05-04-2023, 10:44 AM
I saw this article this morning https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/john-macdo...GQVYO4RPU/.
A "zero" limit is impractical because of the presence of alcohol in unexpected places - eg medications like cough mixture.
On the other hand the author is thinking in the right direction. If only everyone would follow his example to simply choose not to drink when they intend to drive home. Our society has such a dependence on alcohol that it's really out of hand. Enforcement is only necessary because, like in so many situations, people simply won't do the right thing for the right reason.
It is several years now since the studies showing that there is no safe limit of alcohol intake first came out, but everyone still drinks. They could stop for purely health reasons. Then they would have more money to spend on things that they might enjoy more anyway, and without the alcohol in their lives would potentially have a longer and healthier life expectancy to continue that enjoyment.
Yet we still get articles like this one https://abc7.com/guinness-beer-stout-wha.../12969357/ being re-hashed in our local press. The actual article was 2017 which might be just before the "no safe limit" studies came out, but I saw it recently in one of our local news sites - they should know better. Why is it so acceptable to continue promoting something so harmful on so many levels? Alcohol should be going the way of cigarettes. Acknowledge and recognise the harm and push society away from the destruction it causes.
A "zero" limit is impractical because of the presence of alcohol in unexpected places - eg medications like cough mixture.
On the other hand the author is thinking in the right direction. If only everyone would follow his example to simply choose not to drink when they intend to drive home. Our society has such a dependence on alcohol that it's really out of hand. Enforcement is only necessary because, like in so many situations, people simply won't do the right thing for the right reason.
It is several years now since the studies showing that there is no safe limit of alcohol intake first came out, but everyone still drinks. They could stop for purely health reasons. Then they would have more money to spend on things that they might enjoy more anyway, and without the alcohol in their lives would potentially have a longer and healthier life expectancy to continue that enjoyment.
Yet we still get articles like this one https://abc7.com/guinness-beer-stout-wha.../12969357/ being re-hashed in our local press. The actual article was 2017 which might be just before the "no safe limit" studies came out, but I saw it recently in one of our local news sites - they should know better. Why is it so acceptable to continue promoting something so harmful on so many levels? Alcohol should be going the way of cigarettes. Acknowledge and recognise the harm and push society away from the destruction it causes.