.
So, can you drink alcohol in a way that is safe or even beneficial?
The data seems to say “yes”. When drinking is spread out over the week, death from any cause is lower than when the same amount of alcohol is drunk on only one or two days of the week. The way alcohol is consumed matters because spikes in blood alcohol concentrations are far higher from binge drinking.
Above a certain blood alcohol concentration, the body breaks down alcohol in ways that produce harmful molecules called free radicals that can damage the liver and are associated with an increased risk of cancer. But, unfortunately, many alcohol studies are based on the overall amount consumed in a week – they don’t distinguish between different drinking patterns.
Drinking with a meal also has a big influence on the health effects of alcohol because food slows the emptying effects of the stomach, which lowers the blood alcohol concentration. And when alcohol is consumed as part of a Mediterranean diet, it seems to carry far less cancer risk than most other ways of consuming alcohol.
This can be explained, at least in part, by nutrients that are present at high levels in the Mediterranean diet, such as folates, which reduce the carcinogenic effects of alcohol. It is now widely accepted that the health effects of an individual food or nutrient can only be evaluated within the context of the overall diet. But that understanding is sometimes lost when drawing up guidelines for alcohol consumption.
Drinking low amounts of wine is usually found to reduce the risk of an early death more than not drinking or drinking other forms of alcohol. A unit of alcohol drunk slowly with a meal results in lower blood alcohol concentrations than a unit of alcohol taken as a single swig of spirit on an empty stomach.
Some public health experts strongly believe that to prevent harm from misuse, alcohol should be declared a drug of abuse. But, when taken in moderation, alcohol reduces cardiovascular disease, and possibly dementia. So it may be more appropriate to view alcohol as if it were a pharmaceutical drug.
Of course, some people, such as pregnant women and people who produce high levels of the cancer-causing substance acetaldehyde when they metabolise alcohol, should avoid alcohol altogether. Binge drinking is also rightly condemned as harmful. But the current evidence suggests that for those who choose to drink, the benefits from moderate meal-time drinking (wine with a Mediterranean-style meal) outweigh the risks.
Making a clear distinction between binge drinking and moderate meal-time drinking can help clear up the confusion and allow alcohol its appropriate place in a healthy lifestyle.
I find this article very contradictive.
‘Drinking with a meal also has a big influence on the health effects of alcohol because food slows the emptying effects of the stomach, which lowers the blood alcohol concentration. And when food is consumed as part of a Mediterranean diet, it seems to carry far less cancer risk than most other ways of consuming alcohol.’
Reading between the lines of what they are saying about alcohol consumption with food, they are saying that a certain type of diet reduces the risk of getting cancer which means that a) even eating a Mediterranean diet there is STILL a risk of getting cancer if you drink alcohol and b) if you have a non-Mediterranean diet and drink alcohol, there is MORE of a risk of getting cancer.
Is it possible that they have shot themselves in the foot with this statement?
On one hand, it is being said that alcohol is safe if drunk sensibly and in moderation and on the other hand it is being said that whatever diet we may choose to follow, the risk of getting cancer from drinking alcohol is there.
So what is it?
Is alcohol safe for us to consume or is there a risk of getting cancer if we drink alcohol?
Why do we have to keep going through the motions of doing all of this research into a substance that, just like cigarettes, everyone knows the harm-full effects of alcohol, even when drunk in small quantities.
Is it possible that there will always be these discrepancies in articles like this?
Is it possible that the truth is really very simple in that there are those of us – which include people that write policies on alcohol consumption, people in authority, people who do the research, people who pay for the research to be done – that actually NEED alcohol to get through life?
‘There is now good evidence that the risks versus benefits of alcohol are strongly influenced by the type of alcohol and the way it is drunk.’ – if there are no safe levels of alcohol consumption, why do we even need to look at what type of alcohol we are drinking and the way we drink alcohol?
If there are no safe levels of alcohol consumption, what possible “good evidence” can there be?
We can come up with any logical rationale or seeming scientific study with all the enticing reasons why that confirms to us all that alcohol is good for us from drinking alcohol with a meal, spreading our alcohol consumption over a week instead of a couple of days, drinking wine instead of other forms of alcohol, but no matter how we choose to dress it up, alcohol is, always has been and always will be harm-full to our bodies – simply because……..
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
However much we drink and whatever way we drink it, is it possible that there are no safe levels of alcohol consumption – full stop?
The Guardian News – 29 November 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/29/ancient-mead-honey-revived-younger-drinkers-english-heritage-
An ancient drink called ‘mead’ which is one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks, is coming back with a new fanbase of younger drinkers.
For those of us who are not up to date – we now have a craft beer culture and mead is making a comeback on the back of the boom in craft beer.
Fermented with honey, they call it the ‘nectar of the gods’ and we can find it in the supermarkets because the demand is there from young drinkers that visit pubs and beer festivals.
Viewing it as “a drink of the gods, falling from the heavens as dew then gathered by bees, it is believed to improve health and prolong life”.
How in-accurate and far from the real truth is this?
Who makes this stuff up and circulates it and then who is seeking this type of mis-information because it suits them to ‘believe it’?
What are we doing if have got a new audience of young people consuming an ancient type of alcohol and we are finding a new audience of those with disabilities to join the craft beer industry?
First we ought to read this blog and thereafter every comment from Simple Living Global which amounts to numerous studies that categorically confirm alcohol is not the way to go, as it is harmful to our body and that includes our brain.
Beer festivals selling mead to the younger population with an alcoholic strength up to 17% is serious and cannot be ignored.
Where is this going to end up and why have the majority not made the move to at least consider the facts of what alcohol is doing to the human frame.
Our young generations today are the future adult population so let us not forget that fact.
What health problems will they face as a direct result of their alcohol consumption at a young age?
We are told that “our culture today is full of desire for tasting new things and new flavours…” and that includes mead. We could say that many of our youth today may not have tried spinach or broccoli or plain water and that could also be new flavours. This is said to make the point – we make a choice what we want to try in the name of ‘new’.
What part of God would endorse something that harms us?
Hello – can we wake up here?
Even if we do not subscribe to that word God or don’t do that three letter word, we all know God is not going to harm us, so let’s stop pretending and fooling ourselves. Mead did not come from heaven or any place that cares about the human being. Best we get real and get honest so that one day we can get to the truth.
If this comment and what this article represents is dismissed at this time in history, that is ok because in the future, there will be scholars that study websites like this and ask how did they know so much and join the dots back then.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46565556
SCIENTISTS DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT CAUSES A HANGOVER
This news story is telling us that many parents are not equipped to deal with their young children after excess alcohol drinking during the festive season.
Sarah Clark, an associate research scientist at the University of Michigan Medical School, which carried out the research said “a parent passed out on the couch will not be effective in recognising and reacting to the everyday safety risks that occur with children”.
A lack of drinking ‘practice’ means parents are likely to have a reduced tolerance for alcohol, a part of which is caused by getting older, she says.
What we all know is that there is a huge responsibility when we have children and its not for a few days, but every single day for a few decades.
Should we be asking questions like – why do parents need to have boozy nights where they have hangovers that do not allow them to parent responsibly?
Or can we dig even deeper and ask What on earth is going on for any parent if they would want to consume excess poison (because that is what alcohol is – a poison) knowing that they have young children who they are solely responsible for?
If we ask any parent would they give their child alcohol, the answer would be a clear No.
So why is it that we are not giving ourselves as adults the same advice?
What is really striking in this news story is “Scientists do not fully understand what causes a hangover, but one of the culprits is thought to be ethanol – a toxic chemical which works in the body as a diuretic, causing you to pee more and become dehydrated.”
This blog is forensic and ethanol is covered and it has not been used as a form of reductionism. It is stating all the facts for the reader to choose and take on board what they want.
So the fact that scientists do not fully understand – does that mean we all wait around for more and more research until they get it OR do we get our common sense hats on immediately and read this blog over and over again and then read ALL the comments that have been posted.
Would that give us a deeper insight into the poison that alcohol really is?
Could we then make an informed choice for ourselves and not be fooled by the steps we can take to drink more safely or responsibly, when we all know any poison consumed affects our natural state and there is no getting away from that immutable fact?
On a night flight to India I had no idea of what to expect.
The last time I went to this country was 50 years ago.
I grew up in the Indian culture and have seen how the men drink excessively and it’s just the norm and very accepted.
The flight crew were serving whisky and vodka in large paper cups.
I had to stop and double check that I was definitely seeing this.
Yep, huge bottle of whisky was going fast as these were not your average measures.
It was being poured like it was soda.
Then I thought this cannot be true – the passengers were allowed to have 2 drinks at a time.
So without any need to exaggerate, I was witnessing excess alcohol being served in a short space of time, which would be way beyond what the average measure is for a shot of whiskey.
What I observed was the wine was also being poured with the same size cups and doubles where requested, which seemed to be everyone around where I was sitting.
So here we have a jam packed flight full of people, who in the first few hours are offered large quantities of alcohol.
It is well documented and known the effects of alcohol in flight.
So are we bothered and do we care about what happens to our body when we drink like this on a flight?
Do we see the flight as an escape from life and drinking supports to numb us, so we don’t have to even think about the ugly stuff that is going on in our lives?
The Indian culture is known for being very respectful with decent law abiding people – in other words good. But would we guess that this is going on at epic proportions?
If this is a microcosm on this flight it would be worth a study.
What sort of culture is it really and why do so many men drink volumes of the hard stuff – spirits?
I know when I was a young child, it was normal for the men to gather in the front room and just drink and drink and there was a mini bar with just large bottles of spirits and they would just drink and it was a man thing.
Next – when I got off this flight, it was startling to see the huge bottles of spirits available in duty free to purchase before you leave the airport.
What came to me clearly is SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Then it continues and the taxi driver on a 7 hour journey tells me liquor is huge in India.
The corruption behind it continues and then he drove past a police compound of vehicles stretching miles with dumped cars all seized because of liquor or drug use.
In the remote village where I ended up, liquor is in every household and one family has no women living there but only the elder mother as the wives have all left following the physical abuse from alcoholism. One guy just returned from rehab, but is still having alcohol, so not taking it seriously even though he has lost his entire family as a result of it.
What is going on and how little informed are we as a world, about these places where alcohol is ruining lives on a mass scale?
The Guardian – Page 7
29 December 2018
Britons bought a record 164 Million bottles of champagne and sparkling wine this year – and roughly a quarter of them will have been drunk on Christmas Day or will be downed on New Year’s Eve.
In 2018 sales hit £2.2 Billion – a 10% increase on 2017 sales and almost double of five years ago.
£2.2 Billion spent on alcohol in 2018 – a scientifically proven poison – WHY?
Why are we putting such vast quantities of poison in our bodies?
Are we doing our best to escape feeling?
What are our stresses, our hurts…our need to escape?
What are we trying not to feel?
Is it time we asked ourselves what is really going on here?
How would life be if we allowed ourselves to feel what is there, then express it and be honest with ourselves, then look at it?
Do we have a responsibility to our health and how having alcohol in us affects everyone else?
Is this really celebrating?
This blog from Simple Living Global on Alcohol gives us in depth information of the effects of alcohol on our sensitive bodies and asks many questions that are well worth considering.
Is alcohol truly the answer… or could there be another way?
Watching a documentary about Russia, talking about the alcoholism there.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096sbzx/episodes/guide – Episode 2
In Russia there are hundreds of thousands of alcohol related deaths every year, though official statistics don’t show that.
In one town, Tuva, a social worker told of the people by the road on her way to work each day – every 10 meters there is someone collapsed drunk.
She said it is hard to find a single person ‘untouched’ by alcohol in the town.
Alcohol related crime is through the roof.
The men look like they have been through war – cut faces, missing fingers, limping, prison tattoos as standard, and more.
The social worker said it is a national tragedy.
The government tried to crack down on the sale of alcohol by increasing taxes, but it resulted in a black market. Alcohol addiction is so high, people will find a way to feed it.
Seeing the way people were living, the devastation and the extent of the alcohol related problems, felt like looking into a dystopian future.
Except it is being lived now.
Speaking with a friend this week she was sharing how people deal with the intensities of work.
She shared how a manager was overheard saying that they needed a drink in the middle of the working day when things in the office were getting difficult. She also said that things are very chaotic when that manager is left in charge.
Is it possible that drinking alcohol to cope is in no way supporting us to deal with any challenges at work and to deal with any feelings we have coming up about our work?
What if a lifestyle of drinking alcohol actually causes us not to be able to work efficiently, even if we are not drinking on the job and this results in us contributing to or even creating a chaotic environment?
Simple Living Global have already stated in this blog that alcohol alters our natural state and if we watch anyone go from being sober to drinking alcohol the change is evident.
So why would we live in the illusion that we can use this to better function, get through the day and cope with any difficulties in life?
Where has that belief come from?
What if a person who is not taking any substances to alter their natural state and lives with an internal steadiness, actually has a calming and harmonising effect on their environment?
What if we are doing great harm to ourselves and others through our use of alcohol, much more than we can see and have thus far accepted?
Talking to a colleague about a book she read on holiday. It was about alcoholism and how someone moved through that and stopped drinking.
She said she took a lot from it, though she is not an alcoholic.
She said she is doing ‘dry January’ and that it is easy because everyone is dry this month. Whereas, mostly, everything cycles around booze.
It made me question our perceptions of alcoholism and in fact of addictions.
It seems to me we tell ourselves addictions are only addictions when they pass a certain threshold of intensity or regularity.
But what if addictions are much more insidious than that?
What if addictions are simply things we keep coming back to, things we keep choosing, which we know are not good for us?
If we considered the definition of alcoholism through that lens, what impact would it have?
Evening Standard – 21 January 2019
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/adults-who-drink-three-or-four-pints-after-work-may-need-liver-transplant-doctors-warn-a4044441.html
I post Twitter news stories daily about anything I feel that is worth bringing more public awareness.
Reading this news story last night, I realised a few characters giving the headlines was not enough as there is more to report.
Bingo – this website and posting a comment gives me the opportunity to do so.
Experts at the Royal Free Hospital in London said that it was a “common misconception” that only hardened drinkers were in danger of damaging their liver. The following case was “far more representative of the people we see – people who have developed a habitual unhealthy excessive drinking pattern and in the process irrevocably damage their liver.”
This came as the 2,000th patient to undergo a transplant at the hospital told of his shock that having “three or four pints of lager a night” caused cirrhosis of the liver.
My question is – What happened and WHY?
This 53 year old never missed work and classed himself as saying he was never really drunk and didn’t go to work with a hangover.
He said he began drinking when his father and grandfather died in quick succession, followed by the loss of his mother and grandmother.
Rather than sit at home alone, he chose the pub for a dinner and several pints.
The NHS guidelines are 5 to 6 pints max per week.
WHAT IF we had independent studies and that means not funded by any company with a vested interest in alcohol, about the correlation between excess alcohol and dealing with death and dying?
Back to the story – what is the real cost to society?
Time off work, finding an organ donor, the human cost of how he deals with the loss and bereavement.
When we look at the bigger picture, one man’s story affects a whole community and beyond.
Only yesterday, I had an old friend contact me to say she had heard my mother passed away last week. We talked about her mother dying and she told me she went to a bottle of rum per day to deal with it. This is serious stuff and she got help but she never returned to work and that was over 2 years ago.
I would say our world is way behind when it comes to HOW we deal with the loss of close family and anyone that is in our life. It is a topic that is rarely discussed and very few know what it actually means and how different we each are at dealing with such great loss in our lives.
I for one did not even have a thought of excess eating or drinking alcohol when mum died last week.
Could it be possible that how we live our daily life and what type of foundation we have, can actually support us even in our darkest moments?
https://simplelivingglobal.com/building-your-foundation/
For me last week was such a dark moment but it all passed as I continued to live and move as I do, but giving myself the time and space to cry and feel ALL that needed to be felt. Above all talking to a few people close to me helped.
On that note and back to the news story – it feels this man was lonely hence the pub where there are others, but did he have the true connection he was seeking?
In other words, the connection I felt from those super close to me held me and supported me through the week where I was feeling the loss of someone close to me.
WHAT IF we had independent research studies about the link between loneliness and excess alcohol drinking?
It is high time our world stopped the judgement on those who drink alcohol and asked some deeper questions like WHY does anyone drink a poison in the first place.
A good start would be this blog and the 175+ comments that really do present the REAL TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL.
Next – it is time to get real and STOP our solutions when it comes to giving up drinking alcohol.
Until we get to the root cause of why we drink a scientific proven poison, everything else will just be a band-aid to a bullet wound. In other words, a total waste of time.
Celebrity chef sharing ‘culinary secrets’ in the weekend supplements of a national newspaper.
The following are from two January issues.
Panna cotta with Gin
Bread and butter pudding with Gin
Cook a large onion in beer for one hour
Produce your own beer
All presented in a fun way and is this what we demand – in other words the supplier gives us what we want?
If there was no one wanting this type of stuff it would all stop.
The fact that we have someone famous telling us how great this alcohol infused food is – do we then turn a blind eye to the quantities we then use in the name of ‘cooking’?
Is it convenient for us to not know The Real Truth about Alcohol and what it does to us because we fancy a boozy bread pudding as the plain stuff no longer cuts it for us?
With the sweet recipes, add to that the excess amount of sugar and double cream – surely common sense or a health nutritionist would tell us SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Our body is not designed to consume foods that harm our natural state – that means we do have a responsibility if we want to keep this vehicle (our body) in good order, so it keeps going and serves us well in the long term without any major problems.
While we continue to have more and more recipes with alcohol, does anyone stop to think what that might be doing in terms of the limits we are supposed to adhere to, set by the government?
Are we going to wait for a research study and then another one and then another before we get to unite and agree ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROVEN POISON and no amount whatsoever is made for human consumption.
Do these recipes with alcohol get given to our kids and we don’t seem to mind as it’s being consumed in food, so somehow that feels ok?
Do we see it all as a bit of fun and another distraction to pass the winter months whilst we stay indoors more, as the weather is so cold out there?
What Simple Living Global is presenting in this blog and comment is that each of us as individuals have a responsibility. If we want alcohol in our daily diet then it would be a wise move to at least consider WHY we need it.
We were not born drinking a poison yet somewhere along the line we started.
What would happen if with a dose of honesty we asked – what on earth was going on when we started drinking alcohol, whatever the age was?
Reading a news article about a steward who died after falling down steps into their cabin on a yacht because they were drunk, I was struck that the steward had been warned by senior staff about their hangovers.
It may be because I have not drunk alcohol for 8 years that the immediate question arose – Why were they not speaking to the steward about their drinking rather than just the hangovers?
Were the hangovers mentioned as there was a visible sign of them not being able to do their job?
It is widely accepted that many people drink after work and we would find it taboo or even against someone’s human rights to discuss the fact that we are poisoning ourselves when we drink alcohol.
But what if this kind of frank discussion could prevent many deaths?
I know it is our choice what we do, but I know for a fact that I have been deeply inspired to make different choices by people speaking with me about any harming behaviour that I have displayed. However the only reason that it has resonated with me and I have taken heed has been because they have been free of the ill behaviour that they witnessed in me.
Therefore is it possible that we cannot truly support another, even our staff though we may profess to care about their health and well-being, if we are doing the same, even if we say we do it much less or occasionally?
Is it possible that we can only truly take care of another if we are taking care of ourselves and that includes not drinking a scientific proven poison named alcohol?
On the way back from a business trip to Budapest. The smell of stale alcohol hangs over the queues of people at the airport and in the plane.
Boozy nights out on business trips and stag parties. Many washed out faces.
On the plane, my neighbour jokes about needing to give up the booze. He is feeling rough after a big night.
He says it is his job to drink.
He is in sales and he does what the client wants. If the client wants to drink, he drinks. He says booze helps with sales.
He reflects further and tells me his life would be boring without booze.
We talk about what ‘boring’ means.
– Having dinners instead of shots.
– Talking about interesting life things instead of nonsense booze chat.
– Getting an early night in.
– Feeling great.
– Not having to cringe about the crazy things you did the night before.
He concedes this sounds amazing, but says he wouldn’t want to be the odd one out. This is the core of the problem.
Fitting in seems to be such a big part of our choices.
I suspect if we were taught as kids to make choices based only on what we actually feel and want, and not what other people are doing or telling us to do, then we would see a massive shift in behaviour patterns around alcohol.
For that to happen, though, a whole lot more of us adults will need to step up and lead the way.
Observing with my Mum today that many of the men we know who had boozy lives, ended up prematurely shuffling and weak as they aged.
This is a truth we saw with our eyes, from own experience. Watching the consequences of alcohol play out on the body.
Daily Mail – 9 February 2019
page 20
Huge advert taking up the whole page advertising GIN and 10 botanicals with pomegranate and rose.
Perfect pink colour and rose print border around the label – who wouldn’t want to buy that?
Selling it is one of our oldest supermarkets established since 1869 – like it is some kind of endorsement because they have been going 150 years.
Of course, they are not going to stop selling a poison because the law says they can. They have shareholders to answer to and that means making profits.
It is about money and not about people. Fact.
If it was people before profits then these shops would never sell a poison to another human being.
What next –
That’s my question as it seems to be that we are seeking this as customers and the suppliers keep creating different products.
Gin is a popular choice and let us not forget it is a spirit and most know, this means the strong stuff. Dressed up in pretty pink with a pink ribbon does not alter the fact it is alcohol and that means it is a scientific proven poison.
The other thing that I clocked was having the botanicals and rose and pomegranate somehow has the ‘healthy’ edge and could appeal to a certain group of people.
In the past, it would be a choice for me because it’s pretty looking and pink and as I hate the taste, I would spritz it up with something sweet and fizzy, without even thinking about the strong volume of alcohol being consumed.
What if our body could speak to us loud and clear?
What if our liver said to us “get out, do not poison me as I have a real job here, making sure I bring harmony to your body.”?
All I know is that I could not give up alcohol and in particular champagne until I got an understanding about what it was really doing to my body.
Then I had to admit WHY I wanted the altered state of being, which is what alcohol does.
Why I feel the change happened was because the person presenting was free of any alcohol in their radar and this vibration held a quality of truth that I felt.
It is why I listened, paid attention and took action with small steps.
Alcohol has not been on my radar for 13 years now and I now know that it was a lifestyle choice back then that was slowly and surely poisoning me.
Sky News – 10 February 2019
https://news.sky.com/story/for-every-good-time-with-my-dad-there-was-a-bad-time-uks-26m-children-of-alcoholics-11633257
There are 2.6 million children in the UK living with an alcohol-dependent parent, according to new figures released by the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa).
The charity which advises and supports children of alcoholics, says it also saw an increase in the number of requests for help it received in 2018, with more than 20,000 calls.
