Alcohol awareness Month
Alcohol has taken the lives of countless people and ruined the lives of many others. Our problem with Alcohol has been with us since biblical times.
We have discovered the solution to societies drinking problem, and even with this answer more and more people are gripped by it.
Matt Talbot, The Salvationists, Alcoholics Anonymous, and The Oxford Group, all have demonstrated and documented that turning to God is the solution to this horrible affliction.
Unfortunately knowing that God is the answer is not enough. Education and a planned program are required to have success.
The first step in the Education process is to get alcoholics to admit that they have a problem. Having them admit that they have a problem is no easy task. what’s needed
is a straight forward and clear-cut description of problem drinking characteristics, that when seen by them will help answer the question “Am I an Alcoholic?”
The second step introduces the person to a program such as Alcoholics anonymous (A.A.).
In this program the afflicted person, continues his education through studying the Book “Alcoholics Anonymous”, following the principles of the program and working with an individual who has reigned in the beast of Alcoholism.
Handing a problem drinker the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” often turns the problem drinker off. (This book however is priceless once the alcoholic knows he has a problem). There also exists a book titled
“To Drink or Not To Drink”.* This book is ideal to give to one who you suspect of having a drinking problem. It is straight forward and its purpose is to help the reader to determine if he/she has a problem. The book was written In 1928 and was enormously successful when initially published.
Unfortunately the book lost its appeal as it was associated with the Emmanuel movement. When the movement withered away so did the book.
This was unfortunate , as it was later discovered To be helpful to people in the 20 and 21st century. Unfortunately To get a copy of this book was just short of being impossible. Collectors copies were sold
at prices starting at $4,000 dollars.
To Drink or Not to Drink is now available in paperback at an affordable price making it available to anyone. “To Drink or Not to Drink” , can be the opening to a new life for the Alcoholic. Several other books have been made available to help the Alcoholic on his path to recovery. These true narratives give strength and hope to the person suffering from this terrible affliction .
Little known facts regarding alcohol
The alcoholic-beverage industry relies on heavy and addicted drinking for the
largest share of its profits. Hazardous drinking (5 or more drinks at one sitting)
accounts for more than half of the alcohol industry’s $155 billion market, and
more than 75% of the beer industry’s market.1
• Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs
combined.2 More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year—
about 4.65 a day—as a result of alcohol-related injuries.3
• Underage drinking spawns the future heavy and addicted drinking on which the
industry depends for most of its sales. People who begin drinking before age 15
are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their
lives compared with those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.4
• Nearly 14 million Americans – one in every 13 adults -- abuse alcohol or are
alcoholic.5 Fewer than 25% of those who need treatment get it in a given year.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable cause of
birth defects in the U.S., affecting as many as 40,000 babies per year and costing
upwards of $5.4 billion per year.6
• Some 75 percent of husbands or wives who abuse their spouses have been
drinking prior to or at the time of the abuse.
• Health risks of drinking include increased incidence of cancers of the liver,
esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box), as well as liver cirrhosis, immune
system problems, brain damage, and heart problems.
• To avoid health risks associated with alcohol, the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advise
those who drink to do so in moderation – defined as consuming no more than
one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
• Alcohol is implicated in the deaths of some 85,000 Americans every year, making
it the nation's third leading cause of preventable death after smoking and obesity.
• Drunk driving accounts for about 16,000 alcohol-related deaths per year, only
about 25% of all alcohol-related deaths. One-quarter of all emergency room
admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and
incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.
• Alcohol-related problems cost the U.S. economy an estimated $185 billion per
year in lost productivity and earnings due to alcohol-related illness, premature
death, and crime.
• Television ads for alcohol products outnumber “responsibility” messages by 32 to
one. From 2001 to 2003 the industry spent $2.5 billion on television product
advertising, and only $27 million on “responsibility” programs.7
• The number of distilled spirits ads on cable networks grew 5,687% between 2001
and 2004, from 645 to 37,328. Distilled spirits spending on cable network
advertising grew 3,392%, from $1.5 million to $53.6 million in that period. The
number of cable network alcohol ads that exceeded the industry’s 30% underage
audience threshold nearly doubled to 18,027 in 2004, up from 9,235 in 2001.8
• The alcoholic-beverage industry so far contributed nearly $4 million to federal
candidates and parties in the 2006 election cycle alone.9 Contributions from the
National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) account for nearly 40% of this
amount. In the 2005-2006 election cycle, the NBWA’s political action committee
(PAC) is the second largest of all PACs, next to the National Association of
Realtors.
• More than half (260) of the U.S. House of Representatives members seeking reelection
in the 2006 campaign cycle took contributions from the NBWA (nearly
20% of recipients took $10,000 or more).
April, 2006
References:
1 Rogers, J. & Greenfield, T. Beer drinking accounts for most of the hazardous alcohol consumption
reported in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 60(6): 732-739. 1999. Greenfield, T.
Consumption and risk patterns: Who buys and who pays? Paper presented at the Winter School US market.
Impact.26 (14/15): 7-8, July 15/August 1, 1996. Themba, M. in the Sun, Brisbane, Australia, July 1-4, 1996
(available from the Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, 1000 Hearst Ave., Suite 300,
Berkeley, CA 94709).
2 Grunbaum, J.A.; Kann, L.; Kinchen, S.A.; et al. Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States, 2001.
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 51(SS0 4): 1–62, 2002. (6) Young, S.E.; Corley, R.P.;
Stallings, M.C.; et al. Substance use, abuse and dependence in adolescence: Prevalence, symptom profiles
and correlates. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 68(3):309–322, 2002.
3 Magnitude of Alcohol-Related Mortality and Morbidity Among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24:
Changes from 1998 to 2001; Ralph Hingson, Timothy Heeren, Michael Winter, Henry Wechsler; Annual
Review of Public Health, April 2005, Vol. 26: pp. 259-279.
4 Grant, B.F., and Dawson, D.A. Age of onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM–IV alcohol
abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of
Substance Abuse 9:103–110, 1997.
5 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Strategic Plan 2001-2005.
6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) FASD Center for Excellence, 2003.
7 Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. “Alcohol Industry Responsibility Advertising on Television,
2001 to 2003.” (2005)
8 “Alcohol Advertising on Television, 2001-2004: The Move to Cable,” Center on Alcohol Marketing and
Youth (December, 2005).
9 OpenSecrets.org (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=N02)
*Original title ‘”The Common Sense of Drinking” by Richard Peabody 1928
http://tinyurl.com/6xpx7k4
(c) Tuchy Palmieri April 14th 2011 www.healing-habits.com
