Alcoholism! An American Pastime
Is alcoholism a major problem in our country? This recent study shows how many men and women drink alcohol on a random given day. While the majority of individuals surveyed claim to have not had any at all, the percentage that excessively consumes alcohol is surprisingly high. The possibility of this being a daily activity for them puts them at great risk for alcohol-related health issues. However, I don’t believe that what the article qualifies as “binge drinking” is an excessive amount (only four drinks for men and three drinks for women). Perhaps if this amount of alcohol was consumed by a single person every day, it would be an issue, but on any given day it doesn’t seem like a problem.So what exactly is considered drinking too much? There are certainly health risks to drinking in excess, but that won’t stop people from doing it. People may do this as an escape from stress or a bad day. I believe that everyone should stop worrying about our country consuming too much alcohol. Sure, there is a generous percentage of people that drink more than what is recommended in the federal guidelines, but this really comes down to freedom of choice. They should be aware of the health risks.
-Mark Abrams
Grens, K. (2013). Study says too many americans still drink too much. Reuters, Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/study-says-too-many-americans-still-drink-too-000116086.html
I very much disagree with the idea of "binge drinking" being 5 drinks in any given day. That comment has no credibility. The people responsible for the article need to provide a lot more information than that in order to achieve a credible statement. What drinks were they talking about? Beers, liquor, wine? It makes a difference, and it was very amateur of the writer to leave us wondering on that. Most liquors and wine have more % of alcohol in them than beer, so drinking a beer, and drinking a glass of wine or liquor is very different.
ReplyDeleteI understand that accidents concerning drunk drivers happen more frequently than anyone wants, and that alone is a good reason for our society to be concerned. Although, I really have a problem with someone writing that i'm a binge drinker if I have 5 drinks in one day. I drink on average 1-2 nights a week and when I do drink it is beer. I have a few drinks on Mondays' which is bowling night, and I may have a couple on a weekend night on occasion. Now, according to the author if I have 5 beers say on my bowling night that qualifies me as a binge drinker....I don't think so.
Also the article says that the federal guidelines recommend two drinks per day for men and one for women. Last time I checked, as long as we are within the stated legal blood/alcohol level then we are within the guidelines. There are many factors that go into any one individual's blood/alcohol level: weight, body fat, etc. So take me for example, I am not a small person. I'm about 5' 10" 235 lbs, and I know that it takes me drinking four 12oz beers within a 2-3 hr period to get me at .08 which is the legal limit in Ohio as in many other states. I know that because I did a study on it for another class. If someone 5' 5" 115 lbs had the same, then yea they would probably be way over the limit.
If you want to be a spokesman for alcohol abuse and drunk driving I am all for that; but before you come forward with statements such as the binge drinking, you need to have a lot more information and evidence that support your thesis. Or at least adhere to the fact that your information has many variables rather than making it seem like concrete data.
I agree completely, and as you pointed out, there is another contributing factor to how much alcohol an individual can consume. I forgot to mention that body weight and size are important in determining this, as well as tolerance to alcohol. It is a person's responsibility to figure out their limits and understand how much they're able to have before it becomes too much.
ReplyDeleteI also find the amount of four drinks for men and 3 for women to be an unreasonable estimate for binge drinking. Like it was stated earlier, every individual is different in their capacities for tolerance to alcohol. So the fact that the government has a standard that is supposed to be recognized by everyone seems a little outlandish. I feel like the resoponsibility should fall on the individual to assess the amount he or she is consuming, and when they should stop and conisder that anymore would be looked at as binge drinking.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is completely the individual's responsibility to know their limits and be a responsible drinker. While I also agree that what constitutes alcoholism according to this article is B.S., if a person is a responsible alcoholic that's their decision. If you're being responsible and taking care of your duties as a person(family, work, etc.) and you don't feel it's a problem then drink all you want. I feel the same about drug usage. While I don't condone it, if you're not causing other people/the public harm, I don't see the problem with it. It just seems to me that people focus too much on intoxicants and their effects. In my opinion, there is no point in worrying because if a person is going to do it, they're going to do it - regardless of statistics, PSA's, or laws.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sort of post that a lot of Americans need to see. I think that there is way too much interference from the outside world (whether or not that is government, or even employers telling their employees how they should live outside of work. Let people be. If they want to drink thirty beers, let them, as long as their not hurting others why is that anyone's business what people are doing with their daily lives? With that being said would I like to see people slow down on drinking of course I would. Morally, I don't like to see people getting drunk because of my faith in Christ. However, I do not demonize alcohol as the study that you researched does. Binge drinking is 5 beers? seriously? That is a ploy to get people to stop drinking alcohol, which I am against. Alcohol is a good thing that people turn into a bad thing with their own stupidity. Beer is meant to be enjoyed and if someone wants to have five, please do, and I won't even call you a binge drinker.
ReplyDeleteI've never understood what binge drinking is. If we assume that it's what college students on the weekend then that's fine I guess but I've seen people do the same things on a Wednesday night. Drinking isn't good for your health, excessive drinking that is. We all get that. But is anyone drinking for their health? No. I don't think anyone should have any say over what binge drinking or too much drinking is. People learn their limits and the ones that aren't so smart tend to go over their limits and that's when we have a problem, generally speaking.
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