Despite these numbers the issue is largely still invisible, with many children unwilling or unable to get the help they need, leading to issues that can persist long into their adult lives.
The charity says children of alcoholics are
6 times as likely to witness domestic violence
3 times as likely to consider suicide
Twice as likely to experience problems at school
Do we ever consider the consequences when we drink alcohol?
Whilst we may want to judge and blame the parents, have we stopped to question why the parent started drinking alcohol in the first place and why they choose to continue?
Is it possible that whole family support is required to help them all deal with the underlying issues?
As we can see the mere presence of having a parent who is addicted to alcohol, adversely affects a child’s mental health, with them being three times as likely to consider suicide.
This is very serious.
Are we prepared to go deeper and open our eyes to the harm alcohol does to individuals, their families and communities or are we still of the view that if we are not addicted it does not matter and that only a few get addicted and it won’t happen to us?
What if our children are still ill affected by our use of alcohol in ways that we cannot see but are just as harmful?
What if this scientifically proven poison does not just affect us but those that we say we love as well?
Is it possible to have any true love and care for another where alcohol is concerned?
The Times – 8 March 2019
Elephant Dung Gin…the Drink You’ll Never Forget
Makers of a gin infused with botanicals extracted from elephant dung say that each batch offers a “unique African favour”.
Elephants spend 80% of their day eating grass, trees, bushes and fruits and only a very small amount is digested, making it a dung rich source of organic matter. With 130kg produced each day per animal this raw material is said to not be lacking.
The dung is dried, crumbled, sterilised and then rinsed.
Have we really lost the plot – why are we wasting our time, money and energy trying to come up with the next new fandangled thing like elephant dung infused alcohol?
Firstly – alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
Secondly – who would buy this?
Would we eat anything from an animal or human beings faeces? So why are we placing two forms of toxins – alcohol and faeces into our bodies?
Is this characteristic of our lack of regard for the human body as generally we treat it like a rubbish bin, dumping everything into it?
What if we spent our time, money and valuable resources on getting to the root of why we drink alcohol and why it is a key factor in the creation of many illnesses and diseases?
Would that be more worthwhile?
Or is the reality that – we do not want to know and accept that we have a hand in creating any diseases that we have?
Does it really evolve any of us to have gin that is being specifically crafted with elephant dung or does it simply serve to help us bury any irresponsible behaviour?
Have we ever questioned why we are pursuing making alternatives to alcohol?
How does that evolve the human race and is it really needed?
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison with a number of ill effects in the body
Do we really believe that we can produce a substitute without the same if not any ill effects?
Why do we want to create another beverage that produces the same buzz in the first place?
Have any of these questions been considered?
And if not – why not?
What stops us asking these types of questions before we embark on a new creation?
Is this something worth spending our scientific resources on or would we be best placed to focus our attention on getting to the root cause of why we use alcohol or desire any substitute?
Is it possible that there is something missing in our lives that makes us crave the buzz?
Could it be possible that there is a way to live without any buzz or stimulation?
Are the answers being presented to us through this extensive website by Simple Living Global?
Just reading a news story today about a mother and daughter who have gone to prison for their drunken behaviour where the pilot made a decision to abort the flight whilst it was taxiing ready for take off.
The judge said it was a ‘disgraceful incident and a prolonged antisocial and obnoxious piece of behaviour’.
How many of these stories have we heard of that involve alcohol?
Is this sentencing going to deter others to not drink the duty free before take off?
Are we going to ponder deeply on WHY this obnoxious behaviour is occurring and what exactly is going on behind this ill way of being?
The ages tell us the mother was a teenager when she had her daughter.
What happened to this young girl that led her to consume alcohol in excess?
Do we really just get up one day, make the choice to drink a poison that alters our natural state and continue thereafter OR is there more at play that needs to be considered?
I know from my own lived experience when I was that age, there were many reasons I wanted alcohol and the most obvious was to numb the pain and misery I felt in my everyday life.
Back to the news story – will the jail sentence do the job intended or will it lead to even more disgraceful behaviour down the line?
There is much to consider and an important point is how our choices affect society.
In this case, the cost of everything leading up to the custodial sentence and then thereafter for two members of the same family.
Many of us are simply not educated or given a true understanding about THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL and this blog and all its comments are doing a grand job – spelling it out and saying there is another way.
What if we started some independent research studies where alcohol education was brought into schools and followed through to see how these pupils end up as teenagers, adolescents and then adults?
If our kids do not know the real harm of what alcohol does, then chances are they will follow the masses or what their role models are doing and then we can expect more of these news stories regarding alcohol related behaviour that harms all.
Daily Mail – 27th April 2019
‘last orders for airports that act like nightclubs’.
Airports are being accused of fuelling binge drinking by serving double measures of spirits in their bars and pubs as standard.
Furious airline bosses said many airports now resemble happy hour at a nightclub – even at 7am in the morning.
Many airports give customers a 50ml serving when they order a spirit such as whisky or vodka instead of the traditional 25ml serving and some airports only display prices for large glasses of wine – between 175ml and 250ml – which is equivalent to a third of a bottle.
Licensing laws do not apply to bars and restaurants in the departure lounges of airports, which means passengers can buy alcohol from as early as 4am and throughout the night.
However, catering firms in the airports said it automatically offers double measures of spirits and larger servings of wine because it is what customers want.
Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airline companies, said airport bars were fuelling a rise in bad behaviour in the air.
Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority show that 422 serious incidents were reported in 2017, the joint highest number on record.
The figure has doubled since 2014.
A spokesman from Airlines UK told the Mail that the routine sale of doubles in mixers and cocktails was ‘worrying and irresponsible’. The spokesman urged airports to urgently rethink selling larger measures as standard saying that ‘airports tell us that they are taking the issue of drunk passengers seriously but this rings hollow when practices like this are uncovered’.
But, like all instances when the hypocrite bell is being rung, the airports hit back saying airlines heavily market alcohol offers on board and only want to curb drinking at airports to boost their own sales. A senior airport source said: “Not only do airlines serve similar measures as airports do, they also heavily market multi-buy offers on wine, beers and spirits. Given all this, it looks like their concerns over drinking in the airport are driven by commercial interests rather than a genuine concern about excessive alcohol consumption or disruptive behaviour”.
This row has now come to a head amid growing concerns over the abusive and sometimes violent behaviour of drunken passengers, which has caused flights to be diverted.
Drunken air passengers can be jailed for up to five years for endangering the safety of aircraft – and it can result in an £80,000 fine if the plane has to divert.
Ministers are considering plans to ban retailers from selling alcohol before 10am, bringing an end to the tradition of the early morning pint which is popular with hen and stag parties.
A group of women travelling to Alicante for a hen party, after several hours and drinks on board the flight, were escorted off the plane by the police accompanied by boos and applause from the other passengers and crew who were fed up with their antics and who allegedly, spent the evening flight screaming, swearing and downing more booze. In response to criticism of their behaviour, one of the hen night party wrote on social media: “Yes we was drunk, yes we was embarrassed but eh a group of girls on holiday having fun”.
Whether or not we want to blame the airports or the airlines, the plain and simple fact is that, the only people to blame here are the people that consume the alcohol.
As the story about the hen party clearly shows, we do not want to take responsibility and we will use any means necessary to justify our behaviours.
This article said that ministers are considering plans to ban the sale of alcohol before 10am – why are they only considering this ban?
Why isn’t this ban already in place?
This ban is being considered from 10am.
Does this mean that after 10am alcohol is not going to affect us?
Does this mean if we have alcohol after 10am we will all be on our best behaviour?
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison and it also changes our natural state.
Any amount of alcohol is going to have an effect on us.
Is it possible that we should be having a total ban of alcohol where flying is concerned?
CITIZEN JOURNALISM
Talking to Tom at the launderette and helping him out with some tips about how best to dry his laundry. I had a feeling the mrs had left him and here he was with not a clue about what was needed and he had lots of laundry, so I helped him out as I do with anyone.
We got talking and he said he avoided this task but realised he had to deal with it.
He recently left his job in a strip club because he was exhausted doing very long hours as a waiter. It served alcohol only and the prices were so crazy it was something he just could not understand. He said one glass of alcohol is £16 upwards depending on what it was – champagne, spirit and what type.
Clientele was all night and some just keep coming and spending all hours through the night. His shift was 7pm to 6am and he could not keep it up.
He realised he did the job because the money was so good, it was helping him to save to train for a job he has always wanted to do.
We talked about the strip club industry and what is our part if we choose to work there and did he consider what did he sign up for, in the name of making more money.
My question to him was – do people really drink alcohol at 4 and 5am in the morning?
He said it was heaving busy all night and right through to the morning and the volume of customers did not stop. It is huge business and the alcohol is so expensive as the guys all have money to spend.
Our world is all about supply and demand, so we then have to admit that we demand alcohol to be served all night and the suppliers are charging 4 times the cost of an average glass and no one says anything.
If we read the Real Truth about Alcohol which this blog presents, could we learn and understand more about this scientific poison which alters our natural state?
Is it this altered state that then allows us to watch and engage in strip shows?
What if these regular customers were educated and presented with the following blogs on this website –
Leading a Double Life
https://simplelivingglobal.com/double-life/
Vices and Secrets
https://simplelivingglobal.com/our-vices-our-secrets/
Living a See Through Life
https://simplelivingglobal.com/living-a-see-through-life/
We all have an internal compass of what is truth and what is not and that is an immutable fact that cannot change.
How far are we from the real truth of who we are when we use alcohol – a substance that is legal but alters our true natural state of being?
May is Mental Health Awareness month in America and it’s been going since 1949.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suicides-by-self-poisoning-soars-among-teenage-girls-study-shows/
This news story has a video with a screen showing us how to Protect our Mental Health
Sunlight | Sleep | Avoid Alcohol
Is this a confirmation that alcohol affects our mental health and so we need to keep away from it? In other words avoid it?
This is national news on TV so are we ready to take note or do we ignore this bit as it suits our current lifestyle?
The largest ever study conducted in almost 200 countries is telling us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and every glass increases the risk of cancer and heart disease.
However, we seem to have a plethora of adverts continuing to promote alcohol -supermarkets offering us bargains during the holiday time off and new types of gin and other spirits taking off and of course celebrity chefs endorsing cooking with alcohol.
Simple Living Global is now the world leader when it comes to reporting the REAL TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL.
It would be a wise move to read this blog + the 188 comments thus far and consider the questions being presented.
If we are to ever see and feel any real change, then it is time to question things.
The Guardian News – 4 July 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/04/staggering-cost-nhs-alcohol-abuse-report
A new report reveals the staggering cost to the National Health Service in the UK of alcohol abuse.
Before we get started Dear World, pay attention to the word in above sentence “abuse”.
Does this word ‘abuse’ tell us that there is an association with alcohol and abuse?
According to research that quantifies for the very first time the huge burden on the NHS of Britain’s drinking culture. Hospitals are struggling to cope with the numbers of people whose heavy drinking habits means they end up in A&E or mental health units.
£3.5 BILLION – cost of treatment every year.
This is not something small or insignificant for us to dismiss. Let us continue…
A major review of 124 previous studies, involving 1.6 million hospital patients reveals that 20% use alcohol harmfully, for instance binge drinking. 10% are dependent on alcohol.
Should we be asking WHY don’t we have the ‘expertise’ to deal with this illness? No point mincing words and saying it is just a casual drink as we all know there happens to be an addictive quality to this poison beverage that happens to be legal worldwide.
WHY are alcohol problems going untreated with repeated visits to hospital and no change?
What is going on and are we blaming or relying on the funding, which is not there and may never be enough or are we going to have to find another way, as so far our solutions are not working, our campaigns and other attempts to support the nation is falling by the wayside and there is little if zero progress being made? We know this because of the rise in alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is destroying the human frame but with it comes the ‘side effects’. In other words, everything else that is affected because of this poison. A health system being burdened because of the staggering cost of alcohol abuse needs to be front page news headlines and those who even have a drop of alcohol on their radar are not to be making any decisions on behalf of our nation. How about we make that our starting point Dear World?
Let us put into effect real life people that have not had alcohol near them for over a decade and then let’s track their movements and learn how they are living before we start dismissing anecdotal evidence. Nothing is working, our solutions have miserably failed us, we keep waiting for more and more research and still continue waiting whilst hearing news stories like this.
It is time to put our scientists back on the job and get them to find the root cause of WHY and HOW someone chooses to ingest a scientific proven poison that we have named Alcohol. Until then, we say it is our public money that pays their salaries, so come back when you have answers and by the way no point having them on board if they drink alcohol or have the odd glass in the name of ‘relaxation or weekend only drinking’.
WHY – because we ought to consider that if one is drinking alcohol then there is a blindspot and that means they are not going to be the one that can make real changes, as they themselves are doing the very thing we are asking for change on. Bit like saying to an obese person to make decisions on behalf of humanity about food, eating and exercise, when they have issues with all of these and hence why they are overweight.
Next –
We are told that this review, published in the journal Addiction calls for all patients admitted to hospital to be screened for their alcohol use and for medical staff to be trained in how to diagnose and treat those abusing alcohol.
Dr. Roberts who led the review says “The message needs to get out there that this is a very prevalent, a very common condition and unless we start treating these people, obviously we are going to keep on having a rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions.”
He continues to say that there should be alcohol specialists in every hospital given the magnitude of the problem.
Alcohol Change UK says there is a need to stop people arriving in hospital and that we must wake up to the unacceptable levels of suffering that alcohol is causing our society.
80 people every day die of alcohol-related causes in the UK and over 1 million alcohol-related hospital admissions every year.
The World Cancer Research Fund pointed out that drinking alcohol increases the risk of 6 types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancer. Its head of policy said we have a social culture in the UK which is focused on alcohol.
Enough said, we have all these important views giving us strong messages but we seem to be unable to turn the tides. We have news stories going back 2 years telling us about a 64% rise in alcohol related hospital admissions – see link
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/03/baby-boomers-warned-over-alcohol-intake-as-hospital-admissions-soar
This news story also tells us that married and couples co-habiting consume alcohol on 5 or more days a week. We have Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, a liver doctor saying that the UK continues to have a dysfunctional relationship with alcohol.
Hello
Can we just stop here and re-read the above once again and then wake up to what has been said thus far on this comment and in this article?
We don’t need more statistics – we now need to use our common sense, join the dots and get real and get honest. Things have not improved or even changed for the better about alcohol related hospital admissions.
We have become comfortable with our lifestyle choices and alcohol just so happens to be very normal indeed for the majority of us now.
Changing the behaviours of a nation is needed but how we go about this has to have another dimension, because so far everything we are coming up with is not dealing with the root cause of alcohol consumption.
The Guardian – 4th July 2019
Massive Burden of Alcohol on NHS Hospitals Revealed
According to research that quantifies for the first time the massive burden placed on the NHS, 1 in 10 people in hospital beds in the UK are alcohol-dependent and 1 in 5 are doing themselves harm by drinking.
Hospitals are struggling to cope with the numbers of people whose heavy drinking lands them in A+E or mental health units.
But while the NHS estimates that the cost of treatment runs to £3.5 billion a year, the figures for the numbers of patients affected have been largely anecdotal.
A review pulling together the results of 124 previous studies involving 1.6 million hospital inpatients reveals that 20% use alcohol harmfully, for instance by binge drinking, and 10% are dependent on alcohol. Experts say alcohol services in the NHS and the community, have been cut, leaving a health service fighting to cope.
The chief executive of Alcohol Change UK said: “These numbers are shocking: the number of beds used, the cost to the NHS, the sheer number of people suffering as a result of alcohol. As dedicated alcohol treatment services have faced years of swingeing cuts, hospitals are being left to pick up the pieces – but most simply do not have the expertise or capacity to do so, resulting in alcohol problems going untreated and those suffering returning to hospital time and time again.”
The review led by a doctor from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at Kings College London, calls for all patients admitted to hospital to be screened for alcohol use and for medical staff to be trained in how to diagnose and treat those abusing alcohol.
He was concerned by the findings because he had expected the worst but his medical colleagues’ reaction was one of shock. He said: “The fact that they are shocked says to me that we are underdiagnosing these people and not providing them with adequate treatment. The message needs to get out there that this is a very prevalent, very common condition, and unless we start treating these people, obviously we are going to keep on having a rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions.”
But, he said, the NHS was losing its expertise. “ Unfortunately, there’s been a reduction in trained addiction psychiatrists in the UK over the last five years and a reduction in real-terms funding to community specialist alcohol treatment services, and because of that there’s been a large reduction in the knowledge base of the healthcare profession,”
The government has funded alcohol care teams in the 25% of hospital that were worst affected. He said: “We don’t think that’s enough. We think there should be alcohol specialists in 100% of hospitals given the magnitude of the problem. It’s a nationwide problem that needs a nationwide solution and not just cherry-picking.”
Alcohol Change UK said alcohol care teams, working across hospital departments and with the community services, saved lives and NHS money. They said: “Public Health England estimates that a seven-day service of this kind in a hospital can save 2,000 bed days per year, creating a saving of £3.85 for every £1 invested. Work was needed before people reached hospital. We must consider whole-population approaches, like minimum unit pricing and restrictions on alcohol marketing, to prevent harm before it happens. We must wake up to the unacceptable levels of suffering that alcohol is causing.”
The chair of Alcohol Health Alliance UK said: “The figures are worrying. More than 80 people die of alcohol-related causes across the UK every day, and there are more than 1 million alcohol-related hospital admissions every year in England alone. This puts considerable pressure on the NHS, as well as other public services. We are urging the government to prioritise reducing the harm alcohol causes. The government needs to introduce targeted, evidence-based measures, including minimum unit pricing, to raise the price of the cheapest, strongest alcohol, which would help tackle the alcohol-related harms.”
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) pointed out that drinking alcohol increased the risk of six types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancer. The WCRF’s head of policy said: “We have a social culture in the UK which can be very focused on alcohol.”
The chief executive of the NHS said: “Alcohol dependence can devastate families, with the NHS often left to pick up the pieces, yet the right support can save lives. The NHS long-term plan will expand specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals across the country to tackle problem drinking and prevent 50,000 admissions over the next five years.”
The chief executive of the NHS said that their long-term plan was to prevent 50,000 hospital admissions over five years – that is 10,000 per year.
Although this may look good, with more than 1 million admissions per year already, is it possible that a drop of 10,000 is not truly adequate?
Price rises in the cost of alcohol have been going on for many years and yet, according to these figures, there is no significant drop in the number of people drinking alcohol.
The NHS, like most health services, are extremely strapped for funding and are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Is it possible that even stronger measures are needed to tackle the issue of alcohol-related admissions?
Everyone is saying that alcohol-related admissions are putting a strain on the NHS, that alcohol dependent people are suffering and the government should be doing more – there may be some truth to that but is there one avenue that has been overlooked here?
It would be naïve to think that people are unaware of the harm that alcohol causes. With all the good will in the world, medical staff can try to help people, but if we don’t want that help we will carry on drinking.
Drinking alcohol is a choice.
Is it possible that, those of us who choose to drink alcohol and then end up in hospital as a direct result of that choice, should be made to pay for any treatment?
Without any doubt, something has got to give way as the NHS cannot carry on like this.
Do we take the Responsibility road and ensure that, someone who drinks alcohol and ends up in hospital is made accountable, or do we just simply carry on with the status quo?
If we just carry on with the status quo, is it possible that all we are doing is condoning this behaviour?
Daily Mail, 3rd August 2019
Headline – ‘Why over-65’s have a drinking problem’.
The research showed that while more and more younger people are abstaining from alcohol, older people are drinking more.
The survey by New York University into the drinking habits of nearly 11,000 over 65’s found that one in ten is a binge drinker, which is also a trend that is mirrored in the UK.
Binge drinking is classified as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks a day but because older people, particularly the middle classes, are not associated with excessive drinking, few of them realise that they have a problem.
The article states that older people refuse to accept they have a problem. They ignore the fact that the recommendations are designed to limit the damage alcohol does to the body.
The doctor that wrote this article states that one of his first jobs in medicine was working on a liver unit in a large inner city hospital and he was shocked to see accountants, lawyers, doctors and teachers with liver failure. They couldn’t believe drinking was the cause of their health problems – until it was too late.
Is it possible that this just shows that our intelligence based idealistic society that we so crave is not so intelligent after all?
It doesn’t matter how many letters we have before or after our name, the supposedly most intelligent amongst us, especially doctors, are consuming a product that they know full well is harming them.
I am not just picking on so-called intelligent people, I am also talking about the rest of us.
We all know alcohol is harm-full to ourselves for one simple reason – as children, generally, we were never allowed alcohol because we were told it was bad for us.
It is strange that once we get to the age of 18, we are now told that we CAN drink alcohol.
Does alcohol lose its ‘badness’ once we reach the age of 18?
As we get older we are supposed to become wiser.
There seems to be no wisdom in putting a scientifically proven poison into our bodies in the name of fun and social acceptance.
I met a guy who was walking to the big long boxing bag and before he started punching we got talking.
We talked about food, sleep, fitness, exercise and weight and I shared how much weight I had lost and that my partner has sustained a weight loss of over 12.5 stone which is the size of an average adult male. That is huge in itself.
He said he worked as a security guard and is on his feet all day and then after work he goes for a whisky. He called it the ‘bourbon lifestyle’ where he keeps drinking more and more and is certain this is why he has so much excess weight.
Of course he was staggered to find out my age and was asking what I had done and he said he does know and realise that he needs to look at his whole life and not just limit it to cutting food out or punching the boxing bag. I told him in my usual style venting with those punches is not dealing with what needs to be dealt with and he nodded in agreement.
As this blog presents – alcohol is a poison and I said to this guy would he ever give any child alcohol and of course the answer is no so WHY does he do it to himself?
This was the question presented to me 14 years ago and it got me thinking – this makes sense and I needed to then ask WHY I need alcohol and WHY I had no intention of giving up champagne even though my budget was telling me you can’t afford it.
Once I got my sleep sorted with consistent early nights, things changed as I was able to feel how truly exhausted I was and how alcohol supported that by the sugar it has in it.
All these resolutions and gimmicks that we fall for will never work.
We need to be ready to ask questions as to WHY we want to consume a poison that alters our natural state, instead of championing it and making out it’s good for us and all the rest.
We need to get honest, really honest about why we accept things and is it because it actually suits our lifestyle?
Metro News – 11 October 2019
https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/11/new-parents-worry-babys-health-every-hour-turning-booze-comfort-10900241/
News today telling us new parents are worrying about their baby’s health every hour and they are turning to alcohol for comfort, according to a new research study.
50% of single, divorced parents use wine for comfort when they are worried.
44% of new parents worry about their baby’s health every day.
20% have concerns on an hourly basis.
69% use the internet to search their baby’s health signs and symptoms regularly – either hourly, daily or weekly basis.
