From the 19th to the 26th of November is ‘Alcohol Awareness Week’, a chance to perhaps reflect on our use of one of the most widespread and accessible drugs in Anguilla. Yes, alcohol is a drug and quite a powerful one. It changes our behaviour and lowers inhibitions which, in a way, are part of its attraction as a social lubricant – but sometimes these behaviour changes can be negative. Alcohol’s role in violent behaviour is well documented as a person’s ability to deal with provocation is undermined while under the influence. This is reflected in the high statistics of physical assault and domestic violence attributed to alcohol use.
Alcohol is a ‘depressant drug’ which means it slows down the function of the central nervous system – slowing down processes in the brain and slowing down breathing and the heart rate. This is why it is not advisable to drink and drive as it causes reaction times to become longer. It will take longer for someone to put his/her foot on the brakes – making stopping distances longer. Drinking whilst driving affects judgement.
If someone drinks a lot of alcohol in a short space of time and, in effect, overdoses on alcohol, it can affect the heart and can lead to coma or even death in the most extreme cases.
In January of this year, new evidence found the direct link between alcohol and cancer. It was found that ‘alcohol causes cancer by scrambling DNA in cells, eventually leading to mutations. Just one pint of lager or a large glass of wine a day significantly increases the risk of mouth, throat, oesophageal, breast and bowel cancers’ (The Guardian).
It’s not just cancer. Alcohol has been linked to numerous other types of diseases – liver cirrhosis and Type 2 Diabetes to mention just two. Alcoholic Cirrhosis of the liver used to be just the domain of the middle-aged man, now we are starting to see it in men in their 20’s and 30’s as people start to drink more hazardously at a younger age.
Country to country, patterns of alcohol use vary but generally more people are starting to abstain from the drug. Perhaps 15-25% of populations compared to perhaps 10% in the past. While this might be a promising trend for the general health of any nation, it would also appear that while alcohol dependency levels appear to have stayed the same, levels of ‘binge’ drinking (5 or more drinks at one time for men and 4 or more for women) have risen. The recent STEPS survey results in Anguilla also seem to echo this trend with relatively high lifetime and long-term abstention rates, countered by a propensity for binge drinking. The survey showed that one in four male respondents reported more than 6 drinks on any occasion in the past 30 days. The data also suggested that for people who do drink, around one in twenty needed a first drink in the morning to get going – and failed to do what was normally expected of them, and experienced family or partner problems due to alcohol.
If persons reach the stage where they are physically dependent on alcohol – where if they don’t drink they go into physical withdrawal with symptoms such as ‘the shakes’, ‘the sweats’ or many more serious seizures – they can sometimes feel that they can’t live without alcohol. However, they do have options if they wish to stop. Stopping all alcohol use abruptly is not a good option, and can be quite dangerous for the person. It can lead to seizures or, in severe cases, even death. For persons in this situation it would be much safer to reduce their alcohol use gradually, a bit like weening themselves off medication. In many cases, this is difficult to do so there is also the option of discussing with their doctor about having an inpatient detox which would usually take a week where they would be given medication to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal.
Following a 20-year study in the UK, on the effects of alcohol on health, the Chief Medical Officer in the UK changed the drinking guidelines. They are as follows:
‘On regular drinking
New weekly guideline (this applies to people who drink regularly or frequently i.e. most weeks).
The Chief Medical Officer’s guideline for both men and women is that:
• You are safest not to drink regularly more than 14 units per week to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level.
• If you do drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread this evenly over 3 days or more. If you have one or two heavy drinking sessions, you increase your risk of death from long term illnesses and from accidents and injuries.
• The risk of developing a range of illnesses (including, for example, cancers of the mouth, throat and breast) increases with any amount you drink on a regular basis.
• If you wish to cut down the amount you’re drinking, a good way to help achieve this is to have several drink-free days each week.’
(As a guide, a bottle of beer contains 1 ½ units as does an average size glass of wine or a small measure of liquor.)
As individuals there are various strategies we can use to minimise the harm of alcohol if we want to:
• Avoid liquor or spirit drinking.
• Drink water in between drinks to keep hydrated and to slow down and reduce the intake of alcohol. Your liver needs an hour to break down one unit of alcohol.
• Try to have at least 3-4 days of non-drinking during the week. Your liver will thank you for it.
• Don’t binge drink.
Iain Bibby
Department of Education
