The Christmas season, in particular New Year’s Eve, is a time when most people celebrate. And many do so by drinking alcohol.

There is nothing wrong with having a drink or two. What is wrong is that there are people who drink excessively and, by doing so, become a danger to themselves and to others, particularly on the roads.

Over the past days, we have had appeals for moderate drinking. The government thought it fit to hold a press conference in a bid to create more awareness of the harm that could be caused by excessive drinking – in the short-term where accidents are concerned and in the long-term with regard to the gradual physical deterioration that is caused by too much heavy drinking over a long period of time. We have all read about the health consequences faced by heavy drinkers.

Organisations such as Sedqa have also made public appeals, especially to young people, not to refrain from drinking, but to keep alcohol strictly within the limits. In an article published in this newspaper last Wednesday, Manuel Mangani, Sedqa’s service manager, alcohol services, wrote that “we can go out and celebrate, but keep in mind that we don’t need even to be merry to have a happy Christmas”.

Mr Mangani acknowledges that “there is no reason why we should not celebrate Christmas with a drink or two”. And he is right. Moderation, not abstinence, is the word.

What is most important, however, is that we should always remember to be extremely aware of the consequences of mixing drinking and driving. The two just do not go together.

Many take risks. Many still drive after a heavy bout of drinking, thinking that it could not happen to them. But, one day, it can happen, and that moment – if one survives – will change one’s life.

Because drinking and driving is not something that could have an effect on the person behaving so irresponsibly. The passengers in the same car or the pedestrians who happen to be in the street could also become the victims of drinking and driving. And imagine what it is to live with the remorse that heavy drinking followed by driving led to an accident that caused death or disability.

There is another side to the story. Over the past years we have had the so-called “leader concept” being mentioned over and over again in the media. The leader is the person among a group of friends or relatives who chooses not to drink because he will be driving the others home. This concept works on a rotation basis so that everyone gets his or her fair share of drinking.

While, at face value, this concept, if implemented, does reduce risks of having drunk drivers on the road, at the same time it is encouraging the rest of the group under this leader’s care to drink to their heart’s content. So long as the leader gets me home, then it’s ok to drink heavily, such a concept seems to imply.

Yet, this should not be the case. Drinking alcohol should always be within limits, whatever one is going to do afterwards. What’s the fun in not remembering what one did the night before, and being told how embarrassing one’s behaviour was? Why do people drink to such an extent that they cannot control their emotions, something that could lead to irrational behaviour that would otherwise be avoided? Why do something under the influence of alcohol and live to regret it later?

We repeat: moderation, not abstinence, is the word.