50% booked regular visits to their GP for reassurance.
Levels of depression were highest among the youngest respondents surveyed, in relation to when their baby was first born.
Enough said, what is going on and how have we got to this point where anxiety is kicking in for so many new parents?
We all know alcohol is not the answer and whilst it seems to fix the problem by making it appear like it has gone away, we all know it has not.
Alcohol alters our natural state and alcohol is a scientific proven poison.
Simple Living Global have made this statement in this blog and as a theme in comments relating to alcohol. The thing is we cannot get away from this immutable fact.
Have we considered how our altered state could affect a new born baby who has come into this world with a very delicate and fragile body, which requires us to be more connected to our own body so that we can feel and sense what our baby is communicating?
Looking back at how simple it was for our past generations, it would be true to say that raising an infant was in fact, no big deal.
So how has modern life and our current lifestyle choices contributed, to the point where we suffer with anxiety and stress and this is amplified once we have a new born child to take care of?
Using wine for comfort speaks volumes and it bypasses the call for accountability.
We need the comfort and that means we need to take the edge off life, which could be a bit too much with a crying baby and sleepless nights.
We may just need the alcohol because it’s our ‘go to’ medicine that helps us to function and numb out those ugly thoughts that keep entering our heads.
Whatever our reason for consuming alcohol, would it be a wise move to stop and consider what is really going on for us underneath the current situation?
In other words, how was pregnancy and the actual birth?
How was life leading up to getting pregnant?
How was our relationship and what changes did we make, if any?
How have we been living up to this point and have any sensible changes been made to support our new parenting role?
If yes, have they been lived or are we paying lip service and not doing much other than checking our social media and spending time searching on google?
Are we wanting the alcohol like a relief button after a day of baby crying frequently?
Are we needing the alcohol like a best friend who just helps to melt away the problems?
Have we ever questioned WHY we suffer from depression and when did it really start?
Can we blame the baby or anyone else or do we need to take Responsibility and get Real, so that we can get to being Honest and that will put us on the road of Truth?
https://simplelivingglobal.com/get-real-get-honest-and-get-to-truth/
And finally, how are the youth today living if they are choosing to be parents at a very young age and are they adequately equipped to deal with daily life and do they have the behaviour – the movements required to adapt and commit to being responsible for a new born baby and if not, is this an indication WHY depression may be on the agenda?
It is time we got honest and used these research studies that just keep coming, to question and dig deep as to the WHY and HOW we have got to this point in society?
School holidays just started this week, noticing the restaurants at lunchtimes where the family are out.
Something I clocked over and over again was the dad with the beer at midday and the noisy kids and mum around looking quite exhausted.
So what on earth is going on and why is this feeling like the ‘norm’ as the masses are all doing it?
If we read this blog and every single comment, the reader can be left in no doubt that science is telling us with their research studies, that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Common sense is telling us too that alcohol is not for us because it alters our natural state. If it was totally good medicine, then why do we have warnings and stories about the harm of alcohol use to the human frame and the knock on effect to others.
Back to the happy family lunch expedition at the local dining place – what exactly are the kids getting when dad needs a couple of beers to chillax or do whatever around them at midday?
What is mum accepting as ok and how is she really feeling?
What types of conversations take place when someone has an altered state of being?
Are the above Responsible questions we need to be asking or do we continue with “business as usual” deal with life and what comes at us with the self medication choices like alcohol because it suits us?
Could it be possible that any drop of alcohol is telling us SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT and it is time to look at WHY we need a poison even when it is just a lunch date with the wife and kids?
BBC World News reported a story about a man from China who calls himself a peasant and found global fame on social media due to his drinking exploits.
He drinks a pint of beer, a can of cola, a huge glass of flaming spirits and a raw egg all in 8 seconds and received 12 million views on social media plus a worldwide fan base.
Another clip shows him mixing vodka, whisky, red wine, beer – and, of course, the trademark egg – and drinks it like water and that gave him 500,000 views.
He filmed his first video – drinking seven bottles of lager in 50 seconds and had gained 60,000 followers in less than six weeks.
He also insists he feels no ill-effects after his stunts and states “I can really drink” but he does, however, repeatedly advise caution.
A doctor in London says, despite his iron constitution, he risks passing out, vomiting and even asphyxiation. There are also long term dangers. “Binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to mental health problems and liver damage, and are associated with increased blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms and even some cancers,” she says.
As China has grown richer, so has its appetite for alcohol.
In 2003, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, 4% of Chinese people had ‘binge drunk’ in the past 30 days. By 2016, that was up to 23%.
For Chinese men, 36% were considered binge drinkers, compared to 7.5 % in 2003.
Because of the new global audience which he is enjoying, this man is uploading old videos rather than making fresh ones.
This man is seen as a ‘role model’.
Is it possible that we have nothing better going on in our lives so we endorse this type of behaviour?
What is going on in this world that something like this can attract huge global audiences and be championed as a ‘good’ thing by many?
Is it possible that this man is being celebrated because he is willing to put his body in harms way?
Why are we doing more and more extreme stunts just to get noticed?
Is it possible, that the fact that this man is getting millions of views, shows us how far we have lost our way from what is true in our lives?
Whatever our views on this socially accepted form of numbing – Alcohol is still, and always will be, a scientifically proven poison.
In the jumbo supermarket today and we have an old granny aged 88 with her grandson’s wife who had a t-shirt on saying “Choose Prosecco”.
First I got talking to granny who likes shopping and comes most days to the supermarket but she said she puts food in the oven and forgets so it burns and then she wants to buy more of the same. We laughed and we talked.
Back to the t-shirt lady – I had to say why on earth would you want to choose a poison we call alcohol. As we got talking she agreed Alcohol does mess you up and affects her sleep and ages her. There you go – we do KNOW even if we can’t quite make the steps to change. I reckon we are smart and savvy but it suits us to numb ourselves from whatever issues, stress, hurts and pain we have inside.
WHY else would anyone consume a poison that alters our natural state, unless we actually want to not be in our natural state?
Is it because we need the numbing agent to block out and shut down feelings that may be buried deep inside or is there another reason we do it?
Sociable and to fit in? If yes, is it worth it and have we bothered to check in with our body with a dose of honesty and see what it has to say to us?
We parted laughing and granny gives me a kiss on both cheeks telling me how lovely I am and how she enjoyed the chatting and all the humour. Yes it made her day.
AS she was getting ready to move, she told me she does not drink any alcohol and knows it is bad for you and expensive. There you go wisdom from an old lady in the late stages of life talking sense.
No matter what we want to do to defend the real truth about what alcohol is and what we can justify because it suits our lifestyle, there really is no getting away from the immutable fact that it is a poison – a substance that alters our natural state.
This blog speaks volumes and it will not make this website popular but if those of us who know, choose to say nothing then we are enabling the rise in all the harm we see in society that is linked to alcohol.
In the past, I would back off or water down my response when it came to alcohol because I feared the backlash that comes with it. These days I really don’t care who is in front of me – I will speak the truth about what I know is a scientifically proven poison.
It makes no sense to pussy foot around someone when a true direct delivery in my no nonsense style might just shake them up and admit what they already know because their body is telling them so.
The Telegraph – 7th November 2019
Britons are Drinking 108 bottles of Wine a Year.
A major report shows the average Briton is now drinking 108 bottles of wine a year – far more than the rest of the Western world.
The study of 36 nations show that the UK’s alcohol consumption is now among the highest in developed countries.
It comes as separate figures show the number of pensioners starting treatment for alcohol problems has doubled in the past decade. Health campaigners said baby boomers who grew up in a “hedonistic culture” in the 60’s and 70’s were consuming far more than younger drinkers, and turning a “bind eye” to the potential health risks.
The research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that adults in Britain are now consuming an average of 9.7 litres of pure alcohol a year – the equivalent of 108 bottles of wine or 427 pints of 4 per cent strength beer which is almost a litre higher than the OECD average of 8.9 litres.
Separate figures show the number of over 65’s beginning NHS treatment for alcohol problems has doubled in the past decade with 2,134 cases in 2008/9 to 4,328 cases in 2018/19.
A doctor from the Addictions Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said the trends among older drinkers were alarming. He said: “The impact of this long-term is seen in liver disease, in alcohol related brain damage, dementia, cancer, blood pressure, strokes, in a whole range of health problems.”
The chief executive of Alcohol Change UK said: “In the UK we often drink more than we know is good for us – often more than we really want to. But our drinking habits are causing more and more harm in the UK. Hospital admissions related to alcohol and alcohol related deaths are both on the rise.
UK 2017, there were 7,697 deaths caused by alcohol – almost one an hour. This is the highest level since 2008.”
We could rightly assume that the older generation would be more considerate of themselves, more inclined to know the harmful repercussions of too much alcohol, so what is driving them to drink more?
Is it for relief or is it to check out of life?
In Britain we are consuming nearly 10 litres of pure alcohol a year with the rest of the world having an average of nearly 9 litres of pure alcohol a year.
Alcohol has been proven by science to be a poison – is it any wonder there are so many alcohol related deaths?
The Guardian – 23rd November 2019
Rum Back in the Mix as Spiced and Flavoured Versions Take Off
Rum and coke, the perennial favourite of many, is making a comeback due to the introduction of exotic flavours that are now mixed in the rum.
The craft gin boom – or “ginaissance” – has caused a frenzy in a multibillion-pound drinks industry eager to identify the next big thing and that appears to be flavoured and spiced rum.
Sales are soaring with these new products which include ingredients ranging from hemp to coffee and orange peel.
A well-known seller of wines and alcohol have reported its rum sales are up 46% this month on a year ago and new industry wide figures show Britons bought 10 million bottles of flavoured and spiced rum in the year to June, up 80% on five years ago.
According to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, Britons drank 35 million bottles of rum in the past year, a market worth £1 billion.
At just over 13 million bottles sold, the most popular style is still white rum. But that is falling out of fashion fast, with 300,000 fewer bottles shifted than in 2018. Demand is growing, however, for more expensive flavoured and spiced rums.
With this growth, it means companies are piling in to get in on the action.
The company behind a brand of gin opened what was billed as the first new rum blending house in London for a century.
First it was gin that was transformed and now rum. I doubt very much it will stop there, now that it appears that plain old alcohol is just not cutting it anymore and companies can see how lucrative it is by adding ingredients to alcohol.
We could say that it is the fault of these companies that bring out these new drinks and all they want is to make more money from us, but is it possible that all they are doing is fulfilling a demand from us?
So why is plain alcohol not enough for us anymore?
Why are we looking to stimulate ourselves even further through these new concoctions?
Is it possible that we don’t really care about the alcohol content and that all we are interested in is being a part of the next new fad?
Is it possible we are getting so used to the alcohol now, we want different flavours to keep us going and we don’t care how much it costs?
Is it possible that, we may think adding different flavours to alcohol will make it less potent?
Is it possible that, by adding all these exotic ingredients we may be tempted to drink more of it?
It is a well-known fact that alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
Why are we so intent on finding different ways to market this very harm-full substance?
The Guardian – 21st December 2019
Could Alcoholic Water Be Just Your Cup of Tea?
The recent history of alcohol has shown that we are forever looking for new ways to drink the stuff, with the latest trend to hit Britain in 2020 – fizzy water with alcohol in it known as “hard seltzer”.
The new drink refers to a mildly fruit-flavoured alcoholic beverage, typically in cans, at 100 calories and with an alcohol volume of about 5%.
This drink is already a proven lucrative drinks category in the US with the bestselling brand hitting sales of $1.5 billion this year.
It was so popular over the summer in the US that the company warned of an impending shortage.
The editor of the US beer blog God Beer Hunting said: “It grew by 300% in 2017, 200% in 2018 and it will probably grow by the same amount this year. You just don’t find drinks categories that do that in successive years. The big draw is that almost universally, they are 100 calories. About 5% alcohol, so they fit that space where someone’s looking for a buzz but they are trying to be conscious of what they are putting into their bodies.”
A brand manager from a company that wants to capitalize on this trend in the UK said: “There are a lot of people over 30 who have health targets or are very calorie conscious. They might have a spin class in the morning don’t want to miss out on going out with their mates either. It’s largely to do with calories but it’s also gluten free, it’s naturally flavoured, it’s low in carbs.”
A professor, who is chairman of Alcohol Health Alliance UK, has likened hard seltzers to “alcopops”, which were heavily criticized in the 1990’s for appealing to children. He said: hard seltzers are masquerading as sparkling water drinks with fruit flavours when they are as strong as a beer or a lager.”
It appears it doesn’t matter to us what form our alcohol comes in, as long as we can have it.
Mixing alcohol with water rather than cola may save a few calories but, alcohol is a scientific proven poison and mixing it with any other substance is not going to change that fact.
A lot of people will be championing this product for health reasons because it contains water and fruit flavours and is low on calories.
Is it possible that this is paradoxical as it also contains a poison?
However we dress this up, alcohol is very damaging to our bodies and we are choosing to totally ignore this fact.
Are we simply fooling ourselves or is there a deep-seated need in us to consume a poisonous substance that we have allowed to be a socially accepted norm?
Daily Mail – 4th January 2020
Alcohol – What’s your Poison?
It’s Britain’s deadliest drug, costs the NHS billions and shortens our lives. Yet alcohol is not only legal – it’s soaked into our culture. As new research shows just how lethal our habit has become, the Government’s former tsar calls last orders on a national epidemic.
This article is written by a professor of Neuropsychopharmacology – the study of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety and sleep.
He says that alcohol has the most profound effect on our physical and mental wellbeing and we should be encouraging everyone to drink less. After all, Boris Johnson gave up drinking during the election and he recommends all MP’s be breathalysed before they cast votes in the commons.
The article continues – Alcohol is the chief substance that oils the wheels of our government. In the Palace of Westminster alone, there are nearly 30 places to drink, all subsidised.
Numerous MP’s have admitted to at least getting merry while on Commons business, while some have been roaring drunk. One member described being too intoxicated to walk through the voting chambers.
And all this matters because even relatively modest amounts of alcohol impair a person’s judgment.
One main reason is that the part of the brain that keeps us in control – the frontal cortex – is the first part switched off by booze. That’s not all alcohol can do. As a doctor that has studied its effect on the brain and body and co-written three scientific reports that all came to the same conclusion – Alcohol is by some margin the most damaging drug of all because of the harm it does to society, as well as the individual and taxpayers inevitably picking up the huge bill.
Similar studies have been carried out since, in Europe and Australia, each with the same outcome.
In the UK, our alcohol consumption has nearly doubled since the sixties. According to the Global Drug Survey, Britons get drunk an average of once a week and one in ten of us are drunk on five or more days a week.
A staggering 10.8 million of us drink at levels that pose a risk to our health. Indeed, alcohol is now the leading cause of death for men aged between 16-54, cutting life short for around 30,000 people, a year.
Alcohol is also the reason why policing public drunkenness costs us more than £6 billion a year and why the costs to the NHS are over £3 billion a year.
In the past half-century, deaths from liver disease in the UK increased fivefold and up to half of all people in orthopaedic wards are there because of alcohol-related injuries.
Alcohol is a poison and over the past twenty years, scientists have been learning a lot more about the havoc it wreaks on the body.
A couple of years ago we discovered that just a single drink a day increases the risk of breast cancer. Even light to moderate drinking raises our risk of developing an irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia), which can make us feel faint, short of breath and can potentially lead to a stroke.
Most people still think the chief danger of drinking too much is cirrhosis of the liver, but the biggest killers associated with alcohol are strokes and heart attack. After that comes various liver diseases and at least eight different types of cancer.
Drinking also causes brain damage and at least one in five cases of dementia is thought to be probably due to alcohol.
Don’t think we are a safe driver if we are under the legal limit of 80mg blood alcohol level. A 2010 government report concluded that if our blood alcohol concentration is between 50-80 mg, we are up to six times more likely to die in a collision than if we had drunk nothing at all.
New neuroscience from Sussex University found that one-pint can compromise our road safety. Our co-ordination may not be affected, but we will have an exaggerated feeling of being in control – and overconfidence can be dangerous.
One study concluded that having a couple of drinks on more than four days a week raises the risk of premature death by 20 per cent.
For those that champion the health benefits of drinking red wine, a review in 2018 of all the evidence – which was published in the leading medical journal, The Lancet – concluded that any partially protective effect on the heart is more than cancelled by negative effects, such as raised risk of cancer.
Let’s put it this way: If alcohol had been discovered in the past year or so, it would be illegal. The safe limit, if you applied current food-standards criteria, would be one glass of wine a year. If you were told a new drug would increase your risk of cancer, dementia and heart disease, would you try it?
Alcohol is prevalent in all areas of our life from every celebration to business deals, birth of a child, the death of someone, a stressful day at work or just because it is Friday.
When a nephew turned 18, I counted 23 cards for 18th birthdays before I found one that didn’t focus on alcohol. What kind of message is that for a young person?
We are now the sick man of Europe. Take the drink-driving limit, for example, of 80mg blood alcohol. It hasn’t changed since 1967, thus leaving the UK with one of the highest drink-driving limits in the world. In most of Europe, the level is 50mg. Norway and Sweden has lowered it to just 20mg.
In France, the rates of liver cirrhosis used to be much higher than the UK but since the introduction of measures and the tackling of key areas by the French, their rates of liver cirrhosis are now lower than the UK’s.
We haven’t adopted any such policies because the government makes so much money from taxes on alcohol. Successive governments have been perfectly aware of this but they have been loath to change anything, because the income from taxation is immediate. The treasury view is if anyone started meddling, tax income would plummet while the health benefits wouldn’t be evident for 10 to 20 years.
Of course, this is short-term thinking and the fact is, that when we add in the costs of alcohol to society, there is a net loss to the Exchequer.
These costs are: £3.5 billion annually on health; £6.5 billion for policing drunkenness; £20 billion for lost productivity through hangovers. That comes to £30 billion. Add in other factors such as alcohol-related costs to social care, the criminal justice system and the fire services, and the cost zooms to £55.1 billion.
Taxation of alcohol raises about £20 billion a year which leaves a net deficit of up to £35 billion.
Indeed, I would argue, that we need to go much further than France, starting by taxing drinks on the amount of alcohol they contain. At the moment, the duty system doesn’t make sense. Why should the tax on cider containing 10 per cent alcohol be one third that of a wine of the same strength? All that does is encourage the consumption of strong ciders.
We should also cut the availability of super-cheap booze, and stop supermarkets using discounted offers on alcohol as loss leaders.
On what planet does it make sense for a poison to be sold at less than the price of water?
Children also need to be educated at primary school about the dangers of alcohol.
We should follow Scotland’s lead in introducing a minimum price per unit of 50p. Boris Johnson’s predecessor supported minimum unit pricing and set up a committee in 2010 to bring it about.
Unfortunately, his government also decided the group should be made up of 50 per cent health experts and 50 per cent representatives of the drinks industry.
At first there were attempts to work together. But all the health experts resigned in 2011, after industry representatives blocked all suggestions of compulsory policies, such as minimum pricing. Clearly it was impossible to be objective, when half the committee was linked to the industry causing the problem.
That committee is now defunct. In fact, there isn’t a single body in Britain that’s empowered to argue the case for sensible alcohol policies.
There is not much more to be said here. So many pertinent points have been highlighted, along with the absurd situation of the drinking facilities and subsidies of our MP’s.
Is it possible that, any legislation to reduce alcohol consumption by means of raising the unit price, is never going to see the light of day, as those that are making the rules are also possibly dependent on alcohol themselves?
Like the now defunct committee of 2010, this represents a huge conflict of interest and, also like the now defunct committee, it is easy to see why no measures have been put in place to curb our alcohol consumption.
To have not one single body in the UK that is arguing for sensible alcohol policies is a travesty.
For all the governments rhetoric on reducing alcohol consumption, reducing the costs to the police, the NHS, the courts, social services, etc. is it possible that this simply reveals a level of disregard that our politicians have for the general public?
As this article, and many others, state – Alcohol is a poison – is it possible that nothing else needs to be said?
Vox – 13th January 2020
The Number of US Alcohol Deaths Per Year Has Doubled Since 1999
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/1/13/21058864/alcohol-deaths-study
A study in a publication called, Alcoholism, showed that America is in the middle of an alcohol epidemic as alcohol causes more deaths than all drug overdoses combined – even at the height of America’s opioid epidemic.
The number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled between 1999 and 2017 from nearly 36,000 to nearly 73,000, and the rate of alcohol deaths rose by more than 50% from 16.9 per 100,000 people to 25.5. There were roughly 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2017.
Alcohol accounted for 2.6% of all deaths among people 16 and older in 2017, up from 1.5% in 1999.
Men, between 45 and 74 years old, and American Indians and Alaska Natives were disproportionately likely to die from alcohol. The largest increase in alcohol-related deaths occurred among white women.
Nearly half of alcohol deaths were due to liver diseases or overdoses linked to alcohol and other drugs. The other half included, among many factors, car crashes, other unintentional injuries, suicide, homicide and heart disease.
The study found that there were nearly 1 million alcohol-related deaths between 1999 and 2017. In that same time frame, drug overdose deaths totalled a bit over 700,000.
The researchers cautioned that their figures likely undercount the number of alcohol-related deaths.
A previous analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on 2006-2010 data put deaths due to excessive drinking at 88,000 per year.
The study speaks to a problem in American public health and drug policy: While crises like the opioid epidemic get a lot of attention, even deadlier drug crises are often neglected by the public, policymakers and media.
Alcohol is not even the deadliest drug – the CDC estimated that tobacco smoking is linked to 480,000 deaths each year.
Yet alcohol and tobacco haven’t filled a big part of public discussions about drugs in the past few years, especially compared to the opioid epidemic.
Experts argue that America needs to take a more comprehensive view of drug policy in general with one example being to raise the alcohol tax. There is a lot of research that suggests this would reduce alcohol-related deaths.
A senior adviser and researcher for the Open Philanthropy Project said: “Literature on this topic is large and the preponderance of the evidence says that higher prices do correlate with less drinking and lower incidence of problems such as cirrhosis deaths.” He concluded, “ a 10% price increase would cut the death rate from alcohol caused diseases by 9-25%. For the US in 2010, this represents 2,000-6,000 averted deaths per year.”
Yet Congress has moved in the opposite direction and cut alcohol taxes and last year, Congress extended alcohol cuts.
There was very little opposition to either move when the measures passed, with the spending deal that included the most recent extension getting wide bipartisan approval in Congress.
Realistically, the figures used here are under represented and there are probably many more alcohol-related deaths.
Alcohol doesn’t care who drinks it and it has the potential to kill anyone of us.
Alcohol-related deaths are not a new phenomenon. People have been dying from this substance for a very long time and those in authority know the dangers of alcohol, but instead of introducing measures to try and curtail the incidence of death due to alcohol, governments are voting to make it easier to get it.
