According to a recent study women who drink alcohol during the first 6 weeks of pregnancy may be exposing their babies to permanent damage.
Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant in the first couple of weeks, so many of them are still drinking at this time, unknowingly exposing their unborn children to a slew of health and mental problems.
Find out more here.
According to a US Nurse’s Health Study women who drink excessively have a higher risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.
On the other hand moderate drinking has many positive effects on the health of women according to experts. Lowering the risk of heart attacks, heart disease and strokes are some of the benefits of moderate drinking for both males and females.
Read more about the benefits here.
As an alcohol server, it is important to know which sectors of our customers are most risk of binge drinking, so we can be prepared.
According to a new OECD report wealthy, middle-aged women are most at risk of drinking too much. This is interesting because these women don’t necessarily fit the profile of what we would imagine as “a drunk”.
Young people are also drinking at exceedingly higher levels.
Read more about the findings here.
An article on Abc.net.au recently discussed the benefits of drinking alcohol in moderation, something that we have always advocated. While it’s true that excessive alcohol consumption can be extremely detrimental to your health both in the short and long term, moderate and responsible consumption can be good for your health and wellbeing.
With a lot of people vilifying alcohol in the media these days because of a few who cannot control their drinking and go out and cause a menace, it is important that we know what the limits are and adhere to them, not only for our wellbeing but also for the safety of others.
So what level of regular drinking is agreed to be harmful to our health?
According to Australian guidelines, adults shouldn’t drink more than 2 standard drinks a day because this poses an “unacceptable” risk of lifetime harm. According to an alcohol researcher, Professor Chikritzhs from the University of WA, these are some of the effects those who abuse alcohol have to look forward to,
“For example, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, alcohol dependence and a range of cancers, including breast cancer, are all longer-term consequences of regular ongoing exposure to alcohol,” says Chikritzhs.
Sticking to fewer than two standard drinks a day means your risk of such nasties over your lifetime is below one in 100.
“One in 100 was selected because that’s the kind of benchmark by which we test water quality and other kinds of things. People often see that as an acceptable level of risk.”
It’s drinking levels below two standard drinks a day where any protective effect against heart disease, diabetes and strokes come in (for those who believe it exists).
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/02/20/3948645.htm
Some of the ways that alcohol is thought to impact the body in this positive way includes boosting levels of “good” fats in the blood, increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin and decreasing inflammation.
Although Chikritzhs says that if your do not drink, you do not need to start drinking just so that you will live longer. For example if you suffer from heart disease and you’re a non-drinker, starting to drink alcohol won’t help you cure your heart problems. Read more from Professor Chikritzhs http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/02/20/3948645.htm
Some of the Benefits
Research also shows that moderate consumption of alcohol can reduce the chance of having a stroke. For women who drank moderately research shows they are at a lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
Experts have long advocated the consumption of beer and wine in moderation to enhance the flow of blood through the arteries and blood vessels and help reduce chances of a heart attack. An alcohol drinker will therefore be able to handle physical activities without the risk of sudden death even if there are blockages in certain parts of the cardiovascular system. Amazingly alcohol also discourages the development of gallstones. This is because the presence of alcohol in a person’s body reduces the tendency of cholesterol to accumulate in the bile.
But just as beneficial as drinking in moderation can be, drinking in excess and binge drinking can have the adverse effect and be extremely dangerous to your health as well as place you in immediate danger. Stick to the rule of no more than 2 drinks a day and avoid drinking on a daily basis to protect your health and stay safe.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/04/3056724.htm?site=sydney
A police officer issues a breathalyser test to a passing motorist
Despite the best efforts of police, the number of drink drivers in NSW is still alarmingly high and authorities are concerned.
Dubbo police have expressed their disappointment over catching drivers with high levels of alcohol in their blood.
On an article on www.DailyLiberal.com.au the Orana Local Area Command duty officer, Inspector Bran Johnston was quoted as saying that during the 3 day operation dubbed “Drink Drive 2” thousands of drivers were issued breathalyser tests. 2829 drivers were subjected to the random breath tests and of those 2 drivers were charged.
One of the drivers charged was a 37 year old Dubbo woman who was charged with a mid-range PCA (prescribed contents of alcohol). She was caught in a roadside test late on Thursday.
The 2nd person charged on Thursday evening was a 26 year old man who was charged with driving while disqualified, driving an uninsured vehicle which was also unregistered. The man’s licence was suspended until 2035.
The following day a 26 year old Vic man was charged with a mid-range PCA offence.
