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You’re sitting for some quiet television time in the early evening. Suddenly before your eyes a child is being thrown violently against a wardrobe by an alcohol-fuelled man. Your young daughter begins to whimper, and a cold chill sweeps over you.

Welcome to the controversial, hard-hitting $3 million alcohol awareness campaign by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC), which has got New Zealanders sitting up and taking notice. It’s a campaign designed to help people make the connection between drunkenness and harm and take personal responsibility for their drinking choices.
 
The truth is that shock tactics may be what is needed to jolt New Zealanders out of their complacent attitudes towards alcohol. A glass of wine with dinner; a few bottles of beer with the boys after a rugby match; a daily tipple or two at the bach. For many New Zealanders this is their moderate, safe and enjoyable relationship with alcohol. But there are many others, ranging in age from young teens through to old age, living with an unhealthy and potentially deadly relationship with the bottle. In any given week around 25% of drinking New Zealanders will end up drunk and possibly violent.

As the ads say “it’s not the drinking, it’s how we’re drinking”, and around 25% of New Zealanders are “binge” drinking every week. Defining exactly what constitutes a “binge” (in terms of number of drinks consumed) is difficult as it varies from person to person, and can even vary for one person from one day to the next. According to ALAC, binging is about people drinking to a point of drunkenness and intoxication. It is when they say and do things they wouldn’t normally, and when alcohol puts themselves or others at risk of harm.
  
When we think of problem drinkers, usually we think of raucous, out-of-control teenagers or the down at heel. But this picture of alcohol abuse is distorted and incorrect. Alcohol doesn’t discriminate based on age, sex, affluence or education.... anyone can become a binge drinker, an alcoholic, a drunk driver or a dead driver.
When it comes to women and alcohol, drinking patterns are changing. More women are drinking and 10% of women are drinking every day.
 
Female bodies don’t handle alcohol well, and a woman drinking the same amount as her male partner will get drunk faster and cause more damage to her body than he will to his. Heavy female drinkers usually develop liver cirrhosis much faster than their male peers, and there’s evidence that as little as two glasses of alcohol a day will increase the risk of breast cancer. Heavy alcohol consumption also causes bone loss and increased risk of osteoporosis. Despite the fact that there is NO safe limit for alcohol consumption during pregnancy too many women still choose to drink at this time, and risk damaging their unborn child.

Many of the problems of our teen culture are a consequence of binge drinking. Alcohol is directly linked with our high rate of unplanned teen pregnancy (the second highest in the world) and sexually transmitted disease.

The news on alcohol is not all bad! In moderation, alcohol can reduce your risk of heart disease; lower blood pressure; and even reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The emphasis here is on the word moderation... and remember “it’s not the drinking, it’s how we’re drinking that’s the problem”.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF BINGE OR HEAVY DRINKING?
  • Liver damage and cirrhosis
  • Pancreatitis
  • Gastritis (stomach problems)
  • High blood pressure
  • Stroke
  • Cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, breast and liver
  • Foetal alcohol syndrome in offspring of woman who drink heavily during pregnancy
  • Increased risk of road death and injury, drowning, suicide and violence
  • In teen and childhood drinkers, detrimental effects on physical, intellectual and emotional development.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE A LOW-RISK LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION?
  • For men: Drink no more than 21 standard drinks in a week, and no more than 6 standard drinks in one sitting.
  • For women: Drink no more than 14 standard drinks in one week, and no more than 4 standard drinks in one sitting.
Based on ALAC recommendations

What constitutes a standard drink?
Beer (4% alcohol)
Wine (11% alcohol)
Sherry/Liquers (18% alcohol)
Spirits (40% alcohol)
250mls
90mls
60mls
25mls

It takes one hour for your liver to break down one standard drink of alcohol.  

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