Why are the policymakers making these decisions?
As this article states, tobacco kills many more people per year than alcohol.
Why is it that the two drugs that kill the most people are what society has deemed to be socially acceptable?
If policymakers need to consume alcohol to get through the day, is it possible that they wouldn’t be able to make an objective decision?
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
Why are we not taking any notice of this immutable fact?
Independent – 12th January 2019
The chair of an NHS clinical commissioning group has criticised a yoghurt manufacturer for creating a product, which has 0.5 percent alcohol.
He said: “Have we not got enough issues with alcohol related health problems? Given the problems we have with alcohol as a society – which is very visible in our GP practices and A&E departments – the creation of alcohol inspired yoghurts seems unnecessary and counterproductive to public health.”
Is it possible that the chair of the clinical commissioning group has a valid point in the criticism of this product?
With the cost to the NHS of alcohol-related injuries and conditions estimated at £3.5 billion per year, is it responsible for a company to produce a product like this?
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2016/jan/22/alcohol-and-the-nhs-five-key-questions
And is it possible that this product could contribute to the obesity levels we have?
Of course, blaming the company for producing this product is also not the responsible thing here.
A company will only produce something if there is a demand for it, so the question we need to ask ourselves is, with the proliferation of alcohol laden food products we already have, why do we need to take a seemingly healthy product and turn it into a completely unhealthy and unsuitable product?
Alcohol has been scientifically proven to be a poison.
WHY are we not taking any notice of this fact?
Is it possible that there is something going on with us to have alcohol in this way?
Is it possible that we need alcohol to get through the day?
Although this may drive growth and earn the company profits, is it possible that adding a poison into this product, is not really that smart?
Metro – 29th January 2020
A Bottle of Rum that Costs £3,000
One of the rarest rums in the world has arrived in the UK – and can be tasted for £250 per shot.
Only 500 individually numbered bottles of this rum have been created.
The distillers of this rum, in Havana, Cuba, launched it to mark the 500-year history of the city. Only 250 bottles will be for public consumption.
The rum, which has been distilled since 1940 is a bright amber colour, as a result of ageing in white oak barrels.
According to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, in 2019, almost 35 million bottles of rum were sold in the UK, worth £1 billion.
Rum, like whisky, vodka, gin, liqueurs, sherry, tequila, etc. are known as spirits.
But what is a spirit?
All alcoholic beverages are made by fermenting some form of sugary brew into ethanol and CO2.
Because yeast can only ferment so much before alcohol levels become too toxic to them, we have to distill – or physically separate out the water – to get higher alcohol concentrations.
Spirits are the highest ABV (alcohol by volume) products of the yeast-based fermentation of a liquid brewed to have fermentable sugars. Unlike beer or wine, spirits are the product of a second step called ‘distillation’ that further fortifies them.
https://vinepair.com/spirits-101/what-are-spirits/
The above link talks about the fact that we have to distill a product before alcohol levels become too toxic – this implies that it is well known that any amount of alcohol has some toxicity to it.
Although we know this, we are intent on pushing the fermentation process to get the strongest amount of alcohol as we can before it becomes undrinkable.
It seems strange that although we know this, alcohol is a socially accepted norm.
£3,000 for one bottle of rum – or £250 a shot – Have we lost the plot here?
Why does distilling something for several years make it so special?
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
For all the hype surrounding this bottle of rum – ultimately, we are still drinking a poison – a very expensive poison.
Should we be asking ourselves why we need this poison in the first place?
I wonder why bottles of drink, with high concentrations of alcohol, are called ‘Spirits’???
We could call this comment Citizen Journalism but it feels appropriate on this blog.
Young guy with 4 kids tells me of a metal plate and bolts in his hand following a serious injury.
Mrs questions here asks how it happened and when.
Watching football and the excess alcohol meant he lost his balance and slipped. This was 2 years ago and he is reliving the story like it was today.
Metal rod and bolts were inserted and there is a long scar showing from above the wrist right down to the finger.
He said the plaster caste meant the healing process was going to be long and he was bored at home, so he ripped it off and never went back to get it examined or checked if everything is ok.
My take is that the current levels of pain confirm things have not repaired.
Tissue damage at a deeper level and perhaps the adjustment needed when a foreign object enters the human frame needs time, rest and exercise specifically designed for the limb in question. I know this from personal experience with my husband who had knee replacement surgery as that is metal going into the body.
He told me that it was definitely the alcohol but as it was a cup final he just lets loose and has no limits as he just cannot stop consuming it.
I talked about the knock on effect for his wife and children and also his valuable input at work, as he is part of a team who work very professionally in their trade.
He said he realised it was a big mistake and has felt the consequences but doubts he could give up as football is his passion.
The question is – what is it about football that goes hand in hand with alcohol?
Bit like a wedding or any other celebration – we seem to think it just ain’t possible without the excess booze.
Think about it, alcohol is a scientifically proven poison and this blog leaves us in no doubt as to the real harm it does to our body. No getting away from that.
We need alcohol to have a “good time” – why is that and who is actually having a good time when our body is telling us something else?
My talk with him was my usual no nonsense style and say it as it is manner.
No mincing words and no judgement.
I talked about responsibility and him being a role model for his kids.
I talked about how valuable he is with the work team and how his ill choices led to the team not being able to complete jobs on time and having to work longer hours to make up for him not being there.
ADD to that with the weaker hand it affects the manual job he does now.
So as I say to anyone – Was it worth it?
Have we learnt the lesson or are we going to ignore that awefull painfull time and do it all over again because we can and we just love drinking alcohol even though we do know it harms us and others along the way?
Alcohol-based hand sanitisers wipe out 99.9 per cent of most common germs in as little as 15 seconds and the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) calls them a more reliable germ killer.
Alcohol-free hand sanitisers do not dry out hands. Alcohol free sanitisers do not strip away oils in our skin that retain moisture.
Because of the developments of the Coronavirus, my place of work has issued bottles of hand sanitiser for the staff and will soon be installing appliances to dispense the hand sanitiser.
I recently read the ingredients of this hand sanitiser and found that one of the main ingredients is ethanol – also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol or alcohol, a member of a class of organic compounds that are given the general name of alcohol.
Ethanol is an important industrial chemical: it is used as a solvent, in the synthesis of other organic chemicals and as an additive to automotive gasoline. Ethanol is also the intoxicating ingredient of many alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and distilled spirits.
https://www.britannica.com/science/ethanol
Ethanol – alcohol – is used in industrial chemicals, it is used as a solvent, and it is added to automotive gasoline.
We wouldn’t drink industrial chemicals.
We wouldn’t drink solvents.
We wouldn’t drink automotive gasoline.
I am sure there are many products out there that we are aware of, that we either consume or put on our bodies that contain a form of alcohol.
I am also sure that if any of us ingests alcohol through choice, we do so knowingly.
The outsides of our bodies are a lot more durable than the insides of our bodies.
If we put an alcohol-based hand sanitiser on the outside of a part of our body and it wipes out 99.9 per cent of germs and is also known to be a reliable germ killer, what is it doing to the inside of our bodies when we imbibe alcoholic drinks?
Is it any wonder that our organs are eaten away from the harm-full affects of this incredibly poisonous substance?
Why then, do we think it is OK to drink it via beer, wine and spirits?
Why then, is every and any occasion used for the drinking of alcohol?
Why then, does society normalise and even champion the use of this harm-full substance?
Industrial chemicals and solvents were first produced around the early 1900’s and ethanol was added to automotive gasoline around the 1920’s -1930’s
Let’s say that before that time and up to the present day, alcohol wasn’t being used as a social drink – would the policy makers, governments, the medical world, health organisations, any regulatory body and the whole human race be in agreement, if we were told that it was OK to drink a product that was used in the manufacture of industrial chemicals, solvents or automotive gasoline?
Would we be in agreement if we were told it was OK to consume a poison?
The only reason we drink alcohol is because man has been making it for thousands of years, with evidence of an alcoholic drink in China as early as 7000 BC. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/02/alcohol-discovery-addiction-booze-human-culture/
The last sentence of this blog says it all:
“There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption.
The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth.”
International Business Times – 26 March 2020
https://www.ibtimes.com/lockdown-or-lock-fears-alcoholism-addiction-confinement-2947569
3 billion people around the world are currently living under lockdown.
It is likely that many people could turn to addiction and many people are at risk, experts say.
“The links between traumatic stress and drug use are well established. People respond in the usual ways, such as painkillers, alcohol and recreational drugs” says Phillippe Batel, a psychiatrist and head of an addiction centre in France.
He adds “The longer the lockdown lasts, the more the negative effects are likely to be felt. Consumption can be a response to a waiting period and we tell ourselves ‘it will calm me down and allow me to put things at a distance. But as time goes by, there is less and less of a calming effect and the expected benefit shifts’ to depression and anxiety induced by drinking too much”.
In a confined situation, most of the strategies for coping with stress, such as sport of going out no longer exist. But there is more and more stress and the coping strategy that is still available is the use of substances, according to Elsa Taschini, a psychologist.
She said that there are numerous humorous videos posted online making jokes, because in fact we know that it is not really a joke.
The World Health Organization on its recommendations for coping with stress during a pandemic advises “Don’t use smoking, alcohol or other drugs to deal with your emotions.”
Some countries have taken drastic measures to avoid such abuse.
South Africa will ban the sale of alcohol during its containment period.
Hong Kong has warned bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol.
In France, Tobacco shops, which are a major source of tax income and wine shops remain open.
Nathalie Latour of the Addiction Federation said “we have to manage this issue of craving.
We are seeing an increase in the number of virtual drink meet-ups, a need for conviviality and decompression that goes hand in hand with alcohol consumption. It is important to avoid falling into the pattern: conviviality equals alcohol, stress equals alcohol.”
If we get real and very honest – would it be true to say that with having to stay inside our homes it is going to be very difficult and many of us are familiar with what alcohol gives us – an altered state of mind that makes us so-called relaxed and chilled out, numbed out, checked out and everything else that stops us feeling and connecting to our body and sensing what is really going on?
So we could say that alcohol in these current times is a popular choice of self-medication.
But what is that going to look like when we get to the other side?
In other words, when this is all over and its back to work and business as usual – how is our health and state of mind going to be?
Have we thought about the longer term impact and consequences of using the glass or can of poison to get us through the days and nights?
As this blog states – Alcohol is a scientific proven poison and there is no getting away from that fact. Our body is not going to agree and give us a licence and say it is ok to drink away right now as we have a world pandemic going on.
The Daily Telegraph – 4th April 2020
It’s Wine o’clock Somewhere in the World…
This week the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged people to reduce their alcohol consumption and increase activity in order to be fighting fit against Covid-19.
Drink Aware advises that the last thing we should be doing to protect ourselves is upping our alcohol intake. It suppresses our immune system, meaning we will be less able to fight off the virus should we catch it, affects our sleep patterns and can impact our mental health.
And yet, as life’s everyday routines are denied to us, from the coffee with a friend, the trip to the cinema, the drive to the countryside, the eating out at restaurants, we are finding inventive ways to still socialise and, of course, that means the obligatory alcohol:
• Videoconferencing and holding nightly parties online complete with salty snacks and drinks
• A weekly newspaper quiz on Zoom with extra top ups if you get the questions right
• Poker parties
• Bridge parties
• Communal cooking
• Book groups
All held online and lubricated with wine.
One person even has cocktails delivered from a local bar.
As we are doing our socialising online the world has become a much smaller place and, as our social life extends to different time zones, so does cocktail hour – every hour is happy hour.
Off-licences and licensed shops selling alcohol are now seen as essential services, as the UK government recently designated them as part of the essential services that could remain open.
While grocery sales increased 20.6 per cent in March, sales of alcohol jumped by 22 per cent or a staggering £199 million.
The website of a well-known wine retailer crashed in March due to “unprecedented demand” and still has notices explaining the new rules they have had to introduce in order to cope with the nation’s orders.
This article states –
While it’s true that alcohol interferes with a good night’s sleep, it can help us to pass out quickly.
Although alcohol is a factor in much of the domestic abuse that is feared to rise, for others it can help oil the wheels of romance.
If sharing a bottle of wine helps couples iron out the tensions of working alongside each other, this can only be a good thing.
The extent to which alcohol is normalised is clearly seen in the above sentences.
‘Alcohol can help us to pass out quickly’ – doesn’t that tell us straight away that something is not right here?
To casually mix domestic abuse with romance in the same sentence is a great indictment of how alcohol has corrupted what we should be prioritising.
‘Alcohol helps couples iron out the tensions of working alongside each other, this can only be a good thing’ – How is this a good thing?
Alcohol takes us away from who we are, which means we are not truly ourselves.
If alcohol takes us away from who we truly are, which it does, is it possible that anything we do or say under the influence of alcohol can never be the Truth?
Is it possible that the ‘tensions’ we work out under the influence of alcohol are not really resolved and will only come back, possibly bigger than they were before?
Is it possible that the reason we are drinking more in this current situation is because there was already something not quite right with how we were living before?
Is it possible that this pandemic is showing us our deep lack of purpose?
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison and this is an immutable fact – WHY are we so insistent on drinking a poison on the pretext that it is actually helping us?
On a final note – WHY does it take a global epidemic for the WHO to advise people to reduce their alcohol intake and increase their activity?
Independent – 13th April 2020
Hospital Beds Needed for Coronavirus Victims are Being Blocked by Alcoholics Depending on the NHS
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-hospital-beds-crisis-nhs-alcohol-death-treatment-failure-a9462156.html
The government has issued guidance to healthcare staff on how to manage people who are dependent on alcohol. An estimated 589,000 people are deemed to be dependent on alcohol in the UK. That guidance is needed as there is a risk that, with all the attention given to Covid-19, this group of people are forgotten.
Arriving anywhere from general practice to A & E before the coronavirus outbreak these patients would be seen by staff who were familiar with how to manage someone in alcohol crisis. But health staff are being moved into positions that they have little experience or knowledge of to fill gaps created by the emergency.
This lack of staff experience will inevitably be combined with an increase in alcohol related cases, as some people will not be coping with isolation well or will struggle to maintain their usual drinking levels due to loss of income and supply disruption.
Public Health England (PHE) estimates that 5 per cent of acute hospital beds are occupied by people who require treatment for alcohol dependence. This at a time when there is unprecedented pressure on those spaces.
The new guidelines suggest every hospital should appoint an alcohol lead to provide specialist knowledge and practical advice on how to manage this group of patients. This expertise will be required as alcohol dependence is potentially life threatening if not managed correctly.
Alcohol related deaths are at record levels in the UK: 7,551 died in 2018, the last year that data is available. Add this to the increased vulnerability to Covid-19 of people with alcohol dependence due to compromised immunity, and it looks like we will see a new record for alcohol related deaths.
Finding the new alcohol leads, the PHE suggests should be competent and credible in such a role, will be tough, as the staff pool has all but evaporated. Yet another example of how politics has adversely affected the NHS’s ability to free up hospital bed capacity.
Individuals with alcohol dependence have every right to expect and be given optimum care, but it’s difficult to see how this can be done. Past political decisions, which have led to a lack of specialist alcohol treatment proved, and will still prove to be, fatal for some.
I understand the point that is made regarding the lack of specialists due to NHS cuts and that there is an argument for having more specialists, but the NHS is close to bankruptcy and this Covid-19 epidemic is just increasing the pressure on an already thin wire.
This article blames political decisions, laments the lack of alcohol addiction specialists and the effect that this has on services.
What if we have a personal responsibility?
Just like tobacco related illnesses and diseases and most obesity related illnesses and diseases, alcohol related illnesses and diseases are the results of choices that we have made. Choices that we know are NOT good for our bodies but, nonetheless we still make them.
Of course, anyone with an alcohol dependent issue is entitled to expect they will be given the appropriate care, but if resources are stretched thin because we are dealing with this epidemic, where do the priorities lie for the health service?
Is it possible that we are all responsible for our own health and well-being?
Aljazeera – 27 April 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/iran-700-dead-drinking-alcohol-cure-coronavirus-200427163529629.html
728 people died in Iran after ingesting toxic methanol erroneously thinking it can cure the new coronavirus, according to the national coroner’s authority.
Alcohol poisoning has seen a 10 fold increase in Iran in the past year.
5,011 people had been poisoned from methanol alcohol and 90 people have lost their eyesight or are suffering eye damage from the alcohol poisoning. This figure could be much higher says the Health Ministry adviser.
Methanol cannot be smelled or tasted in drinks. It causes delayed organ and brain damage. Symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness and even coma.
This news story highlights the seriousness of what the consequences are when we make choices that are harmfull to our body.
Without knowing the full facts of who these people are and what their lifestyle was before they ingested a poison called alcohol, which killed them, we cannot judge or criticise.
What we can do is ask some pertinent questions?
How is the news of this pandemic affecting people and what is the fear driving them to take drastic measures, supposedly to cure them but instead it kills them – the very thing they were trying to avoid?
Are we subscribing and aligning to all the media and what they are circulating about this pandemic that we lose our common sense or jump on the bandwagon when we hear what others are doing?
Everything in our world has been created by us and that means we are responsible for everything that happens. However, we seem to have got to a point where we lose all reason and logic and do un-intelligent movements – call it behaviour that leads to death.
Iran has a 10 fold increase in alcohol poisoning in a year. SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Is it time for us all to unite and come together and dig deep and find out WHY and HOW it has got to this in this country?
What is going on for the people?
What is behind these real tragic statistics?
Do we need to make it our business or do we look the other way because when it comes to alcohol ingesting, we do not want to say anything as it suits our lifestyle choices right now to keep going with our love of alcohol?
This tablet of Truth, call it a blog with over 200 comments posted is presenting the facts and one thing is for sure – that is certain and immutable – ALCOHOL IS A SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN POISON.
We have enough evidence and research telling us so and yet we have this poison readily available because it is legal.
Daily Mail – 2nd May 2020
Don’t Fall Victim to ‘Furlough Merlot’.
A Daily Mail columnist, who is an NHS psychiatrist, talks about alcohol consumption during lockdown…
“Have you found yourself reaching for a soothing glass of wine or three, or a hefty gin and tonic each night during lockdown?
While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a tipple, several of my patients and even some of my friends, have said that since the lockdown began, they have found themselves drinking more than usual”.
As a letter to a newspaper put it this week: “Please open the pubs again before we all turn into alcoholics!”
Latest figures show alcohol sales have increased by almost 300% during the pandemic as drinking at home has become the only alternative to socialising over a pint or bottle of wine in a pub, bar or restaurant. Even those who, under normal circumstances, would never dream of drinking alone admit to a comforting glass.
And, of course, it is understandable. If you are working from home, then a drink is an easy way to draw a line under the working day.
Those who are stressed about the pandemic – fearful of falling ill or worried about the economic fallout – may find solace and relaxation in alcohol, or it can seem that way.
But there are risks – and suddenly it’s a habit you can’t quit.
Doctors are concerned this period of isolation might lead to addiction to at-risk individuals or to relapse in recovered addicts, placing further strain on drug and alcohol services – and the health service in general.
Without doubt, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown has brought behaviours out in us that were well hidden before.
Is it possible that the fact that we need more alcohol to get us through the day is a telling issue and says that we are not well equipped to deal with something that takes us out of our comfort zone?
Is it possible that we ‘need the pubs to reopen’ because we are not comfortable with our own company?
Is it possible that there is something wrong with our relationships if we can’t bear to be in the same house with our family for prolonged periods?
Alcohol is a great tool to bury or hide these feelings.
One thing that always strikes me when I read something like this is that there is never any attempt by the author to indicate that we shouldn’t be drinking alcohol at all.
There is never any indication that there is something wrong with society’s acceptance of alcohol – that alcohol is OK in moderation.
Is it possible that alcohol is always going to be seen as acceptable when we have medically qualified doctors saying that it is OK to have a ‘tipple’?
Yet, alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
The harm that alcohol does to the body is well known.
Is there something not quite right here?
Do we need to question the advice from those in authority that say it is OK to consume a poison?
Do we need to consider why we are allowed to consume a product that is actually poisonous to our bodies?
Is it possible that we are actually encouraged to drink alcohol?
Is it possible that those that make the rules on alcohol need it just as much as everyone else?
Is it possible that those who made the rules on drinking alcohol were themselves, under the influence of alcohol?
Paradoxically, we are told a product is poisonous but then we are told that it is OK to drink some of this product.
Is it possible that this makes no sense?
BBC World News – India – 13 May 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-52640266
For the record – India is the second largest consumer of liquor in the world.
This means spirits like whiskey, vodka, gin and rum.
By volume, India is the world’s 9th largest consumer of all alcohol – 663 million litres.
India consumes more whiskey than any other country in the world – about 3 times more than US, which is the next biggest consumer.
When some cities eased lockdown restrictions last week, long queues were seen outside liquor stores across the country.
The rush came as the harsh lockdown meant consumers were not able to receive their demand for alcohol. Police had to baton charge unruly queues outside liquor shops.
In the UK, alcohol sales were up by 22% in March and 55% in the US compared to the same period last year.
E-commerce and home deliveries for alcohol are not allowed in India for alcohol.
Lack of liquor taxes when lockdown meant no sales, has left near bankrupt states.
However, there is more according to this news story…
Behind India’s growing alcohol consumption masks a darker reality.
According to a new government report – one third of men drink alcohol.
14% of all Indians aged 10 – 75 drink alcohol.
The World Health Organization estimates 11% of Indians are binge drinkers and the global average is 16%. The also state that “unrecorded” alcohol makes up 51% of all alcohol consumed in India. For example, locally brewed liquor, for example is not recorded or taxed in some states.
A study earlier this year, published in The Lancet of liquor consumption in 189 countries between 1990 and 2017 found alcohol consumption in India had grown by 38%. See link for more details.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(19)30231-2/fulltext
A survey by the International Alliance of Responsible Drinking found a large number of drinkers preferred country liquor or homemade alcohol, often counterfeit and contraband.
https://www.iard.org/getattachment/fdd90791-41cb-4bd3-98f0-555fbf9818f8/unrecorded-alcohol-in-india.pdf
33% consume cheap and dodgy locally brewed or country liquor, responsible for several tragedies, involving adulteration. 19% of alcohol users are dependent on it.
30 million people consume alcohol in a “harmful manner”.
Alcohol consumption is emerging as a major public health problem. It has been strongly linked to domestic violence.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014857/
WHY are we not asking how come 10 year olds start drinking alcohol and then join the dots, do the simple maths, be honest and use some common sense and we will know?
We have a country where the masses are addicted to a toxic substance we call alcohol.
How does this government stop aggressive promotion of alcohol and reduce their dependence on liquor revenues?
We need to wake up and look at the cost to society and the benefits, if any.