The article went on to quote Inspector Johnston as saying,
“It’s disappointing people will still drink and drive,” Inspector Johnston said.
“But if they do we will continue to charge them,” he said.
Across the state, police charged nearly 200 people during the three-day operation targeting drink driving after carrying out more than 150,000 breath tests on drivers across the state.
During the operation 2 Wagga Wagga drivers were also apprehended. The Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley explained that the majority of drivers on NSW roads are doing the right thing but there are a few who refuse to heed the warnings of police. These perpetrators will be caught and will be forced to face the consequences.
The Assistant Commissioner Hartley raised an important point, it only takes one driver to drink too much and get behind the wheel a vehicle for innocent lives to be lost, one drink driver or driving offence is one too many.
The article on DailyLiberal.com.au goes on to state some of the offences committed which police detected during the operation,
About 3.30am on Sunday, a 17-year-old female learner driver was stopped on Trail Street at Wagga Wagga.
She was driving without her headlights on and had three teenage passengers who were not wearing seatbelts.
Police also stopped a 35-year-old man in Bourke Street, Turvey Park near Wagga Wagga.
The man allegedly stopped short of a random breath test site and turned his headlights off. He returned a breath analysis of 0.106.
His car was found to be unregistered.
At 5.20pm on Saturday police from Gundagai Highway Patrol detected an 18-year-old Punchbowl man driving north along the Hume Highway at Mundarlo at 144km/h.
The p-plater has been charged with driving in excess of 45km/h over the speed limit and had his licence suspended.
By now we all know that pregnant women should refrain from alcohol but can regular drinking be harmful to other women as well?
According to some experts having that glass of wine at the end of the day may not have much effect on you now but it could resurface in the form of a problem decades later.
According to researchers, the dramatic increase in the number of young women binge drinking is worrying because it is a daily occurrence which rises in prevalence as the woman ages.
According to Dan Lubman, a professor of addiction studies at Monash University, alcohol has a range of functions for us – including using it to celebrate, relax and unwind, dealing with stress and even helping us fall asleep but the problem comes in when this becomes a daily experience.
The following excerpt from a post on www.watoday.com.au explains:
In the decade to 2011, the proportion of women drinking daily at risky levels rose from 9 per cent to 13 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Foundation for Alcohol Research Education chief executive Michael Thorn said daily drinking tended to kick in when women hit their 30s. They started having a couple of glasses of wines a night instead of drinking themselves into oblivion once a week as they may have done in their early 20s.
Women aged 55 to 64 are the most likely to be daily drinkers, with 13 per cent of this age group drinking more than the recommended two standard drinks a day. One in 10 women aged 35 to 44 are daily drinkers, rising to 11.5 per cent of 45 to 54 year olds. More than 70 per cent of women cite wine as their favourite drink, according to the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research.
Experts warn that the bad effects of binge drinking are immediately apparent such as hangovers but the health risks of binge drinking every night may only show after 20 years.
According to the professor the general consensus is that you can drink every day without getting drunk and this is acceptable but there are “hidden health harms” associated with this kind of drinking that women should be aware of.
The professor said drinking on a daily basis can lead to diseases in women later in life such as osteoporosis, liver disease and cancer. Also surprisingly one fifth of breast cancers are caused by alcohol. Drinking daily may also increase women’s risk of anxiety and depression as they age.
Groups such as FARE are lobbying the federal government to have warning labels put on bottles of alcohol, such as wine which states that alcohol causes cancer, because this is not something that is widely known.
Moderate drinking has been recommended by researchers in the past but this should not be an every-day occurrence and binge drinking should be avoided altogether because of its immediate and long term effects on health and safety.
A new alcohol campaign aimed at educating young people about the risks associated with alcohol is gaining momentum since its launch recently.
The campaign which costs $300,000 was launched by the Mental Health Minister, Helen Morton outside the Royal Perth Hospital emergency department and is also being backed by Dr Fiona Wood, Perth based burns surgeon and former Australian of the Year.
The backing of Dr. Wood is significant because as a burns surgeon she has seen first-hand how devastating the effects of alcohol can be when it is abused and people make the wrong choices.
An article on News.com.au quoted Dr. Wood as saying,
“When I was asked to join and put my shoulder to the wheel for this (campaign) I said I see this, I see young lives changed so often,” she said.
“I think if only. If only someone has thought, ‘actually do we need to do this?’ If only someone had thought as parents let’s ring each other and stand as a united front. If only someone has thought to stand back from that barbecue. To stand back from that aerosol can.
