We all have to die of something, but when our lifestyle is accelerating the process that leads to our death, then perhaps we should all stop and think about the consequences.
Last week, European Commissioner John Dalli was in Malta to take part in a breakfast meeting organised by The Sense Group. And his speech should go a long way into making us look within and analyse one aspect of our way of life.
What he said was that the World Health Organisation estimates that five per cent of deaths in Malta are linked to alcohol consumption.
They could be a direct result of excessive alcohol, such as when people drink too much, decide to drive, and then are unable to control their vehicle, which leads to a traffic accident that might cost them their life, and possibly that of others too.
They could be an indirect result of many years of drinking too much, which leads to several complications that ultimately will cause death. Maybe the official cause of death was cancer or heart/liver failure, but at the end of the day this was only a result of too much alcohol in the past.
It is not drinking alcohol that is bad. Very often, one hears doctors and specialists say that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for you.
It is drinking alcohol in excessive doses that is bad. It is having too much in too little time that is bad (binge drinking). It is becoming dependent on alcohol and getting drunk every day that is bad. It is going out on a Saturday night with the sole intention of drinking heavily, and many times making a fool of yourself, that is bad.
Like everything else in life, there should be moderation in all that we do, and drinking alcohol is a typical example. There’s nothing wrong in having a glass of wine during dinner, or a bottle of beer with friends in a bar, of a tot of whisky during a social occasion.
It is when there is an uncontrollable urge to drink, or when people are “themselves” only when they have downed several tots, or when they cannot realise the dangers of the effects of too much alcohol that it becomes a real problem – for them and for others, and both in the short and long term. Let us not forget that the behaviour of drunk people is very different from the times when they are sober.
Other statistics mentioned by Mr Dalli give an even clearer indication of the problems associated with too much drinking. He said that 25 per cent of the deaths in Europe among people aged 15 to 29 is related to alcohol. He said that 23 million Europeans are dependent on alcohol and that 50,000 deaths each year in Europe are thought to be linked to alcohol.
These are numbers that should make us stop and think. There are many young people who believe that they are behaving truly like adults if they drink and are seen to be drinking. It is not the case. One can have fun without needing to drink excessively. There are many older people who are being literally consumed by alcohol – they are spending a good chunk of their money on alcohol, which in turn is eating away at their body.
Today, there are many ways to get help. But the first thing that needs to be done is for the people involved to admit that they have a problem. Unless they do so, it is hard to get them to try to resolve it.