The only obvious benefit is profit and there are many making money on the back of alcohol sales and that includes the governments.
We will need a radical shift before we will ever see real change because we the consumers have demanded that alcohol remain a legal drug because that is what it is – a drug that alters our natural state but allowed as ok as long as we drink “responsibly”.
Our so-called Intelligence has not got us away from alcohol. In fact it has done the opposite as this microcosm news story highlights.
We like to call ourselves intelligent humans but we are far from that if we readily consume a toxic legal poison that we call alcohol.
CNN Business – 26 May 2020
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/26/business/alcohol-sales-coronavirus-iwsr-report/index.html
People are buying a lot more alcohol but overall global sales are going down, simply because of the strict global shutdown of travel, restaurants, bars and live events.
Travel retail which is $10 billion part of the alcohol industry that consists of sales during flights, on cruises and at duty-free shops are almost non-existent because of travel restrictions and cancellations.
Regardless, according to a global firm that tracks alcohol sales it is telling us that alcohol has proven to be remarkably resilient in previous downturns and this time it should be no different.
Beers will bounce back quicker than spirits and wine, because of its more affordable price point.
Ready to drink cocktails will grow over the next 5 years because of their low calorie count.
E-commerce is also an area where sales are seeing an increase. People are now developing a new habit of getting their alcohol delivered while limiting human contact. This $21 billlion part of the industry should be welcome news for brands battling current challenges says the CEO of IWSR of the Drinks Market Analysis.
Would this be welcome news for the future resources of our depleted healthcare systems?
Will the adverse effects of alcohol show up in our body one day in the future as illness or dis-ease of some kind and how will this end up for the masses who see this legal poison as a fun beverage or a drink to relax, wind down, check out and forget about the worries that loom over us daily?
Will the masses who currently subscribe to alcohol need more of the same, to get the same ‘hit’ so to speak. In other words, will many end up with addiction to alcohol?
Will high levels of alcohol intoxication be the thing that breaks and bankrupts our already stretched health systems globally?
Will alcohol one day be proven by all scientists, like cigarettes have done after a 100 + years, that it is toxic poison for human ingestion and there is no getting away from that immutable fact?
Next –
Are we ready to Google and check out the stats and the facts about The Real Truth about Alcohol?
As a world are we ready or is Alcohol our self medication ‘go to’ right now that serves us, to forget about the realities that are under our nose and in our face?
Are we happy joining others on our virtual reality screens that take us wherever we want, to enjoy some toxic poison that science has told us alcohol really is?
Simple Living Global are number 1 in the Google world rankings for this blog title.
With over 200 comments on this blog and the majority being news stories or research confirming the fact that Alcohol is harmfull to the human frame and is not designed for human consumption in any form – is that saying something?
The Times | Page 7 | 20 June 2020
As part of the “alfresco revolution” every pub, bar, cafe and restaurant in England will be allowed to sell beer and wine for people to drink outdoors under a shake-up of licensing laws.
The government will automatically allow any venue with an alcohol licence to sell drinks for people to take away.
WHY have we got plans in place to fast track approval for outlets setting up tables and chairs on pavements outside their premises in a bid to encourage people to drink outside?
Police have raised concerns that the move could lead to a rise in dis-order.
Our ministers are very keen to change licence laws to encourage more people to drink alcohol and whilst this may suit the masses, are we acting responsibly here?
Do we need to take a stop moment and question what on earth is going on?
We have a pandemic and the country has been in lockdown and now we want out and getting support from those who make the laws and rules to drink more alcohol is not making sense.
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison. This forensic tablet of truth, call it an article or a big fat blog about the real truth on this topic of alcohol is telling us the facts and the stats. Let us not be deluded or fooled into thinking that even a drop of alcohol is great for us because it is not.
If alcohol was good for us or healthy in any way we would be giving it to our kids, so that tells us we KNOW that it is harmfull to the human mind and body.
We cannot get away from the immutable fact that alcohol alters our natural state.
We all know that alcohol makes us merry, numbs us and makes us forget about life and the misery, anxiety and all the things we don’t want or like in our life just disappears for a short while.
We all know alcohol has side effects and this toxic poison is not fit for human consumption in any form and yet we seem to have an insatiable desire to continue down the road that harms us.
A question – do those who make the rules and regulations stand to gain when they make decisions like this on behalf of their country?
Next – what if we champion something simply because we are subscribing to it?
In other words, we endorse and encourage alcohol for everyone because we need our beer and wine and so if it is good for us, we see no reason in allowing everyone else to do the same, without giving any consideration about the harmfull consequences.
There is now enough scientific research stating the harmful affects of alcohol and if we need more proof, we only have to open our eyes and pin our ears back and there are stories in our communities of those suffering as a result of alcohol.
How long are we going to continue making something normal and legal when it was never ever designed for human consumption?
Dear World
If we read this blog and the 200+ comments, we are left in no doubt that alcohol is a poison, it has been scientifically proven and that means it alters our natural state. There is no way of moving away from this immutable fact, call it the real Truth.
Where are we as a race of beings where we allow the Internet to influence and enchant us in the name of health, when it comes to alcohol?
Yes – a health website promoting eating which tells us that whatever they feature has been independently selected and reviewed by their editorial team. Then it says in tiny writing, which we could miss that if a purchase is made, they can earn commission.
Hello – what is this really telling us?
A feature selling the best wine for your zodiac sign because an astrologer has said this. It then has the best cocktail for your zodiac sign.
Whether it’s a chardonnay, shiraz or a sauvignon blanc – are we buying into this because our star signs says we have certain characters and it links to the wine or is this all twaddle and we know it but hey ho it’s something different and another distraction in the name of alcohol?
What we do need to be concerned about is that a website claiming to be all about healthy lifestyle, healthy cooking, healthy recipes and healthy eating promote, foster and endorse alcohol, which is really a legal poison.
Those of us seeking an alternative lifestyle may come across such websites that appear to have it all covered when it comes to health and yet they promote alcohol and stand to gain from commission if sales are made directly because of their feature, which promotes and advertises the beverage as “healthy”.
As a world we have yet to get to a one-unified truth about Alcohol. In other words, we all have to agree on the truth of what Alcohol really and truly is. Until then we will have websites like Simple Living Global who happen to be world number 1 in the Google rankings when it comes to The Real Truth about Alcohol saying “Listen up world, this stuff is poison, read the facts and stats and then consider everything thus far that has been presented in this blog, the hundreds of comments thereafter and then ALL the other 200+ blogs on this website about health and wellbeing”.
Each of us need to feel and discern for ourselves when we come across any website and in particular those that promote and endorse a substance that alters our natural state of being.
Bloomberg.com – 29th June 2020
UK Pubs Prep for $259 Million Spending Spree this Weekend
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-29/british-pubs-prep-for-259-million-spending-spree-this-weekend
Brits will open their wallets and spend about £210 ($259) million in pubs and restaurants this weekend as they try to eat and drink their way to rescuing the beleaguered industry.
Pubs will reopen this weekend in England for the first time since lockdown in March and the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that spending will be more than 70% higher than an average weekend as customers celebrate by knocking back about two pints of lager or glasses of wine more than they normally would.
The report says that the extra spending won’t be enough to help pubs recover profitability – capacity limits and fixed costs means profitability will be less than half of what it was before the pandemic affected the business. Reopening costs could send that figure even lower.
Pubs and restaurants are allowed to open on July 4th and social distancing rules will be eased, allowing people to return to gather in closely confined spaces.
The attempt to kickstart the economy comes even as government advisers warn that coronavirus will probably persist in 2021.
One in three adults are expected to visit a pub in the first week after they reopen. With the premises closed, Brits have been drinking more at home with alcohol stores one of just two retail channels to see an uptick in sales volumes since the start of the crisis.
The first paragraph of this article talked about how we would spend £210 million on trying to “rescue the beleaguered industry”.
Is it possible that ‘rescuing the beleaguered industry’ will be the furthest thing on people’s minds?
Is it possible that the only ‘rescuing’ that will be going on is the rescue of 1) our need to resume an active social life and congregate in crowds and 2) our indulgence in a product that enables us to forget about our lives for a short time?
I say this because while the pubs have been closed, people have managed without them. We have got alcohol from other sources and we have carried on because we have had to.
The only thing that has been missing is that socialising aspect, the excitement of the night out going to the restaurant or the pub.
Is it possible that, while we have been stuck at home, we have started to realise that there may be something not quite right with drinking alcohol?
I have heard many stories how people are going to “get plastered” and stay in the pub all weekend.
We could easily do this in our own homes.
I have heard many people say “drinking on my own is sad”.
Is it possible that we need the socialising aspect as it reinforces the normality of drinking alcohol?
Is it possible that we need the socialising aspect as it gives us permission to consume a product that we know is harming us?
We justify the consumption of alcohol in many ways but the simple fact is – alcohol is a scientifically proven poison.
What is it that makes a so-called intelligent race of beings want to, not only put a poison into our bodies, but to champion this behaviour and abuse those that choose not to behave in this way?
CNN Business – 4 July 2020
American Independence Day today – a date most of us around the world are familiar with.
We have CNN Business reporting news headlines –
Boozy ice cream and pizza crusts: How spiked seltzer is evolving beyond beverages
WHY are spiked seltzers and canned cocktails wildly popular and evolving?
Is this something we need to be championing if in any way it is harming the human body?
Alcohol is branching out as this news story tells us from having it in snack form, ice pops, ice cream and pizza crusts.
WHY do we have rapid expansion for a distillery producing canned cocktails and alcohol seltzers?
Well we all know and if you need confirmation – please re-read this entire article and then ALL the 200+ comments.
Yes – it is true to say that we have a demand and that means us, humanity, the people, ALL of us are asking for alcohol laced in everything we can possibly get because we want a scientifically proven poison to alter our natural state. It really is that simple.
Some of us may hate reading this or detest the very thought of knowing what we are ingesting is not designed in any form to nurture or nourish our body and yet we keep doing it and seeking more and hence why we have it in pizza and ice cream.
As most businesses operate under the “profits before people” banner, their interest is to make money and that means grow and expand the business and it is not considering what they are providing in the form of products or services, so long as the ledger books show increasing profits they think they are winning. While they have the customer making the demand they will happily supply as that is how they stay in business. This would make sense to most of us.
Are we doing a dis-service when we advertise a “fun way to enjoy high quality” cocktail, because this is under the banner of innovation?
How serious is it when we know there is 7% alcohol by volume in each ice pop – same as you find in a canned cocktail.
We are showing “incredible guest enthusiasm” having alcohol in our pizza crust and so of course those responsible will see this as a fun collaboration putting 2 organisations – one producing alcohol and the other producing pizzas to work together because of public demand.
We all need to wake up and stop blaming what is out there to tempt us, lure us or satiate our saliva glands into wanting this type of alcohol infused foods and drinks. We want it and so there will always be someone out there ready to supply it and incase we have not realised, they are creating new and enticing ways which let’s face it, we want to try as we get attracted to something new especially if it has alcohol in it.
Enough said, point made.
Alcohol is a scientifically proven poison and that means our body cannot ingest it in any form.
BUT – a very big But… it is a legal poison.
Our governments, policymakers and all those responsible for passing laws endorse this poison.
Our health systems are dealing with the consequences of alcohol consumption and yet we seem to keep going, even though we know SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Dear World
Are we going to wake up in 30 years from now and realise Alcohol is the same as smoking, which is now on the agenda to ban everywhere or will it take another century.
Worth pondering on as the cost to our body and society begs the question –
Is it worth it?
Note – once we have read something, we cannot un-read it.
Once we have felt something – we cannot un-feel it.
Mail Online – 25 July 2020
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8558741/One-five-drunk-feel-control-month-study-suggests.html
1 in 5 adults get so drunk they feel out of control at least once a month.
Adults consume at least twice the daily guidelines of alcohol.
Researchers from the UK, US, Switzerland and Australia analysed responses from 61,043 adults from 21 countries.
85% felt the effects of alcohol at least once a month.
66% became as drunk as they wanted to
66% of respondents in the UK, Ireland, France, Austria, Brazil and Germany reported reaching their desired level of drunkenness at least once a month.
The NHS says no level of drinking is safe and recommends people in the UK drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over at least three days. This is equivalent to 6 pints of beer or 10 small glasses of wine.
In the UK, the average man consumed 18 units in a single sitting to reach their tipping point.
This was defined as the point drinking stops being pleasurable and relaxing and induces feelings of anxiety and a lack of control.
The researchers say that it will be a challenge for those in public health to encourage people with heavy drinking to drink less while still enjoying their alcohol experience, because any move to change current guidelines could be unhelpfully used by the alcohol industry.
There is more but if we just stop at this and put our common sense hat on for one moment.
The National Health Service tells us that NO LEVEL OF DRINKING ALCOHOL IS SAFE.
HELLO – we have been told by the country’s health service.
So how can we then endorse, foster, condone and accept any guidelines or recommendations?
On one hand we get told no drinking is safe, but on the other hand we are told 14 units are ok each week.
If we read this blog a few times to get the essence of what is being presented, then read the 200+ comments, we are left in no doubt that alcohol is not for human consumption.
How many more research studies do we need to tell us drinking alcohol is not for human consumption?
Just reading in the weekend newspaper about the brutal DJ circuit.
Burnout is normal and for some success can lead to ending their life.
After a career of boozing this famous DJ had to have his heart re-started.
Another famous DJ in Europe suicided.
A grueling schedule can be 100 gigs in 4 months with 80 flights and this intense way of living comes with the need to perform at peak levels and not drop the ball.
The guy with the heart condition – could it be possible his heart was communicating
“Listen up, we can’t continue with the all night partying lifestyle with excessive boozing. I am going to have to stop you if you carry on”?
If we for one moment use our common sense and just consider the following –
How on earth can we stay awake into the early hours without the stimulants that keep us going?
What would happen to any one of us if we had zero stimulants and that could be caffeine, alcohol, drugs, foods that contain sugar, all night partying and so on…?
Chances are we would fall asleep and not be able to get up as we need the kick start from the stimulants to heighten our nervous system and get moving. The thing is this lifestyle is un-natural and goes against the very essence of who we truly are.
We can dismiss this comment or we can ponder deeply.
Something is not right when we have a guy who is famous for DJ ing and has an image of being squeaky clean on DJ nights but is “enjoying the night” when he is not working and we all know what “enjoying” probably means. It would be fair to say alcohol would be in that enjoyment statement.
AND Finally – why is it that we associate having a party or a good time with alcohol?
If we re-read this blog and the 200+ comments we may just listen and wake up to the fact that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT when we champion alcohol in any form.
In line at the supermarket today, I noticed the jumbo sized cola bottles and a huge glass bottle of vodka. Check out lady could not open and release the security tags. She had to wait and then call another assistant to help her.
So I got talking and said to the young man “maybe its telling you not to drink the stuff” and his response was “oh, this is not for me”.
Well I told him that was sensible as we all know alcohol is poison and he nodded in agreement.
Well I was not about to stop and accept the “not for me” so I questioned him.
He then goes on to say it is for his younger brother who is a teenager but cannot purchase this stuff as you need ID and he can do it for him as he is a few years older.
The check out woman said “I done my job and that is check the ID” and she repeated that to me several times like she was having to convince herself it was ok because she clearly heard it was not for the customer.
What this simple bit of Citizen Journalism tells us that despite our warnings and the so-called law, those who want alcohol find a way and this news is not new or something to be surprised about.
Teenagers are no longer going for the fizzy pop tins with a bit of alcohol. They are going for the straight strong spirits disguised with the cola.
I have seen it on the trains where no alcohol is allowed. Plastic bags are used to cover up the bottle and swig the straight clear stuff that we call spirits like gin and vodka. These are teenagers and it’s happening on our watch and under our noses.
All I know is that by simply questioning this young man, he got a reminder from an elder in the community that his actions were not true. Buying a large dose of poison (that is exactly what I called it) for a younger member in his family is not taking responsibility. He was uncomfortable but at the same time nodded in agreement.
What he does with my wisdom is not my problem. My thing is what if we all say something instead of pretending it’s not happening?
I left in the knowing I expressed in full what I felt was needed in that moment.
Doing nothing and that means saying nothing is simply not my style.
WHY?
Because I know that keeps humanity doing whatever they want as no one bothers to stop and question things or offer another way.
Think about it – a litre of straight vodka consumed by a 15 year old.
How can we just allow this to continue without saying or doing anything when we know we can?
Metro News – 15 August 2020
https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/15/increased-boozing-lockdown-tough-habit-break-13131828/
Increased Boozing in Lockdown Could be a Tough Habit to Break
Headlines are telling us that upping our alcohol consumption over the past months could have a lasting impact says Drinkaware. Their research found 22% adults admit drinking more alcohol in lockdown and this tendency was even stronger among teenagers under 18 and young people in their 20s.
Boredom, having more time on their hands and increase anxiety were reasons for upping their alcohol levels and Drinkaware have warned that after lockdown our drinking could become a habit that is “ingrained and hard to break”.
Many will have started relying on booze as a coping mechanism for the stress and anxiety of the pandemic – an unhealthy technique that could continue far beyond this time at home in lockdown.
WHY are some of us not adopting a healthy lifestyle, as it is now more important than ever to have optimum health and vitality?
WHY are certain groups of people displaying worrying new drinking patterns during this very challenging time?
The Chief Executive of Drinkaware saying “Drinking more, whether out of boredom or anxiety, can lead to devastating health consequences, both mental and physical, as well as an increased tolerance for alcohol, which can lead to alcohol dependence.”
What is this news story spelling out to us?
Is there really such a thing as ‘low risk drinking guidelines’ when alcohol is a scientific proven poison?
Have we ignored the fact that as a world we are not all united on this topic of alcohol?
If the whole world and its brothers all championed and confirmed that alcohol was a great medicine for our human frame then we would have nothing to write about or say as it would be a given – here is a medicine and let’s all use it to support us, BUT we all know that would be a lie.
Would it be wise to ask questions like –
WHY are we bored?
What on earth are we doing every single day that leads to anxiety?
Then we use a poison to bludgeon us in the hope we will not feel that feeling of anxiety or forget we have boredom in the first place.
So what is habit and how does it work?
A simple basic way to look at habit is that we repeatedly do something and that repetitiveness expands the same – in other words it starts to consolidate.
So our movements matter – we make the move to drink alcohol one evening.
Before we know it we are doing the same thing every evening, but it does not seem to give us the same feeling.
So we then “up” the intake by having more alcohol and this time during the daytime.
Before we realise, we are thinking about our next drink and also stronger alcoholic beverages, as we seem to crave more and we haven’t quite worked out why.
We choose to hang out with those who have similar drinking habits and that leads to more drinking.
The lockdown stay at home rules we cannot deal with and so we want a release, a reprieve, a form of comfort to forget about lockdown and all that it brings that we hate or want to escape from.
OR we drink alcohol as a way to fill up the void we feel – an emptiness inside us and it does the job, albeit very short term. So we then consume more and more to get the same effect.
We could say this news story is a 911 wake up call alerting us Dear World that we have a bigger problem now than ever before and alcohol is being used as a coping mechanism.
How do we turn the tides and where do we start when alcohol is so championed in our world today and used as a necessary beverage to celebrate, commiserate and ‘have fun’, but what is it really doing to us?
Are we going to wait another century to be told by the researchers that as with cigarettes, alcohol is a poison and we can no longer ingest the stuff regardless of how appealing and enchanting it is made out to be?
Metro News – 18 August 2020
Distilleries have won funding from the UK government to help them harness energy sources.
Scotch whisky makers will share £10 million to help them go green.
This scheme is expected to prevent fossil fuel use, equivalent to the fumes from 100,000 cars.
With our governments endorsing alcohol when we know beyond doubt that it is a scientific proven poison, this gives rise to some serious questions.
How serious is this and are all those in positions of authority within our health systems in agreement when it comes to alcohol?
Could we use £10 million to educate people about the facts of alcohol and what it does to the human frame?
Are our energy bigwigs in government taking a reductionist view when they say customers can enjoy their favourite tipple in the knowledge that they are helping them to tackle climate change?
What if we asked the human body to communicate to us and speak?
What would it have to say about the consumption of alcohol – even a small drop?
WHY is our world so divided on the topic of alcohol and WHY is there evidence from heaps of research studies telling us that alcohol is harmful and has zero health benefits?
Are we fooling ourselves when we think we are making a difference to climate change while we enjoy our whisky?
OR are we in the know but simply choose to ignore that because we need our self medication to help us function in life?
Are we really ready to get real and deeply honest that alcohol may not be the answer as it is a poison that we are choosing to ingest?
Have we really and truly considered the ill effects of alcohol?
This chosen drink of many which is socially acceptable and a beverage seen at any occasion – birthdays, weddings, funerals, meeting up with friends or drinking solo at home – alcohol plays a significant part in human life but the question is asked again – have we really and truly considered the ill effects of alcohol?
Just reading this article by Simple Living Global provides us with a very significant insight into the worldwide situation with statistics and facts.
The ravaging effects of alcohol are witnessed across all countries and cultures, age ranges and genders, with none of us being exempt once it is consumed.
The extremes of domestic abuse in EVERY culture are very often alcohol related with perpetrators under the influence when incidents have occurred.
How have we got to this point where a substance causing havoc and destruction is socially acceptable and legal?
From my conversations with people addicted to alcohol I have heard them say it is the worst (as in worse than illicit drugs) describing their behaviour when under the influence, how they feel and the ill effects on themselves and others.
We need only look at anyone who is under the influence of alcohol to know that we are not ourselves.
Then take drinking on a daily basis and can we truly say that we are healthy and vibrant or are the effects written all over our face, even if it is just a few glasses in the evening or that one beer we have to have?
The physical effects on the body with alcohol related cirrhosis of the liver, other liver conditions, neurological problems which lead to bleeds on the brain, neuropathy, falls, seizures let alone the ill mental heath that develops as a result are multiple.
We all know that there are no true benefits to alcohol – but yet we continue.
Have we ever asked WHY?
Speaking to a man recently he said that he finds that he needs to have a beer in the evening.
Maybe this is where we need to start with the honesty of examining why we have a need for alcohol.
Would that reveal more?
With our health systems almost bankrupted do we have anymore time to weigh up and consider whether alcohol is good for us and do we really need anymore research studies, when the answer is clearly in our face?
The Times – 12 September 2020
The average drinker at home pours a glass of wine that is 50% bigger than the standard measure, which is what we receive in a bar or restaurant.
1 in 5 put a least one third of a bottle of wine in each glass.
Drinking spirits –
150% bigger than a single measure
1 in 4 pour themselves at least triple
50% of the participants in this research study were unable to measure 125ml. When asked to pour a glass of wine – they gave themselves much more.