“Then those lives that I see changed in an instant would be happy lives without scarring, that would have the opportunity to reach their potential.”
The Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey 2011 indicated that the number of students in Western Australia who are drinking at dangerous levels has risen in every age group.
The survey also indicated that more than 28 per cent of students were getting alcohol mostly from the parents and 26 per cent were getting from friends.
One of the reasons why medical professionals such as Dr Wood were so supportive of the campaign was because of the increasing number of young people who were showing up at Princess Margaret Hospital with injuries related to alcohol.
Dr Wood went on to explain:
“We see really quite more severe burns often … as a combination of being in a more hazardous environment with your capacity to protect yourself being impaired,” she said.
“I think young children choosing not to drink is something to be encouraged.
“And adding that understanding to people that if they do choose to drink it’s not just that drink, that night. It’s the flow on effects from that situation.”
The campaign is not only meant to educate young people, but their parents as well about the impacts of alcohol on these youths. Students and their parents need to understand the importance of making the right decisions when it comes to alcohol.
Helen Morton went on to explain about the campaign:
“I’m sure that the police will have their usual road blocks etc but the area that I’m most focused on is making sure that we give parents really good, factual information around the impact of alcohol on young people – young people’s developing brains and young people’s developing bodies,” she said.
As Morton explained, parents that are educated and provided with the necessary information will make better choices which will benefit their children and young people and hopefully reduce much of the harm being done by alcohol among this age group.
One of the best factors about alcohol and the reason why most people begin to consume it in the first place is that it is a social lubricant and a relaxant. Not only is this beneficial when we are trying to unwind and socialise with our friends, but new research shows it may also have its benefits in the workplace.
Although people often like to punt the negative effects of alcohol, new research has proven another positive benefit for drinking especially for young employees.
According to the study, alcohol can be used for a social advantage in the workplace by young employees and their organisations.
The study was conducted at the Victoria University of Wellington by Masters graduate Benjamin Walker and Dr Todd Bridgman.
The researchers examined the influences on young people’s drinking behaviour and habits in a white collar environment by conducting involved in-depth interviews with these people.
This excerpt from a post on www.Qt.com.au explains:
Mr Walker said he was surprised to discover the extent to which alcohol featured in the workplace.
“Alcohol is commonly used to facilitate team bonding and for presenting a friendly, informal image when networking with clients.
“It’s the way the organisation celebrates success, as well as the way new employees are inducted into the organisation.
“Laying on free alcohol has advantages for an organisation – by being seen as a ‘good mate’ for buying the drinks, the organisation builds up credit, with workers saying they felt compelled to ‘work harder’ during ordinary work time.”
Source: http://www.qt.com.au/news/alcohol-can-help-workplace-research/2037744/
According to Mr Walker many young employees felt that alcohol actually helped them with their career progression. In their opinion, alcohol is so central in our society that people can fell excluded if they aren’t a part of it, however because excessive drinking is discouraged, employees make sure they consume it in moderation.
The researchers also discovered that while young people were drinking moderately on a regular basis when it came to functions and celebrations they were more likely to consume alcohol excessively.
Dr Bridgman went on to explain the next steps for their research:
While most respondents said they deliberately exerted a degree of self-control over their alcohol intake at Friday night drinks to preserve their reputation, significant celebratory functions, such as mid-year or Christmas functions or team-level celebrations, were more likely to lead to heavy drinking.
Dr Bridgman said the study allowed researchers to gather valuable information about work-alcohol dynamics and start a conversation about the issues in an area that hasn’t received a lot of attention.
“The next step would be to canvass a wider variety of organisations to test whether our findings can be generalised across the professional services sector and to add further information to our picture of how young people are drinking.”
Source: http://www.qt.com.au/news/alcohol-can-help-workplace-research/2037744/
Research by Australian Catholic University researchers indicates that there is a strong link between alcohol use during early and mid-adolescence and violence just two years later.
According to an article on Ncah.com.au researchers, Professor Sheryl Hemphill and Dr.Kirsty Balog from the university’s school of psychology embarked on research into the longitudinal link between alcohol consumption and severe interpersonal violence among young people in Oz.
Researchers evaluated data from 849 Victorian adolescents and discovered that alcohol use directly linked to violence in these youth’s lives. The study involved following the youths over a five year period from year seven until year 11 at secondary school as part of the International Youth Development Study – it revealed that drinking in year seven and nine led to violence two years later.
www.ncah.com.au explains more:
The research also discovered a bidirectional relationship between heavy episodic drinking and violence, prompting researchers to consider further investigation of the role that social and family contexts have in influencing the relationship between alcohol use and violence.
