Alcohol: Know your limit

MANY people drink alcohol and the majority do so without any problems.
Drinking can be enjoyable and sometimes helps you to unwind or relax.
But heavy drinking, getting drunk or drinking at the wrong time or in the wrong situation, can lead to a range of difficulties.
When describing their intake, some say “a little” or “a moderate amount”.
Many people know about sensible drinking limits, yet many still over drink.
Most of us enjoy a drink now and again.
A drink to relax after a hard day, a glass over dinner, a few on a
night out or a couple in front of the TV.
But when it comes to alcohol, how many of us really know how much is too much?
One way to deal with the alcohol consumption problem may be to regulate the use of alcohol.
Drunkenness and alcohol abuse are not only a public nuisance but also the cause of bigger problems in Port Moresby such as violence in families or the community.
These problems exist not only in Port Moresby but also everywhere else.
A suggestion is to introduce lessons in schools about sensible drinking.
The children when they grow up will come across alcohol as some stage.
Hopefully they will practice sensible drinking.
Every drink one has adds up.
And over time it can have a big impact on our health and wellbeing.
That’s why it’s important to stick to the sensible drinking guidelines.
The truth is that drinking alcohol is never going to be risk-free.
But regularly going past the sensible drinking limit can have a
negative effect on one’s overall health.
Even if one doesn’t have a hangover, the alcohol they’ve drunk still has an impact on their system.
The liver processes alcohol and it can only cope with so much at a time.
Drinking more alcohol than the liver can cope with can damage liver cells and produce toxic by-product chemicals.
Remember, binge drinking can be harmful even though the weekly total may not seem too high
Statistics show the unrecorded alcohol consumption in Papua New Guinea is estimated to be 0.5 litres pure alcohol per capita for population older than 15 for the years after 1995 (estimated by a group of key alcohol experts). Imagine difference some 26 later.
The number of fatal road accidents in Papua New Guinea has risen.
A study conducted in Port Moresby some time ago found that more alcohol-related accidents occurred at night and on weekends, particularly on pay weekends.
A post-mortem examination of the dead drivers in a study showed that 53 per cent had a blood alcohol level greater than 80mg per 100ml while 32 per cent had detectable blood alcohol but at a level less than 80mg per 100ml.
A domestic violence study carried out by the Papua New Guinea Law Reform Commission found that 71 per cent of the women interviewed considered alcohol abuse as a major cause of marital problems.
Of those who had been beaten by their spouse, 26 per cent related the incident to alcohol.
A recent paper suggests that it is quite likely that some of the renewed tribal fighting since the 1970s is alcohol-related.
For example, alcohol-related traffic crashes, especially those resulting in death or injury, often result in tribal fighting between the clan of the driver and the victim’s.
Most of the statistics are from up to 10 years ago.
Just imagine what the statistics is for from 2010 up till today.