Due to the impact of the pandemic and restrictions people are drinking more at home and this has led to 1 in 7 motorists (5 million people) driving knowing they were over the limit in the past 6 months.
Could we call this irresponsibility or has something called alcohol altered their state of mind and that means they are not being sensible in working out or even considering the consequences of their actions? In other words, it is not them in their natural state because if they were they would never drive a vehicle knowing it is dangerous.
Our laws allow for a limit before we can and cannot drive.
What if our policymakers put an end to this and banned this toxic poison that we call alcohol and see what statistics unfold?
We may find that motor insurers can no longer uphold their high premiums, so we all get the benefit of having cheaper insurance and the casualties and fatalities that are a direct result of road traffic accidents see a sharp downward turn.
Imagine a world where we have no vehicle calamity because we are taking care with our responsibility hat on to not ingest alcohol into our vehicle (our body).
This blog and the 220+ comments thereafter present enough to confirm that alcohol is a scientific proven poison that is not designed for human consumption because it alters our state of mind.
By saying we like a social drink, drink in moderation or only to celebrate is telling us something.
It is up to us then to ask more questions, or continue because we like this lifestyle choice and we are not willing to stop and ask why we need it in the first place.
Back to the news story – it is confirming that our altered state of mind is the one in control when we are pouring a measure that is not really the amount our so-called guidelines provide.
One of the leading professionals in the UK is Professor David Nutt and he is cited at the end of this blog “There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption. The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth”.
Does the myth suit us or do we stand to gain in anyway?
If yes, then at what cost to the human frame and humanity, as we like to think we are individuals and we can make our own choices and do what we want as it does not affect others but what if it does affect the ALL?
Worth pondering on…
We have a ‘show stopping, light-up snow globe gin liquer, complete with edible glow leaf for that extra wow factor’. Then we get told to just picture it lighting up a gorgeous festive table spread for that extra wow factor.
Take your pick – clementine or rhubarb flavour gin.
Supermarkets are getting ready for Christmas and our food magazines are showing us the gold glossy photos to get us in the mood and start ordering our alcohol with stunning glowing bottles that light up via LED light in the base. This brings out every sparkle and glisten of the 23 carat edible gold leaf and at the same time illuminates the bottles’ woodland and festive street scenes.
Apparently we are told that these mesmerizing bottles of liquers only cost 18 bucks and the write up says “we are obsessed”. Who is obsessed and what is obsessed?
Does our tendency to need an alcohol experience that we can talk about or take photos of going to make the whole thing more stimulating for us? What is behind this appetite to grab us into the mood of Christmas way before the actual day?
The social media account uploads the perfect photos with the GIN-NOUNCEMENT !
Hello
Let’s just stop and take a pause for one moment.
Are we aware that it is September and not quite Christmas yet?
If we can get our hands on this now – are we likely to start drinking early?
Are we going to impress our social media followers with this new thing?
Do we hate the taste of gin but now that the suppliers are making it fruity it is bearable?
Do we like spirits because they work fast and get us dis-connected quicker for less?
In other words, we need to drink less to feel drunk and merry and forget about life?
Dear World
This blog is presenting facts and saying it as it is and presenting some serious valuable questions.
The Real Truth about Alcohol is that it is a scientific proven poison and not for human consumption in any form. WHY do we need new creations every Christmas to keep us distracted and entertained in the name of alcohol?
Are we going to one day wake up and get a blanket ban on alcohol, like we now have on smoking telling us its bad for our health?
The number of people now drinking at levels that threaten their health has doubled to 8.5 million since February.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8731227/Number-Brits-drinking-high-risk-levels-DOUBLED-8-5million-February.html
This statistic alone is staggering and worth pondering on.
Is this new trend of drinking at home being taken seriously or is it just another number out there and we are not really interested?
This is not just people drinking alcohol – this is drinking alcohol at levels that threaten their health. This is UK – that is just one small country and if we take this as a microcosm of the whole, in other words the world – what is the real harm of alcohol today?
A doctor says stuck indoors with the lockdown restrictions, anxious about a virus, worried about jobs is why it is not surprising many have turned to alcohol.
He has ‘tricks’ that he uses and one is only drinking alcohol 2 days a week. Another so-called ‘trick’ is leaving the alcohol away to the other side of the room and drinking a glass of water in between. Apparently these are ways to cut the alcohol intake as it tricks the brain into new habits that moderate behaviour.
How serious is it when we have national newspapers endorsing this kind of stuff by a doctor?
The masses that read this would seek out confirmation from a doctor, as we tend to pay attention when the medics, the so-called intelligent ones tell us something. Yes they have a disclaimer saying get help if you have a serious alcohol problem but is that enough?
Are we really going to admit we have a serious problem or is that not possible because alcohol alters our mind so can we really be accurate in our awareness? The simple answer here is NO.
Whilst we continue to foster, champion, endorse and dress it up to say that alcohol in moderation or any form is ok – we are going down the ill road.
Let us all be reminded, doctors included, that numerous studies have been carried out and this blog and the 200 + comments thereafter, all confirm that no level of alcohol is for human consumption. Alcohol is poison.
If we want to know the harm – get some of that hand sanitiser which is going around right now as we have a virus and we are all scared of catching something. Use it repeatedly and see what it does to the skin. Now we all know our insides are delicate tissue, membranes and this does not need anything to harm it and alcohol does. Fact.
We seem to know not to give a tiny baby alcohol but we think we are adults and consuming a poison is ok because we are grown up, make our own choices and we know if things don’t work out in the health department, no worries because we have the national health system to take care of that side, if and when it happens.
As adults, we forget that word Responsibility. On that note, worth paying attention here – there is no such thing as drinking alcohol responsibly and we do know that. Just because all the posters and billboards in our towns and cities say “Drink Responsibly” we know full well that is not happening.
Science Daily – 25 September 2020
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200925113422.htm
New research from the University of Sydney Australia has found that even low levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy can have an impact on a child’s brain development and is associated with greater psychological and behavioral problems in youth including anxiety, being withdrawn, depression, poor attention and being impulsive.
Published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, this study says that the impact of low level alcohol use during pregnancy on child development is relatively unknown and there has been extensive debate about whether there is a safe level of consumption.
9,719 youth – this is the largest study to investigate the impacts of low-level alcohol use during pregnancy. Low levels of drinking were considered one to two drinks per occasion with a maximum of six drinks per week.
There was a 25% increased likelihood of ADHD – an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis in children who were exposed to slightly heavier levels of alcohol.
Previous research has shown that very heavy alcohol use, such as binge drinking during pregnancy can cause harm to the baby. This study shows that ANY alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with subtle, yet significant behavioural and psychological effects in children which include anxiety, depression and poor attention.
In Australia, 50% of women drink alcohol before they know they are pregnancy and 25% continue to do so after knowing they are pregnant.
The lead author of this study Briana Lees says “generally, the more a child was exposed to alcohol in utero, the more severe the outcomes were”.
Can we stop here and just re-read this again? Then read this entire blog and the 200+ comments posted and see how we feel and what there is to say?
We ALL know beyond doubt that alcohol is a poison. Science has given us the facts and we have the evidence and all the proof we need.
So WHY would we need thee largest study yet to tell us something so simple and that is – alcohol is in no way for human consumption. Full stop, period as they say in the US or we could say THE END.
Drinking poison when we are having a baby makes no sense we could say. But women do it and is it time to find out WHY or do we just keep bringing out more research studies and publishing them in journals so the public know that alcohol even in small quantities affects the brain development of a baby.
What is going on for a woman in her life that the need for alcohol is there in the first place?
Before we judge and finger point, do we need to educate and bring understanding in every case so that we can turn the tides?
Whilst alcohol remains a legal drug of choice in our world, used to relax and celebrate, we can expect more ill news like this research study.
Let us no longer fool ourselves or ignore the facts and all the signs that alcohol is nothing but a toxic poison to the human body.
Let us get real and start with a dose of honesty so we can get to the simple truth of WHY we need alcohol and how it numbs us by altering our natural state?
Without us being honest, we are going to end up like the tobacco smoking that took centuries for us to wake up and say it is actually killing us, so let’s find a way to ban it.
Banning something, putting big health warning labels or trying to stop people with solutions changes nothing. Getting to the root of WHY and HOW anyone turns to alcohol is a step in the right direction.
Simple Living Global are presenting the Real Truth about Alcohol.
Not a popular topic right now for many but in the future it may just be the article that will make history, as we were on the front foot ‘saying it as it is’ back in the early 21st century.
Scholars of the future – take note.
One of our famous well known established and successful alcohol brands has come up with a low calorie version that is alcohol free. It has taken 4 years to replicate the taste with hundreds of versions tried out to get it right.
So do we start to celebrate this good news as we are going to get less calories and that would appeal to some as it means less concern about it affecting our weight or whatever it is we associate calorie consumption with?
For others the new way is trying to be alcohol free but not lose the taste, look, colour, feel etc.,
In other words we want it to be the same, but without the scientifically proven poison that is called alcohol. So can we say this is a sensible option and a move in the right direction or will it be a one minute wonder and the punters go off it as quick as most fads that are out there?
Has anyone thought about what exactly goes into making a brew like this and what are the real side effects to the body?
Does low calorie and alcohol-free on the can give us the licence to say all is ok?
What if we are using alcohol as a way to alter our natural state and the numbness it gives us is part of our pleasure seeking way? Giving us an alternative, albeit in the name of health may not cut it and so we my go for it but then choose or find another mind altering substance, as we need the feeling we get when we do drink alcohol.
No doubt our researchers of the future will be studying the effects of those who went on to non alcoholic beverages but while we wait for them, would it be a wise move to start asking some more questions, with a level of honesty that does not just settle for what anyone tells us or what we read in ads or the media?
Metro News – 10 November 2020
Doctors have warned that super cheap high-strength cider is causing ‘colossal’ harm to the nation.
A week’s worth of alcohol can be purchased for the price of a takeaway coffee.
The Alcohol Health Alliance UK – a coalition of more than 50 organisations, including medical royal colleges and health charities found cider being sold for £3.59 for a 2.5 litre bottle containing almost 19 units. The NHS recommend the maximum weekly intake is 14 units.
Cheaper cider is drunk by some of the most vulnerable groups – children, homeless and high-risk drinkers.
Will calling on the government to introduce minimum unit pricing do the job or is there another way we need to start looking at the devastation of a scientifically proven poison that we call alcohol?
If our health service endorses alcohol then we are to expect a rise in alcohol consumption because the masses use this beverage of choice to cope with life, in the guise of relaxation, socialising, numbing and distracting away from the stresses felt in daily life.
We can blame the suppliers, ban them and drive the business underground which is what happens when the law comes in, but if we look at history with a big dose of honesty, it is clear that alcohol has been around way too long and it serves a lot of people. Most of us are just not ready to give it up and that means the only real change will be even more people addicted to alcohol or if that is not enough then they will mix it with other mind altering substances we call drugs.
So how can we get on the front foot and how can we turn the tides of something that is wreaking havoc throughout the world when it is used in almost every celebration and occasion that we mark as worthy of remembering?
What if we re-educate from day dot?
What if we talk to those who have stories to tell of what alcohol has done to them or their families?
What if we used social media to bring awareness about this toxic poison that we have made so normal and acceptable that its become a staple in our weekly shopping cart?
What if our researchers were told that only public funding was to go into confirming what we ALL already know and that is Alcohol is not for human consumption. We only have to re-read this blog to know beyond doubt, that our human body does not do well when poison has been introduced.
What if there can no longer be lobbying from the alcohol industry to influence, or change policymakers decisions because people before profit was now the new way of living for all of us?
Of course, this comment can be ignored and dismissed but what if we are heading for even more serious consequences whilst we continue to endorse and subscribe to the alcohol bandwagon?
Metro News – 22 November 2020
https://metro.co.uk/2020/11/22/millions-drinking-more-heavily-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic-13636156/
Millions of people are drinking alcohol more heavily due to the pandemic.
29% have been drinking at increasing or high risk levels over the past 6 months.
53% said they drunk alcohol for a mental health reason – such as anxiety, stress, worry, boredom, sleep issues or feeling sad or low.
Andrew Misell, Director for Wales at Alcohol Change UK says “Alcohol is a very well established, very socially acceptable coping mechanism in this country. Lots of us are in the habit of using it to help us get rid of our worries, help us relax, calm down and stop thinking about things too much.
So it is not really surprising, given the very strange and exceptional situation we find ourselves in, that some people are drinking more.”
This man is speaking volumes here for those of us that are ready to read between the lines.
We are using this socially acceptable legal mind-altering substance, which science has proven is a poison to cope.
We all know that whilst the initial effects may be we feel relaxed or it calms our thoughts, in truth it does nothing of benefit. What it does do is alter our natural state of being and harms our body.
If alcohol was thee answer – the magic drink to get rid of our worries, it would be something that every single human being would want but we know full well – it is not. In fact, it comes with numerous side effects and is far from the fix we want it to be for us personally.
Next –
This week is Alcohol Awareness Week in the UK and the survey conducted was commissioned to coincide with this. It comes after 7 months of restrictions on socialising and going out.
Mr. Misell said “when alcohol moves from the public world of cafes and pubs to the private world of the home, the usual sort of social checks and balances have gone out the window. The only thing there to control your drinking is you.
We do need to be alert to the possibility that some people who developed drinking habits during the lockdown will continue to drink like that”.
The very fact that we have almost a third of the participants in this survey drinking at increasing or high risk levels tells us that we will have more problems post lockdown because the addictive nature of alcohol is going to be more embedded. None of us are equipped to know exactly how things are going to continue and chances are we will have more lockdown measures and those who may be ok right now, could turn to alcohol in these times as it’s a popular self medication for this nation.
Our adverts advising the public to “drink responsibly” have not worked, as they are simply words out there and with the difficulties many are facing, the word responsibility is not on their radar.
Could it be possible in the near future we will see the evidence of what alcohol is really doing to the people of this world and it will take re-educating to turn the tides, but for now we can be confident in saying that we are simply not ready to make such changes to support our true health and wellbeing?
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/dry-january/why-do-dry-january-1/why-do-dry-january
Alcohol Change – a charity in the UK campaign about Dry January and their website shares the benefits of not drinking alcohol for one month.
They also have some statistics:
70% of people sleep better
65% notice generally improved health
Research published in the British Medical Journal 2018, which they mention on their website – see link
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/8/5/e020673.full.pdf
found that a month off alcohol lowers blood pressure, reduces diabetes risk, lowers cholesterol and reduces levels of cancer-related proteins in the blood.
There is another research study saying that a month off in January helps people to drink more healthily year-round.
Who comes up with stuff like this when we all know, if we are honest that any alcohol consumed has zero health benefits? It alters our natural state so that in itself speaks volumes. It takes us away from our inner most state of being and yet we champion it like it’s ok to continue drinking “healthily”. If that was the truth, how come some go back on the wagon and get addicted or get into binge drinking for summer or the festive season and then go back to the ‘lets do dry January’ and kick start the cycle all over again?
We get told that alcohol is linked with more than 60 health conditions, which include liver disease, high blood pressure, depression and 7 types of cancer. Alcohol is the biggest risk factor for death, ill health and disability for people aged 15 to 49 in the UK.
Hello – how serious is this?
Let’s just stop and re-wind and re-read this whole comment again.
How can we possible drink alcohol “healthily” having read about the 60 health conditions?
Teenagers at risk of death and ill health because they are drinking alcohol should be shocking news for the nation, let alone parents and those that care for these young people.
WHY is alcohol so popular and why have we not made it illegal when we all know (yes we do) that a toxic poison that alters our mind cannot possibly be for human consumption? Just because our body does not get given a voice to communicate, it is wise to pay attention to how it does liaise with us, when it comes up with symptoms and illness and dis-ease associated with drinking alcohol.
This insightfull and educational blog, followed by numerous comments expanding this topic leaves us to consider – is alcohol designed to distort us from who we truly are and is this the very thing we all innately want and crave? In other words, we want true connection and feel that connected-ness with all other beings and alcohol comes along and smashes that and we get thrown so far off centre, it’s difficult to get back on track. Possible ?
Worth contemplating everything – absolutely everything written on this website about the scientific proven poison that we readily drink called alcohol.
One more pertinent point worth noting – our sleep gets better without alcohol.
A nation that has major sleep issues, what if we just simply join the dots?
Could it be that simple or do we seek complicated answers as we do not want to feel the obvious that is telling us that our sleep quality is better as a direct result of no alcohol in the body? Hello.
With the festive season over, we still get bombarded with adverts in our weekend newspapers promoting alcohol. Are the suppliers thinking we have no intention to slow down or give up alcohol?
Gin seems to be a popular one for journalists and celebrities to give their take on.
Do they receive free booze in return or can we say ‘no such thing as a free lunch’
Whatever, the point here is we have got Pink Marmalade and just the name and colour would entice more customers but it just got another added dimension – when you add tonic the gin turns from blue to pink and apparently it goes well with a ‘murder on the dance floor’ cocktail.
Where on earth do we get names like this from for a cocktail and are we aware of how strong the alcohol content can be in a home made cocktail?
January and the sober post festive month begins, so the gin being advertised are 3 non and low alcohol gins for the ‘sober curious’. They are called a clean taste, a london dry and a full body.
The bottles all look like fancy gin bottles and a bit like perfume. Have we thought what the cost is to dispense in thick glass bottles with striking features that seduce us to buy?
Let’s get real about the clever marketing and the images to lure us in.
Would we go for the gin which is clear like water if it was in a regular plain glass bottle?
There is a demand and gin remains there near the top with vodka, whiskey and rum.
What we do not ask is WHY are we consuming so much alcohol and why are the suppliers coming up with more botanicals and other ingredients, colours and names to hook us in?
A famous celebrity has just lost his brother to suicide. The news story refers to the Coroners Inquest which tells us he died after falling from a Bridge.
What is relevant and pertinent to comment here is the fact that this celebrity twin brother questioned WHY had addiction services suggested that alcoholics like his brother wean themselves off alcohol with alcohol.
“They are asked to wean themselves off by drinking alcohol. Do you think an alcoholic drinking 40 beers a day, do you think it is all viable, sensible, maybe even caring, to ask an alcoholic to wean themselves off with the very drug they are dependent on?”
This question was not allowed to be put to the witness by the senior coroner.
Of course we know that the justice system have their laws and their rules and regulations and there is no point anyone trying to get them to have an open mind, a human response or anything that most of us would say was common sense. They work with a type of invisible force behind them and they never deviate from that control that is bestowed upon them. In other words, it is like they are void of anything reasonable unless it is stated in their rules, regulations and laws in writing.
However, because this guy is famous, the media wants to report on the story and this is how we – the public get to find out and read about something like this, which will absolutely make no sense at all to most of us.
How can any addiction service endorse the very thing that they are trying to support abstinence from?
Telling a cocaine addict to use cocaine to wean themselves off is not fathomable or logical in any way whatsoever and yet this has happened and it has been reported through the media.
Here we have a man aged 41 who struggled with depression and anxiety for 20 years and had many suicide attempts or suicidal ideation. His famous twin brother says that “he was an alcoholic and during bad periods would drink around 20 beers a day as well as struggling with an addiction to pain medication”.
WHY – what happened and more to the point why are we using the very thing that poisons his body, more of the same, in hope it will cure the addiction?
As this blog states, alcohol is a scientific proven poison and there is no getting away from that immutable fact. What we need to be asking is when are we all going to wake up and smell that something is not right about alcohol, as we keep hearing about tragic cases or even know someone close to home struggling with alcohol dependence.
Until we all admit alcohol is not a drink in the name of being social – it is a poison and it alters our natural state of being, we can continue to hear more of these news stories worldwide as there is not a single country that does not consume alcohol.
Something is not right but we never question why did we as humans start drinking a poison to alter our state of mind.
The Globe and Mail Canada – 30 January 2021
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadas-drinking-problem-why-alcohol-is-the-new-cigarette/
Canada’s Drinking Problem – Why Alcohol is the new Cigarette
Canadian provinces and territories were running a national alcohol deficit of $3.7 billion a year.
Ottawa and the provinces are expected to adopt the advice of an expert scientific panel and urge Canadians to drink even less.
According to a growing body of evidence, many Canadians are drinking too much and more alcohol than they think and more than is safe.
What is interesting – given the current conditions where schools and stores remain closed, liquor stores are deemed essential and remain open.
Before we go any further into this news story – what is this telling us?
What are the priorities and why is this not making any sense to us?
Schools are absolutely important and yet not really as important as ensuring the alcohol stores are open as we class it as “essential.
Are the policymakers and those in positions of laying the law down missing something here?
The growing body of evidence is stating repeatedly – drinking too much alcohol.
Then WHY would the authorities keep the alcohol readily available and open up the stores as if they are “essential”?
We don’t need to be smart and savvy here – common sense would do the job and tell us first and foremost SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
Back to the news – a national survey last year confirms 18% admitted they were drinking more alcohol than they did before the lockdown, citing the lack of regular schedule and boredom. Even with bars shut, alcohol sales are up, abetted by home delivery.
Mental health professionals are worried about the fallout of an anxious population stress-drinking behind closed doors.
Dear World
Can we for one moment put our honesty suit on and say we don’t ever pay attention to those government guidelines about how much alcohol we can consume in one day or one week?
What if we carried out a survey and questioned thousands of people that drink alcohol, what the guidelines for alcohol were in their country or how outdated they are?
Next – when are we going to stop pretending that there are safe limits and a thing called ‘drinking responsibly’ when it does not apply, as once we take our first sip or gulp, we are well in and have no intention in our altered state of being to be concerned about that word “Responsibility”.
What makes no sense is being told we have a decade of new research suggesting that the health benefits of alcohol have been overstated and the risks underestimated, in particular for cancer in women.
MORE AND MORE STUDIES ARE SUPPORTING THE CONCLUSION OF THE 2018 GLOBAL HEALTH STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE LANCET:
THE SAFEST LEVEL OF DRINKING IS NONE
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(18)31571-X/fulltext
Do we really need to waste another second discussing this topic or will this global health study confirm what we all do know but choose to ignore as it suits us on some level? In other words, we are not ready to give up something that brings us something, regardless of what it does to the human frame.
We can keep reviewing and refining our guidelines for alcohol consumption, but are we going to wake up one day and realise it is an absolute No for any human – just like we know cigarettes are.
“Alcohol is what gets the party started and keeps it going. It is the cap on a fine night. It is tradition. But a growing stack of research shows that is may also be the new cigarette – savoured by many, socially accepted and cancer causing. Will we stick to our boozy ways, even if it kills us?”
The journalists on this news story have really gone for it and are delivering so much more about the history, more studies and what we all need to be aware on when it comes to alcohol. Read what experts and those in positions of authority are saying. There is so much more to learn from this news article and it does not just apply to those who drink alcohol in Canada – it is for ALL of us.