In their report, the researchers state their findings suggest the risk processes begin in late childhood or very early adolescence, and they recommend targeting the common risk factors for alcohol and violence at this time.
Dr Balog, who is based in Melbourne, said while previous published research had found mixed results, their research showed alcohol consumption and violent behaviours impacted on the developmental periods of early to late adolescence.
“It’s such a problem in Australia really. Every news bulletin usually has alcohol and violence involved,” she said.
“Our team mission is to improve the lives of young people and to understand more about those problems that we see in society and how we can improve them.”
The main researcher, Dr Balog whose background is in psychological and psycho physiological research went on to explain that the study follows on from a survey which revealed that one in five Aussies aged 14 years and older drink at risky levels, placing themselves in danger of alcohol related diseases or injury throughout their lives. The survey Dr Balog was referring to was conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and was part of their National Drug Strategy Household Survey in 2011. The same survey also revealed that about two in five Aussies aged 14 years and older had a pattern of alcohol consumption that placed them at risk of alcohol related injury from a single drinking occasion at least once in the preceding year.
The article goes on to explain:
A Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Senior Proven Researcher Team at the School of Psychology, Dr Balog completed her psychology undergraduate studies at Swinburne University and her PhD at the University of Western Australia.
Dr Balog has worked on projects focusing on substance use and mental health and her upcoming research projects will investigate problem online and antisocial behaviours among youth, such as online gambling and sexting.
This research provides yet another reason why teenagers under the age of 18 should not be allowed to drink. Although it may be a practice rife in Australian teen culture, drinking can be detrimental to the development of teens not only physically and emotionally but mentally as well.
Women are always being told not to drink when they are pregnant and particularly in Australia there has been somewhat of a drive to educate women about the danger alcohol can pose to a developing foetus.
That is why it seems strange that a British researcher now claims that there is no evidence to support abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy.
According to an article on Irishtimes.com research published in the British Medical Journal’s BMJ Open online publication moderate drinking by pregnant women does not harm the development of unborn babies. This was deduced from research which evaluated around 7000 children up to the age 10. Moderate drinking for pregnant women is defined as no more than 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week.
The article on Irishtimes.com goes on to explain:
The children were drawn from a 14,000-strong group born in or around Bristol between 1992 and 1993, who have been examined frequently since birth as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
The majority of their mothers – 70 per cent — followed regular medical advice and had drunk no alcohol during pregnancy. The remaining women drank between one and two glasses a week for some and three to seven for others. A glass is defined as a British pub measure of spirits, half a pint of lager or cider, or a standard wine glass of wine.
The ability was tested of 7,000 10-year-olds to walk on a beam and stand on one leg, with eyes open and closed.
Curiously, the women who had drunk during and after their pregnancies had the best performing children.
Low to moderate alcohol consumption did not seem to interfere with a child’s ability to balance, say researchers. However, income plays a role: better static balance is linked to wealth and education.
This study is just one on the subject, there are countless previous studies which prove that alcohol consumption, particularly excessive consumption can be seriously dangerous for the unborn, growing baby, with previous researchers claiming brain development can be heavily impacted by even a few drinks. Also it is hard to say how much alcohol is acceptable or how much it takes before the foetus is negatively affected.
A recent article on News.com.au presented a very different view of pregnancy drinking. According to the article if children have memory impairment and struggle to follow instructions they may actually have an undiagnosed foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
The article suggested that younger mothers in particular seem to placing their babies at risk by binge drinking during pregnancy. More education and awareness needs to be created around the situation, especially to mothers aged 18-29 and school girls as well.
The article also states that young women that binge drink are in fact producing a new generation of school children that have problems such as learning disabilities, lack of judgement and social skills, poor attention spans and impulsive behaviour, all of which can be detrimental to their education.
Read the full story at: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/foetal-alcohol-syndrome-linked-to-binge-drinking-by-mums/story-e6frfkp9-1226609211264#ixzz2PaI0xwXv
So with 2 conflicting opinions from 2 seemingly qualified sources it may be difficult to figure out whether or not to drink while pregnant. Some would prefer to err on the side of caution and abstain completely when they are pregnant whereas others would prefer to take a chance. If you agree with the British research and do decide that drinking during pregnancy is acceptable remember it is never acceptable to binge drink but especially not when you are pregnant. Only drink in moderation and never more than 3-7 glasses of alcohol a week.