Alcohol–the New Fashion
Is alcohol the latest fashion trend among people, or is it really the way to have a good time?
Either way, more and more people can’t have fun without it, and this is disturbing. Are we really that bored that good music, nice company, exciting trip, new club, etc. is not enough anymore? Alcohol has become a synonym of joy.
And, to support the trend, manufacturers start producing more alcohol. In Australia,”Between 2006–07 and 2007–08, the total quantity of pure alcohol available for consumption increased by 1.4% from 168.1 million to 170.5 million litres of alcohol,” showed the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
If we go back to 2005 and 2006, statistics are not looking good. Having in mind that more alcohol is being produced in recent years, we can only conclude that more is being consumed now.
- Alcohol is the second largest cause of drug-related deaths and hospitalisations in Australia (after tobacco) (AIHW, 2005a).
- Alcohol is the main cause of deaths on Australian roads. In 1998, over 2,000 deaths of the total 7,000 deaths of persons under 65 years, were related to alcohol (Ridolfo and Stevenson, 1998).
Let’s look at some key points from the Alcohol Statistics in Scotland for 2009:
- In 2007/08 in Scotland, there were 42,430 alcohol related discharges from general hospitals–an increase of nearly 7% from the previous year (729 per 100,000 population in 2006/07).
- There was an increase of nearly 17% in alcohol related age standardised discharge rates from Scottish general hospitals over the last five years.
- In 2007/08 there were 6,817 discharges for alcoholic liver disease from general acute hospitals in Scotland.
- In 2007/08 there were 4,646 discharges for toxic effect of alcohol (alcohol poisoning) from general acute hospitals in Scotland.
Ireland is not falling behind–in fact, it is one of the leaders in drinking in Europe, according to the National Documentation Centre on Drug Use:
“While alcohol consumption decreased from a peak of 14.3 litres of pure alcohol per adult in 2001 to 13.3 in 2006, Ireland remains among the top alcohol-consuming countries in Europe, after Luxembourg and Hungary. In 2003, the average consumption per adult in the enlarged European Union was 10.2 litres, compared to 13.4 litres in Ireland. “
Well, you don’t have to be part of these stats regardless of your nationality, sex or age. Next time you book a vacation in Australia, try to experience the beauty of this place on a sober mind. You are guaranteed to have more memories this way.