Waitrose Weekend – 4 February 2021
Global whisky exports from a part of the UK grew by 4.4% to £4.9 Billion in 2019.
173 million bottles were exported to France
131 million bottles were exported to India
127 million bottles were exported to the USA
There are over 130 whisky distilleries operating in this region, which confirms how the spirit whisky is in high demand around the world.
We celebrate this as great news because the profits are in the billions but is this really something to endorse if we became aware that alcohol is a poison and not designed in any way for the human being?
Metro News – 22 January 2021
Front page news headlines informing us about violent assaults on emergency workers.
What gets into a human being that behaves in this way where they kick, bite or hit with heavy objects? Attacks on nurses, paramedics and police, working on the frontline is going up.
“a drunken thug punched an A & E doctor to the floor then spat in the face of a police officer trying to detain him”.
This makes front page headlines – great, now what?
WHY are the majority of us just accepting this or saying nothing like it is the normal and to be expected in these so called ‘unprecedented times’?
The guy was drunk but we never ever question what the alcohol is actually doing to him that he has a force coming through to behave in such an inhumane way?
No – we just don’t go there. We all know that alcohol does stuff to people and that the mind is altered, so how can we be surprised at this ‘violent behaviour”. We could say it is not them as when they are sober and in a natural state, they just would not have these kind of movements.
So something happens when alcohol is the in mix, so to speak. It does something to the person and the mind is not rational, sensible or aware of the consequences of what they are engaging in.
This means something else has entered and is doing this crazy, ill, not human actions. But we never go there and we never open up this type of questioning. Alcohol has a lot to answer for we could say, but is there more we need to now question and consider – like what does the poison get to do to our body and our mind when we say yes to it?
The fact that front page headlines of this kind makes no stir inside us, tells us right now what we are aligning and subscribing to. In other words, it has become our normal to accept the side effects of alcohol, even though as in this story, it leads to violent attacks on those that work in the national health service of their country.
Independent News – 27 February 2021
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/drink-driving-e-scooter-ipswich-b1832530.html
People are being charged with drink driving offences for riding electric scooters.
A new scheme in the UK to operate a fleet of orange scooters for hire was recently launched and it is now has been set with an overnight curfew on their use.
The project is a “free for all” with riding going on pavements, sharing lifts and using the 15 mph machines irresponsibly.
Scooters suddenly became a means for transport during lockdown restrictions and social distancing. Has it worked and are we all aware they are actually not legal to ride on public roads and pavements, as the Department for Transport informs us?
So WHY on earth have they been invented if the general public are not allowed to use them legally? This is utterly nonsensical – is it not?
For those who have no idea, these death machines are very heavy and dangerous.
ADD to that the fact that they are not legal on our roads, it makes no sense promoting them or championing them as a good way to move around when it is not.
What are we doing producing a means for transport that has no real purpose?
Are we going to wait for a research study to tell us how the impact has been on users in the form of accidents and injuries?
Is this a short term fad that will disappear and become a mere reminder of the pandemic period in history?
How serious is it when drinking alcohol and riding an e-scooter is happening on our streets and in our towns and cities?
Are we going to wait for fatalities or can we wake up now and ask who authorised this in the first place and who is accountable for making such decisions on behalf of the general public?
We have Easter Sunday here and once again our newspapers and magazines up to this point are bombarded with so-called Easter recipes.
Worth noting is how our celebrity chefs are finding and creating new recipes that all seem to have alcohol.
We get told that cakes have the WOW factor when it has alcohol. Really?
Back to Easter – simnel cake with brandy, with a note saying “feed the cake with plenty of liquer”
Lamb chops with sherry and of course Easter cocktails of every kind one can imagine.
What is it about our love for sugar when we check out our celeb recipe, which contains golden syrup, treacle, brown sugar and marshmallows (more sugar) as the first ingredients and that means the biggest quantities?
On the other hand, we get told that the country is having an obesity crisis and we have a huge rise in Diabetes, we are a nation not exercising etc etc.,
Something is not making sense and we ought to start questioning things.
How many of us are aware that alcohol contains sugar and some that have become aware of this want the high, the hit that alcohol gives them, but without the calories and so they are turning to drugs?
This is not a let’s blame comment. This is simply bringing to conversation a point overlooked by many when it comes to alcohol.
What if these celeb recipes get our bodies used to alcohol in everything edible and we want more or we seek out more recipes with alcohol, which is easy nowadays as they have become so popular?
What if the sugar we seek has something to do with us being tired or more to the point – exhausted? We need the artificial stimulation to keep us going a bit longer as our lifestyle choices are such, that we need it.
What would happen if we took away the alcohol and the sugar for a week – how would we fare and what would be going on for our body?
What if we made the recipe and left out the alcohol?
Metro News – 7 April 2021
A relatively new TV show where the masses can enjoy via the Internet, we have an X-rated bodice ripper (part of the character played and given that name) who has been ranked the “booziest”.
This study researched the 10 most popular shows on a famous subscription-based streaming service to watch TV shows and movies without commercials, through our internet connected device. The cost is the same, regardless of how much you watch and it is known for encouraging binge-watching. We digress but nevertheless worth noting.
Back to the heart-throb who actually drank 307,910ml of alcohol during scenes.
96% of the drinks on screen were alcoholic.
What momentum does this set off – in other words these repeated movements, call it behaviour whilst ‘acting’ can it really just be switched off when we change hats, so to speak?
Will this drinking on the job become our new normal and what character do we have in front of the screen if alcohol is a mind altering substance?
What are we watching – who is it?
If we are binge watching and we see our favourite characters drinking, would that in some way ‘influence’ us to drink more?
Is that possible?
Whatever our personal opinions are – let us stick to the facts.
Alcohol is a scientific proven poison and if we need more evidence, read this blog and the 200 plus comments thereafter and then consider the questions posed.
If we do not like what is being said or presented here, click the x and move on to another website that offers something different.
Metro News – 21 April 2021
In the showbiz section today about what celebrities are up to… we have a famous singer branching out to wine making and celebrating one million bottles sold.
Do we buy the wine because we want to be like this celebrity or have their music or lifestyle, or is there something else going on for us?
Regardless, what we see here happening is more and more of another stream – another avenue for alcohol sales to rise. Some of us may not have purchased this wine but we do because we like their music or we have the perfume they came out with in their name.
We cannot speculate and this is not the purpose of this comment. It is simply to highlight that we, the masses champion and endorse a poison, jump on the bandwagon when a high profile celebrity brings a wine bottle out in their name but never check the facts of what alcohol is doing to our bodies.
For the record and for those that do not have the intention of reading this blog and the hundreds of comments – Alcohol is a scientific proven poison and absolutely nothing can change that fact.
Metro News – 21 April 2021
A teenager has died after a 4 hour binge drinking game for a university rugby club.
Beer and rum for for that length of time it comes as no surprise that this young man was more than 4.5 times over the drink drive limit when he was found dead by his team mates.
WHY do they have so-called ‘initiations’ that involve alcohol and when this type of behaviour continues, what about the consequences?
Are we prepared to wait for the next death and the next, or do we wake up now and consider the devastating impact on the family, those close to this guy and his so-called ‘team mates’?
What kind of team player are we if we en-join, en-able and foster this type of initiation process to take place on our watch, so to speak?
Is there some kind of group force running the show here, where everywhere just sucks it up and goes along with the ‘game’ that can, as in this case end up in death?
Are we all going to one day realise that no amount of alcohol, which is a poison because science tells us so, will be safe for human consumption?
What pressure was this teenager under to perform and what was really going on for him, where common sense or reason is no longer on the radar because the poison has altered his natural state of being?
We ALL ought to pay attention and not dismiss this type of news as it is a stark reminder of what society in general just accepts. We hear stories like this, accept and carry on with life.
Dear World
We have made a poison a legal substance and yet we seem to be unable to join the dots after countless studies and real life news stories such as this one to admit that it cannot be of any health benefit to drink alcohol.
If our policy makers and those in positions of power that continue to allow alcohol sales to take place all over the world drink alcohol themselves, then could this be a blind spot, so to speak?
Is it time to get on board, those who can demonstrate and show us true vitality levels and sensible consistent behaviour in society, to collaborate their lived experience and share with others by way of becoming our new policy makers for the future?
Something is clearly not right and ending lives because alcohol was the cause, is an utter waste and those left behind may never recover from such ill fate.
This is not a laughing matter and we tend to use alcohol to hide behind a mask, a veil that covers the real and true being that resides in that body, with all the unresolved hurts and issues and the agony and misery of not dealing with that. Time we got honest as to WHY we need a drink of poison and stop the retaliation when it is exposed or called out for what alcohol truly is.
AND finally, our solutions are failing us and that includes our government guidelines, which let’s get real – who on earth follows them when it comes to drinking alcohol?
The Guardian – 6 May 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/06/deaths-from-alcohol-misuse-in-england-and-wales-hit-20-year-high-in-2020
We could say why bother reporting anymore news about Alcohol as it has all been said and done.
The point is it may have been said and yet we seem to need more news telling us the harm that alcohol causes to ALL of us.
This news story is yet more confirmation.
Headlines – Deaths from alcohol misuse in England and Wales has hit a 20 year high in 2020.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the death rate starting to rise at the beginning of the first lockdown and increasing sharply each quarter.
Deaths attributable to alcohol misuse – there were 7,423 alcohol-specific deaths in 2020. This was the highest annual death toll since records began in 2001.
The ONS said alcohol consumption in higher risk drinkers had risen during the pandemic and suggested deaths were likely to be from those with long term drink problems, including those who had been abstinent but relapsed.
4 out of 5 alcohol-specific deaths in 2020 – defined as being a direct consequence of alcohol misuse, were from alcoholic liver disease.
10% from mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use.
Alcohol harm reduction charities want the government to step in urgently and introduce measures to stop the sale of cheap, high strength alcohol and improve access to health and addiction treatment.
“The figures reflect deeply entrenched health inequalities” – in deprived areas, the death rate for men was 4.2 times higher compared with the most affluent areas. For women in deprived areas, it was 3 times higher.
After reading this and more news telling us there is not any safe level of alcohol consumption, we need to stop and ask WHY do we endorse and continue to champion any health benefits when it comes to alcohol?
This article and a quick internet research would tell us clearly that alcohol is actually a poison. This is a fact and there is no getting away from this immutable truth.
How are we going to turn the tides and will our government interventions cut it?
As with drugs, if we cut the supply, it will go underground as the demand remains.
What we need is policy makers willing to look firstly at their own alcohol consumption, regardless of how small or infrequent it is and then ask them to educate the masses and start with school from day dot.
Next –
All we need to do is be honest. If we like alcohol – ask WHY, what does it give us?
We know it alters our natural state – so let’s start there…WHY do we want to not be who and what we truly are? WHY do we want an altered state that has consequences to our health and wellbeing?
How do we really feel after a glass or a few or a habit that we seem to have got ourselves into?
How is our mood on the day and the day after and how much are we consuming behind the scenes as it seems to be our choice of self-medication?
Why are we using it to “up” our lows and have a great time in the name of socialising?
Why do we need it in the name of celebration if it is poisoning the very vehicle (our body) that is taking care of us up until our last breath?
If our body was seen as a vehicle that can bring a quality in our movements until our last day on earth, would we really bludgeon it with poison? Think about it – we would never even consider putting anything but the correct fuel in our cars but we don’t seem to mind what we consume when it comes to our own human body. Add to this – how come animals only eat what they need to and not entertain any poison that is harmful to their body?
Yet we call ourselves the most intelligent species on this planet.
Let’s start with questioning this so-called intelligence as it seems to be accountable for a great deal of harm created on this sphere of life.
Journal of American College of Cardiology – 7 May 2021
https://www.jacc.org/doi/abs/10.1016/j.jacep.2020.11.026
This study was to identify acute changes in human atrial electrophysiology during alcohol exposure.
Alcohol appears to increase the risk for Atrial Fibrillation.
Acute exposure to alcohol reduces AERP (atrial effective refractory periods), particularly in the pulmonary veins.
What this study concludes – the data demonstrates a direct mechanistic link between alcohol, a common lifestyle exposure and immediate proarrhythmic effects in human atria.
Without having to understand scientific studies and the terminology used, we can take it that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT when we consume alcohol because it harms our heart. Simple.
How many more studies do we want to know about when everything has been said and done?
There is nothing healthy to say about alcohol.
Alcohol was never designed for human consumption.
It is a scientific proven poison and yet we demand it and not consider the consequences.
We ought to consider WHY we have a poison that is legal and then ponder deeply on the harm to society that alcohol is costing.
Society for the Study of Addiction will publish this study in their paper journal.
However, this brief gives us an insight about alcohol use, reflecting our current times.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.15482
Associations between Social Media Usage and Alcohol use among Youths and Young Adults:
Findings from Understanding Society – first published 22 April 2021
The following is an extract:
Given the decline in alcohol consumption and rise in technological use among young people, there is a need to investigate whether technology use might influence how young people drink. This study explores how social media use and changes in social media use over time could affect alcohol use among youths.
The effect of social media usage on drinking and binge drinking frequency among 16-19 year olds
4+ hours users were more likely to binge drink 3 or 4 times a month than those who had less than an hour’s use.
Results
Characteristics of drinkers and social media users
4+ hours social media users age 10 to 15 had a higher proportion who were dis-satisfied with their lives (13%) than those with less than an hour’s use (3%), were more likely to be female (64 versus 36%) and to drink once a month or more (42 versus 19%). Similar associations were found among 16 – 19 year olds but age and sex were not significant.
All groups who were less than completely satisfied with their life were more likely to drink at least monthly.
Discussion
Potentially, the use of social media may be a part of the cultural norm of drinking among youths, which includes the posting of photographs of people drinking, which could encourage use and normalize being drunk. In addition, interacting on social media may also reflect greater sociability both on and offline, which could influence greater alcohol use, especially if the drinking occurs in social settings.
Our findings are consistent with other studies that show a relationship between digital technology use, such as heavier internet or problematic internet use and greater alcohol consumption. The behavioural mechanisms underlying problematic substance use may closely resemble that of heavy internet use and potentially more frequent social media use and these behaviours may complement or even reinforce each other. We cannot rule out that the relationship may be in the opposite direction, with heavier alcohol use encouraging more frequent social media use, or that the relationship is bidirectional. This is an area for future investigation.
We are the first in the United Kingdom to show that there is a strong correlation between heavier social media use and more frequent alcohol consumption and that this relationship exists across time. This was especially the case for ages 10 to 15, where the purchase of alcohol is illegal and where the introduction to alcohol from an earlier age may be problematic.
Conclusion
Heavier social media use was associated with more frequent alcohol consumption among young people in the United Kingdom.
In this study and many others, more frequent users of digital technologies were more likely to be heavier alcohol drinkers. For example, one cross-country study found daily use of Facebook and Instagram to be associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among youths.
If we read this short summary of the research study that tells us THERE IS A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN HEAVIER SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND MORE FREQUENT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND THAT RELATIONSHIP EXISTS ACROSS TIME it speaks volumes.
So where to from here for our youth of today where alcohol and social media are the norm?
What will happen to our young people as they become the future adult population?
Could we use this study as a 911 emergency wake up call or do we simply say how bad things are and blame the pandemic, the tech giants, the social media platforms and the alcohol industry, or wait for more research to tell us how bad things are and then wait again for even more research to confirm that and tell us once again that they need more research and so it goes on and on as history has shown us this is what happens with our current form of ‘evidence’ that we accept?
What if we could relate this to real life because it is happening under our own roof, or it is in our face and what then? What are we going to do in the Responsibility department of life?
Are we also a big subscriber to social media and have we noticed our alcohol consumption recently or do we need a reminder?
Are we part of the problem as adults because we have not bothered to engage with our young children who are then left to do what they want and tech seems to be the modern way to go and pass the time?
Who gets their kids doing purpose-full house chores that need doing and may just bring in a dose of real life responsibility that will support and equip them to deal with life, instead of a screen for hours on end that continues well into the night time?
Are we big into having our share of alcohol and it has become our norm and so our children see this as acceptable and think nothing of it?
Have we failed to educate our kids about the dangers of a scientific proven poison that happens to be legal in our world called Alcohol?
What would happen if this article and the hundreds of valuable comments thereafter on this post was presented at schools at a very young age?
How would these children turn out and how many of them would make the choice to then seek alcohol?
Well worthy of a study for the future scholars of our time.
The Guardian – 18 May 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/18/any-amount-of-alcohol-consumption-harmful-to-the-brain-finds-study
THERE IS NO SAFE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION FOR THE BRAIN.
Even with moderate drinking, alcohol is adversely affecting every part of the brain and is linked to lower grey matter density. This means the more you drink, the lower the brain volume.
Previously we thought alcohol only affected specific areas of the brain but now it is seems to be the whole brain, says lead author, Anya Topiwala – senior clinical lecturer at University of Oxford.
Widespread negative associations were also seen between alcohol consumption and integrity of white matter, the brain fibres that scaffold the billions of neurons that make up grey matter. In addition, an individual’s underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure and high Body Mass Index (BMI) made the negative association between alcohol and brain health stronger, the researchers said.
25,378 people – an observational cohort study in the UK. The following wording is taken from the study – see link https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.10.21256931v1.full.pdf
Conclusions
No safe dose of alcohol for the brain. Moderate consumption is associated with more widespread adverse effects on the brain than previously recognised.
Individuals who binge drink or with high blood pressure and BMI may be more susceptible.
Detrimental effects of drinking appear to be greater than other modifiable factors. Current ‘low risk’ drinking guidelines should be revisited to take account of brain effects.
Dear World
Here we have the highlights of a recent study that we cannot negate, ignore, dismiss or refuse to take note of.
Are we going to end up one day on the same road as smoking tobacco cigarettes, where we ALL know that it is not for human consumption?
Is alcohol going to be the new cigarette smoking or have we got a long way to go because those who seek this scientific poison are not yet ready to acknowledge the damage it does to the human being?
Are we going to keep demanding more and more research to tell us the same thing that we do ALL know, or are we going to start asking questions about WHY we need alcohol in the first place?
Global Drugs Survey – 2020 – pages 4 – 7
https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GDS2020-Executive-Summary.pdf
Based on data from more than 90,000 people who drink, respondents reported to the Global Drug Survey (GDS) from predominately English-speaking countries and Scandinavia got drunk more times per year than in any other country. Women under 25 years old were most likely to seek emergency medical treatment following drinking.
Global Drug Survey defined being drunk as “having drunk so much that your physical and mental faculties are impaired to the point where your balance / speech were affected, you were unable to focus clearly on things and that your conversation and behaviours were very obviously different to people who know you”.
Using this definition:
• 16% of respondents reported NEVER having got drunk in the last year
• 28 times, male respondents reported getting drunk in last 12 months
• 34 times in last year English speaking countries reported getting drunk
ALCOHOL: GETTING DRUNK AND REGRETTING IT
• 30% of occasions, respondents reported to GDS regretting getting drunk
Data and Top Drinking Behaviours Associated with Getting Drunk and Regret:
• 64% regret drinking too much and too quickly
• 39% regret mixing their drinks
Being with people who engage in heavy drinking
Regret was highest among respondents from countries reporting getting drunk least often. Globally, GDS participants who drank alcohol in the last 12 months reported regretting getting drunk on 33% of occasions.
• 39% women regret getting drunk
• 30% of men regret getting drunk
Many people will be having a break from drinking in January.
Data shows that people need to look at changing their longer-term drinking behaviours.
ALCOHOL: GETTING DRUNK WHY PEOPLE REGRETTED IT
• 75% – Bad Hangover. Top consequence of drinking that led people to say they regretted getting drunk.
• 42% saying something you normally would not have said.
Social disinhibition with alcohol is a double-edged sword. With relaxation and less self-monitoring, too much social lubrication can lead people to become more honest, offensive or cruel.
Problems are worse when people have no recollection of what was said.
Very high rates of people reported increased anxiety the day after drinking, referred to as ‘Hangxiety’.
The explanation for increased anxiety is embedded in the effects of alcohol on the brain.
THINGS PEOPLE REGRET WHEN GETTING DRUNK
Alcohol reduces anxiety and people feel relaxed because it turns up the activity in the brain’s dominant inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, while turning down the brain’s main excitatory one, glutamate. This means it is like putting on headphones (increasing GABA) and turning the volume down (decreasing glutamate).
Our brain does not like to be knocked off balance, so in the hours following drinking it tries to turn up the volume (increasing the activity of glutamate). As alcohol wears off and the muffling of GABA on the brain’s activity diminishes, the excitatory effects kick in and this can make a person feel anxious. For some, this leads to further drinking and an increased risk of dependence and whilst alcohol dependence is very common among people with anxiety / social anxiety, as a treatment for anxiety, alcohol is paradoxically ineffective.
Overall, alcohol makes anxiety worse and can stop the benefits from treatments including antidepressants like SSRIs. It is an inefficient way of dealing with anxiety both in the short and longer term, especially if you have an underlying anxiety disorder.
Gender differences were also evident, with women more likely than men to report increased anxiety the next day, unwanted sexual episodes and being taken advantage of sexually when drunk. Given for most people, the way to avoid getting drunk and regretting it involves saving money, hanging out with people who are not always out drinking alcohol and not drinking when in a bad mood.
The hope is people can reduce the 1-in-3 figure to 1-in-10.
Dear World
Can we rely on hope to deliver the results we want or need right now when it comes to alcohol?
We have this insight-full article called The Real Truth about Alcohol with hundreds of comments published, confirming that there is no health benefit whatsoever when it comes to alcohol consumption.
Is it time to get real and honest or are we not ready yet?
This comment states the facts and information reported by the Global Drugs Survey 2020 and in the world of research, that is bang up to date.
We could say things are not great if this is global.
Do we really need to wait around for another research study, report or survey or can we use a dose of common sense and stop pretending we don’t know that any amount of alcohol is not for human consumption?
Next – worth reading our blog on Regret and pondering on the questions presented before embarking on the alcohol road and regretting it after the event has passed.
https://simplelivingglobal.com/regret/
We would call that a wise move.
4 July 2021- The London School of Economics
https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_NEW/publications/abstract.asp?index=8216
Research published shows that domestic violence was higher in the 12 hours after a football match.
The LSE studied the role of alcohol and emotions in explaining the dynamics of domestic abuse following major football games.
Over a period of 8 years, researchers examined police data together with the timings for 800 games played by 2 premier football teams.
The findings state that domestic abuse starts increasing and peaks about 10 hours after the game. The researchers found ALL INCREASES WERE DRIVEN BY PERPERTRATORS THAT HAD CONSUMED ALCOHOL and when games were played before 7pm.
