Problem Drinkers

Filipinos belong to top 20 happiest people on the planet. As PH becomes one of the happiest places in the world so it was hypothesized in the tag “It’s more fun in the Philippines!”. Happiness in simple things is what characterized Pinoys that this merriment is associated in many occasions with drinking sprees, until the drunk of course in a very bad shape, drops and calls it a night.

Heavy drinking not only poses a very serious health problem but, far worse, a tragedy in the lives of thousands. From skid marks traced on streets, bloodbaths and wreckages lead investigators to determine further in vehicular accidents. It was heartbreaking but a victim in traffic accidents dared the speed in high spirits due to liquor intakes. While others die, some give new born babies instead because through drinking, teen-agers have become untimely mothers.

Handling the out-of-control alcoholic or our version of the “maoy” or the violent type of a drinker is another problem. But this unacceptable social behavior can actually be handled. Unfortunately, some “maoys” land in police stations if not in the canals. A drunkard is a person in trouble who deserves help. For all we know, the entire family is in trouble too. I drink liquor but not until I graduated college, that was a sort of discipline and commitment until one day I realized I am in bad shape and witness the devastation brought about by too much drinking alcohol. Today, as young as high school students already indulged into this bad habit.

         I have found in my bookstore hopping a book sold only at Php 75.00, a more than a thousand pages Complete Book of Etiquette by Amy Vanderbilt, very cheap but a priceless treasure. Vanderbilt states in that book about the four kinds of drinkers: abstainers (those who never touch alcohol; recovering alcoholics are among these); social drinkers, who drink occasionally for fun, but who do not need alcohol to get along and who have no dependency on the drug; problem drinkers, who cannot drink without becoming belligerent; and alcoholics, who drink too much because they are addicted to the drug and feel extreme physi­cal or mental discomfort without it.

Problem drinkers should be referred to psychological counselling.  However, I wonder if we have already matured to welcome the words of a counsellor to drink liquor in moderation. To drink is to live another day and nothing is sweeter than having some bottles of cold beer after a day’s labor. However, alcohol is a liquid drug which has destructive effects like any other addictive drugs. To have a hangover is to hum the song of Max Surban in the tune of “Di na gyud ko mo usab..kausa na lang”.

Filipinos while being considered as a cheerful race need to think about “intelligent drinking”. Here are some thoughts by Vanderbilt: Drinking in moderation does the body little permanent harm, but, when taken continuously in large doses, alcohol may prove disastrous to the heart or other major organs; Even mild social drinking dulls the reflexes; in any given year many thousands of deaths from traffic accidents are caused by heavy drinkers and also by people who have been drinking only moderately; Just as people aren't alike, alcohol affects people differently. The effects of the drug on people depends on how much they weigh, how fast they imbibe their drinks, the amount of food eaten with their drinks, the general atmosphere in which they are drinking, and their expectations and feelings about the particular group they are with at that particular time.

       Here are some more: Alcohol taken in moderate amounts is said to have benefits for certain people, but no one is anything but harmed by too much; There are other ways to help one feel relaxed or good or happy, the main reason young people begin to drink is that they thought they are the "life of the party"; It is impossible to perform a very concentrated activity, such as take an exam or figure out an exacting problem or use one's athletic skills, if one has been drinking. To drink is not to be in top shape; Young women who look forward to having babies should realize that alcohol in their systems may seriously harm the baby they carry.

       Lastly, Anyone who cares about danger of brain damage or damage to one's liver does not drink except in moderation. When alcohol enters the bloodstream, it is immediately carried to the brain. Beer is 4 to 6 per cent alcohol, wine is 12 to 20 per cent, and most hard liquor is 40 to 50 per cent. The rest of beer, wine, and hard liquor is mostly water. Being able to "hold one's liquor" is not a sign of valor and strength, but a sign of tolerance for the drug, slowly acquired through constant use; dependency is often the next step. It is essential that every young per­son understand the legal aspects of drinking even before he has reached the legal drinking age. At any rate, we should be happy to be the happiest people on Earth, even without the thought on drinking too much alcohol.