Next –
4 July 2021 – Independent News
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/domestic-abuse-football-alcohol-home-b1877960.html
Day drinking and early kick-offs linked to rise in domestic abuse after football matches.
The new study suggests alcohol consumption is to blame rather than heightened emotions over a bad result. This Independent news story quotes the study author Tom Kirhmaier – Director of the Policing and Crime Research Group at LSE. ‘This rise was “entirely driven” by men abusing their female partners after drinking alcohol.’
The study authors claim that this research may provide the “first causal evidence of the role of day drinking on domestic abuse’.
Next –
9 July 2021 – The Economist
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/07/09/domestic-violence-surges-after-a-football-match-ends
Alcohol is a major player in the relationship between sport and abuse.
The British Beer and Pub Association estimated that 10 MILLION pints would be sold on match day. During the actual game itself, it was estimated that 50,000 DRINKS PER MINUTE would be sold.
This news story also states that “other studies suggest that domestic abuse is worse if England wins”.
There is no reference to the ‘other studies’ so we cannot expand on this comment.
Next –
12 July 2021- Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9780013/People-offered-spare-rooms-fearing-domestic-violence-following-England-loss.html
People began to offer out ‘safe spaces’ on social media platform Twitter, for people to stay if they felt in fear of a partner or family member in the aftermath of the game.
Next –
Lancaster University – 11 June 2014
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2014/world-cup-football-is-a-risk-factor-for-domestic-violence/
38% rise in domestic violence when England loses an important match.
Whilst this study is old, it confirms that things have not improved in any way.
Back then, the researchers said the findings were significant and could lead to new ways to tackle domestic violence and so reduce “the misery of abused partners, as well as children and family members”.
We knew back then and yet it is only just coming back to light.
What we know now is that it did not go away and we are no where near ready to accept, let alone admit alcohol is the poison that it is and not for human consumption.
Will it work if we call for more weekday matches and evening kick-offs just so we can reduce the amount of time available for alcohol consumption?
Is this solution avoiding the real issue that we have with our relationship with alcohol across the board.
This means we ALL need to get to the bottom of this public health 911 which has seen serious harm to society. We ought to be asking WHY and HOW does someone start drinking a poison and what is it that leads to excess consumption which has devastating consequences.
Our solutions are failing us and always will because band aids to bullet wounds never work and the only way to turn the tides is get the bullet out, once and for all, so real change can happen.
As with the tobacco industry now being called to account for the harm over the past hundred years with cigarettes being endorsed as ok and not a public health threat – are we going to see the same happening one day for alcohol?
Let’s not pretend, be dis-honest or think it is going to just simply go away.
We did know that smoking was killing us but nevertheless there were the many who stood to gain and profit and more to the point those that were addicted ensured they kept the industry booming.
We come up with an alternative – an electronic version and we do know that it is just as addictive and we have millions of high school kids addicted already. Hello, let’s wake up – this is our future adult population.
Back to Alcohol.
Yes, it would be great to have more studies but while we wait, let us apply some common sense.
Reducing domestic violence by changing the times the match starts, so less alcohol is consumed will give us a different result but in truth, we are not going to nail it and knock this horrendous atrocity inflicted on the partners of those that consume alcohol in the name of a football match.
Have we even stopped long enough to consider the real harm and not just to the human frame?
Domestic violence leaves imprints on the victim, but also on those related and in most cases there are young children involved. The damage extends far beyond the match results. There is a devastating reality here that we can no longer dismiss.
How many more studies do we need if we have the scientific world telling us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and that means NONE, ZERO, 0?
This article and the few hundred comments posted thereafter, spells out clearly that alcohol not only harms the human body but all those related – in other words, it affects us ALL as we are all inter-connected in some way on some level. One day we will get to the real truth about alcohol but until then, those like Simple Living Global will continue to present the facts and bring more awareness.
The Guardian – 13 July 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/13/alcohol-caused-740000-cancer-cases-globally-last-year-study
Alcohol caused 741,300 cancer cases globally in 2020.
Alcohol drinking caused 16,800 cases of cancer in the UK in 2020.
The figures are likely to be underestimates, because they do not take into account former drinking and only include cancers where there is strong evidence of alcohol being the cause.
Experts say more needs to be done to raise public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer.
There is strong evidence that alcohol consumption can cause various cancers including:
Breast Cancer
Liver Cancer
Colon Cancer
Rectum Cancer
Oropharynx Cancer
Larynx Cancer
Oesophagus Cancer
Research has shown that even low levels of alcohol can increase the risk of cancer.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/02/can-even-moderate-drinking-increase-the-risk-of-cancer
A 2018 survey found that only 1 in 10 people are aware that alcohol could cause cancer.
Researchers say this needs to change as public awareness appears low.
Co-author of the study – Harriet Rumgay of the International Agency for Research on Cancer said ‘alcohol caused a substantial burden of cancer globally and this was shown even at lower levels of drinking. Alcohol’s impact on cancer is often unknown or overlooked, so we need increased public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer and policies to decrease overall alcohol consumption to prevent the burden of cancers and other diseases attributable to alcohol.”
The findings of the study differed by region. The proportion of cancer cases estimated to be caused by alcohol was highest in east Asia and central and eastern Europe.
Chief Executive at Cancer Research UK – Michelle Mitchell said the research demonstrated there was more work to do to prevent alcohol related cancers.
“There is strong evidence that drinking alcohol can cause 7 types of cancer and the more someone drinks, the greater the risk. There is no safe level of drinking alcohol but whatever your drinking habits cutting down can reduce your risk of cancer.
Can we confirm the above statement THERE IS NO SAFE LEVEL OF DRINKING ALCOHOL?
Is there really anything more that needs to be said?
We have the facts, the data, the scientific evidence, which most of us want before we apply our innate common sense. We have this spectacular article – The Real Truth about Alcohol and we have over 250 comments thereafter spelling out to us in different ways that there is absolutely zero health benefits to the toxic legal poison that we call alcohol.
We ought to be asking – who and what is behind the push to continue saying alcohol is legal and therefore it is ok to consume a poison, that is killing the human body, as this news story confirms and damaging society, when we know it is avoidable?
Why does this not make any sense and why are we accepting it?
We have stronger evidence than ever before and yet we continue to champion alcohol and use it to abuse our body, under the banner that this is normal behaviour. WHY?
Government UK – 15 July 2021
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alcoholic-liver-deaths-increased-by-21-during-year-of-the-pandemic
21% increase in Alcoholic liver deaths during year of the pandemic.
Increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, particularly amongst heavy drinkers is likely driving unprecedented acceleration in alcoholic liver disease deaths.
PHE – Public Health England have published this week the trends in alcohol consumption and harm since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-and-harm-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
The findings show an increase in total alcohol-specific deaths, driven by an unprecedented annual increase in alcoholic liver disease deaths above the levels seen prior to the pandemic.
Regardless of pubs, clubs and restaurants closing at lockdown, the report suggests people were drinking more alcohol at home.
12.6 million EXTRA litres of alcohol were sold in the financial year 2020 to 2021.
58.6% increase of people reporting that they are drinking alcohol at increasing and higher risk levels when comparing March 2020 and March 2021.
20% increase in alcohol specific deaths in 2020 and alcoholic liver disease accounted for over 80.3% of all deaths in 2020.
In addition, other findings include:
Deaths from mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol increased.
Deaths from alcohol poisoning increased.
Liver disease is currently the second leading cause of premature death in people of working age and this is only set to get worse, if the pandemic results in a long term increase in drinking.
So the UK government are going to tackle harmful drinking as this must be an essential part of the Covid recovery plan. How do we start and address the current alcohol related issues we already have on a local and national level?
If we read this article and then over 250 comments are we really going to be surprised next year when we read more news stories about the harm alcohol is causing the human body and society as a whole?
Spending billions but never asking the deeper questions as to WHY and HOW a person ends up on the road of excess drinking, which we all know is a scientific proven poison and happens to be legal will never get us to evolve out of this.
Are we going to end up in decades like we are today with cigarette smoking and ban it everywhere and then come up with an alternative?
Another serious question we ought to consider now is those that make the rules, champion alcohol or endorse it in any way as ok, are they to be held accountable if we continue with statistics like this?
Many of our celebrity world and influencers we follow on social media and those in high profile positions continue to drink alcohol. We could add our politicians and those that make decisions on behalf of their people are enjoying their alcohol too. So could this be a blind spot and that means could it be possible that they have not fully renounced this poison and so they do not see it as the utter harm it really is?
If we are doubting this line of questioning, check in with the victims of domestic abuse or those that are at the hands of alcohol abuse day in and day out. Then go and do research on the internet and ask WHY on earth have 192 countries worldwide stated that there is absolutely no health benefits from alcohol.
What we also need to ask is how come we need it, want it, justify why we have it and WHY we enjoy it so much?
The Conversation – 10th August 2021
Is Drinking Good for You in Any Way? If Not, Why is Alcohol Legal for Adults?
https://theconversation.com/is-drinking-good-for-you-in-any-way-if-not-why-is-alcohol-legal-for-adults-160422
Is alcohol consumption of any benefit to humans? If not, why aren’t we thinking about banning it forever? – Lamiah S., Kerala, India
Scientists have been trying to figure out whether alcoholic beverages can be good for your health for a long time, often reaching contradictory conclusions.
What is clear is that wine, beer and the alcoholic beverages can be bad for you for many reasons, and more so for those that drink heavily.
The effects of drinking alcohol, which is made by fermenting the sugars found in grapes, barley, potatoes and other plants, vary according to how much someone consumes. Other factors, such as how much food people eat ahead of time or how much they weigh, also play a role.
When people frequently drink too much, their bodies start to depend on alcohol, and then their brains give them signals to want to drink most of the time. This is called having an alcohol use disorder, which is the medical term for alcoholism or being addicted to alcohol. Research has also found very strong links between alcohol and cancer, even at lower levels of drinking.
When teens and young people frequently drink too much, it can change their brains – possibly making them less inhibited and more impulsive.
However, for many years, experts believed that drinking small amounts of alcohol boosts adult health. Some studies suggested that a few glasses of wine every week might reduce the risk of Heart Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. However, many factors can offset any possible benefits, and other researchers have reached contradictory findings.
There are about 95,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the US, and the number of deaths is rising.
More scientists are saying now that any amount of alcohol can harm human health.
Despite mounting evidence of the harm alcohol causes, it is still legal in the US and the main reason for that is that banning alcohol (prohibition) a century ago failed.
If science has proven (and proven a very long time ago) that alcohol is a poison, why then are they still trying to figure out whether alcohol has any health benefits?
If we came across a bottle that had the words poison and a picture of a skull and crossbones, surely we would not even consider drinking any of the contents?
Looking at it in this way, the logical action would be to steer clear of drinking alcohol – so why do we still drink it?
Could it be that we need alcohol because we can have a few hours of not worrying about how our lives have turned out, or worrying about the issues we have?
Could it be that we need alcohol because we don’t have to be responsible?
Could it be that we need alcohol to get us through life?
We are all fully aware that alcohol has harmful effects on us because we have ways to try and mitigate that harm.
I know when I used to go out ‘on the town’ I would make sure that I ate something substantial beforehand because, (1) I could drink more and (2) the alcohol wouldn’t have such a fast effect on me.
I would also make sure I wasn’t working the next day, as I knew I would be in no fit state to do so.
As said earlier, we all know that alcohol is not good for our health but we conveniently choose to ignore what we know and we conveniently choose to forget how it made us feel the last time we got ‘wasted’.
As much as we would protest about the effects of alcohol on us and that everything in moderation is OK, more and more research is coming out now that says drinking alcohol in any quantity is harmful to our health.
How many more research studies do we need before we see the obvious – Alcohol is a scientific proven poison?
Euro News – 10 September 2021
https://www.euronews.com/2021/09/09/this-greenland-town-has-banned-alcohol-after-several-spooky-incidents
Greenland town has temporarily banned alcohol after reporting several “spooky” incidents.
Authorities say it was necessary after a sudden increase in violence:
15 domestic disturbances
2 suicides
4 suicide threats
6 incidents of violence
Health officials stated they had run out of the capacity to treat people after alcohol poisoning.
The town has 2,000 people and the regional authority received a request from health officials to implement the 2 week ban. It is expected to last if there is a decline in alcohol related incidents.
Dear World
Are we going to see more small towns like this taking action when it comes to alcohol related incidents that leave families and a community devastated?
Have we read that the health officials in Greenland have called it “alcohol poisoning”?
In other words, they confirm that alcohol is a poison, which of course it is.
Are we ready to admit that this legal toxic substance that wreaks havoc inside our body and in our lives is not going away as it has been around for far too long and the masses, yes the majority of us rely on alcohol as a social drink but it is not? It is far from a tipple to relax at the end of the day. It is highly addictive and disturbs our natural state.
We ought to re-read this superb article once again called The Real Truth about Alcohol and then scroll down onto every single comment by Simple Living Global thereafter which gives us more up to date research and news stories like this – all saying the same thing. There is not anything good to say about alcohol and there clearly are no health benefits. To even consider that or seek that kind of research study is no different to the tobacco industry lying to us back then saying smoking was not harmful to the human body.
We need to wake up and ask WHY we need alcohol and what it is giving us?
We drink it because it gives us something be it numb us, remove us away from our hurts, painful misery, agony, life in general or as a distraction because everyone else does it and ‘what’s wrong with having “fun”’?.
We all have a choice and whilst our governments endorse and favour alcohol and ignore the signs that it is a legal poison, we can expect much more so called “spooky” incidents like this small town in eastern Greenland.
A friend introduced me to a popular make of pastry – the ready to bake stuff and it was gluten free. It is what she uses for the children.
I know she checks ingredients and so I did not bother.
Well recently a few guests to dinner, absolutely loved the pastry samosa style with mince curry lamb that I dished up. I did go on and repeat buy but felt a smell and decided to check the ingredients.
Well it has Alcohol – yes you read correctly.
We have gluten free pastry with ALCOHOL.
WHY have we got a toxic poison (let’s call it by the real name that it is) as an ingredient? Some may say it is needed as a stabiliser or preservative or whatever. Regardless, we need to be made aware by those that produce this stuff, so that we are given a choice.
I know I will never buy it again and neither will all those that do not have alcohol on their radar.
How come we are all accepting alcohol like it is normal to have in our foods?
What if people have an allergy to alcohol and would never assume it was a hidden ingredient in our ready to just roll out pastry?
What next ?
Where else are we going to discover has a scientific proven legal poison that we call alcohol? What foods will they be adding it to and does this in some way affect our bodies, even if it is in small amounts?
The question is Where is our Responsibility?
Now that we have read it, we cannot simply un-read it?
CNN Health – 28 October 2021
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/26/health/pandemic-drinking-liver-transplants-study/index.html
Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that the need for liver transplants because of heavy drinking soared during the pandemic.
According to this new study – the number of people who got a liver transplant or were put on a waiting list due to alcohol hepatitis was 50% higher than what was forecast based on pre-pandemic trends.
With Alcoholic Hepatitis, the liver stops processing alcohol and instead creates highly toxic chemicals that trigger inflammation. The inflammation can kill off healthy liver cells, creating IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE to the liver that may force the patient to get a liver transplant to survive.
Alcohol Hepatitis is a condition that often develops after years of heavy drinking but it can also develop after a short period of excess alcohol consumption.
Scientists still do not know why some people develop this condition and others do not.
The results of this study were published in JAMA Network Open and showed a positive correlation between the increase in the number of people on the waiting list for a liver due to alcoholic hepatitis and the increase in retail sales of alcohol during the pandemic.
What is interesting is that American Adults claimed that they drank the same amount of alcohol during the pandemic, yet sales figures suggest otherwise. Alcohol sales increased sharply in March 2020 and stayed the same elevated level for the remainder of the year.
The researchers have called this a “disproportionate increase in association with increasing alcohol sales..”.
The first thing we need to admit is someone is lying. Sales figures tell us elevated levels and yet we the people are possibly in denial or have not even noticed our increased level of alcohol consumption during the first pandemic experience by the whole world.
While we wait of course for more research studies to tell us and confirm what we innately do know but perhaps are not ready to hear, listen or read about, can we get some proper and real education?
We are being told briefly in the above news highlights what alcohol does to the liver.
Is this not enough to consider our drinking habits?
If we need more evidence, this news article has a link to another news story earlier on this year, titled DRINKING ANY AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE BRAIN
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/19/health/alcohol-brain-health-intl-scli-wellness/index.html
Do we really need to say more or just keep repeating the same old information in the hope that we all one day will understand the actual impact alcohol has on the human body?
Of course if we are seeking a reason to continue ‘business as usual’ because life without alcohol would be boring or it would be the end of our social lifestyle as we know it, then we have the choice to carry on and wait for our body one day to communicate back to us. While we carry on, chances are we will seek and of course we will find the studies out there saying alcohol is good for us and then have it endorsed by celebrities and even doctors that champion it in the name of healthy and in moderation, when they tell the world in their weekly newspaper column or double page spread. Yes indeed doctors that enjoy alcohol endorse it and why would they not? It is something they cannot give up or have any intention of giving up, so how can they bad mouth it? Is that making sense?
In the meantime, more and more research studies are confirming that no amount of alcohol consumption is beneficial for us and if we are Absolutely Honest, most of us do know this to be true.
It has now got to the point that we can no longer negate the “side effects” of alcohol. No different to smoking and everyone now saying it’s bad for you and there are zero health benefits.
Research is telling us and we ALL know that this legal toxic scientifically proved poison was never ever designed for the human body and yet is has been around in many forms for thousands of years. Today the alcohol industry continues to grow and we never question “at what cost?”
Those that champion it and endorse it – time is running out as we have got the evidence … more deaths than before are alcohol related and what about those where we never know the full extent of the harm because behind closed doors with a title or a lifestyle that no one will dare question – what goes on, we simply accept. WHY – because we don’t go there and it’s legal and everyone is doing it so somehow that makes it normal.
A real life story shared by a sensitive young man beaten by his wealthy step father who he referred to as an “alcoholic”. Do we honestly think for a moment that the police will take the side of a hysterical troubled 20 year old when they are called to the mansion in the countryside? No – we hand him over to social services and he ends up with the mental health services that are struggling to cope.
Not wanted, problem child and mother throwing money to pay to ‘get him better’ as he gets sectioned once again. Now we have the label and the system supports the process. This guy has no future. We don’t have the resources to look at why or how it has come to this and what can we really do so that he comes back to the real who and what he truly is and could that even be possible one may say?
Has anyone really met this man and engaged with him and allowed him to speak?
Well the author of this website and the editor did. Strictly confidential and the trust was built after meeting for the first time in a café outside the city. Regular contact was maintained and we just listened. No advice and no judgement.
For the record – the guy is not dumb and yet he was simple in his communication.
It was without a doubt the first time he could open up and share the list of choices made from teenager – smoking marijuana to the drugs thereafter and alcohol binge when joining his mother – also referred to as an “alcoholic” and then getting arrested. It was enough to stop his drinking alcohol again. He gets beaten by a monster – that is the character that wields the force through the man that is addicted to alcohol. We never question or even consider the common phrase “what has got into you” which tells us something got into the step father AFTER consuming copious amounts of alcohol. Everything changes and the next move is not known and things accelerate and get out of hand – classic known side effects of the legal poison we call Alcohol.
No foundation, no place to call ‘home’ and yet enormous wealth in so-called family members. Makes no sense and what has that got to do with alcohol as this comment is on the alcohol article. Carry on reading Dear reader…
A reminder – alcohol alters our natural state. So what gets into us if we are not who and what we truly are when poison is ingested?
That character that we recognise in another who has had alcohol is not them and we see the dark eyes or the bravado, false confidence, fake talk, loud laughter, relaxed mode or whatever alcohol does to them and we sense something is ‘off’ but society has made it normal, so we never ever dare to question it.
Time we did Dear World as alcohol is known when it comes to the majority of domestic violence cases that go un-reported. For some, it’s no longer cutting it, but mix it with some illicit drugs and now things go up a notch and we suddenly find dependency in another area. This is real life and this is happening everywhere – not just in the low class neighbourhoods that we want to avoid.
This guy is not a gonner – in other words, dismiss him because he has nothing to offer or contribute to this world. He is not educated to the level that we expect and demand from schooling days and yet the wisdom that comes from him simply cannot be ignored or dismissed.
His accurate account of his life is worthy of a book as it speaks volumes about what goes on under the name of ‘family life’. He is one of many out there and we seem to be at a loss where to place him and he gets written off as there is nothing we can do – he has a mental health label – like a badge he is forced to wear and this means others will judge, have little or no understanding and there are no real role models.
If he dares to open his mouth and say “I am a xxx” the label given to him, most of us would run for the hills or turn the other way and make a quick exit out of his radar. But what if there is really nothing to fear and in any moment this man and others like him are totally ok and just need a reflection? That means someone in front of them not saying anything but simply living another way – a way that goes against the tides. He gets to feel a quality, a vibration so to speak that he senses and feels is not going to judge him, attack him, put him down but pay attention to the detail and read between the lines, so to speak simply to gain a deeper understanding. These are not official, trained therapists – just jo public giving the time and space for another to say whatever they want (to get it off their chest) so that their heart area (the chest) can expand as it no longer holds all this stuff that needs to come out.
Is this making sense?
Alcohol dependency ensures there is nothing there to support another or become a role model. Is it any surprise that we see alcoholism like a cycle where the kids grew up with their parents or custodians/guardians/carers and they seem to follow the same foot steps, so to speak?
Well this guy is different. Be assured, he is not touching the stuff as he has witnessed first hand the harm and speaks about it in a detached way – very matter of fact and that is it. There is no drama or emotion – just reporting things as they are and have been.
What next ?
We answered the questions from our skills, know how and expertise to give some wisdom and practical guidance as to what is needed next to support him. One hour later a man troubled and plagued by his thoughts, sounding very different and lighter.
Whatever happens, we know this young man was touched and this holds value.
Let us not forget that those that end up alcohol dependent are also troubled and even those that say it is just a ‘social thing’ ought to question – is there something alcohol brings and gives that takes away our pain, misery, agony and bits of life we simply don’t like or want? Possible?
World Health Organization – 4 January 2023
https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
NO LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS SAFE FOR OUR HEALTH – WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated and well documented over the years.
The World Health Organization has now published a statement in The Lancet Public Health: when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.
Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco.
Alcohol causes at least 7 types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.
Alcohol (ethanol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer.
The risk of developing cancer increases substantially the more alcohol is consumed.
However, the latest available data indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are caused by “light” or “moderate” alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer of less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week.
This drinking pattern is responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancers in women, with the highest burden observed in countries of the European Union (EU).
Risks start from the first drop of Alcohol.
“We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It does not matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.”
Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges – Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe.