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RESPONSIBLE DRINKING
www.spotongmag.co.za
THE DANGERS OF
BINGE DRINKING
M
ention binge drinking and one’s thoughts usually turn to college students partying, but research shows that many adults also regularly drink enough alcohol in one sitting to be considered binging. Various sources have different definitions for binge drinking. England’s National Health Service defines it as “drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk”. Closer to home, the World Health Organisation ranks South Africa 59th highest of 195 countries for heavy episodic drinking among those who drink – this means at least 60 grams of more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. According to evidence on binge drinking in the National Income Dynamics Study (2014 – 2015) published by The South African Medical Journal, one in three South Africans reported drinking alcohol, while one in seven reported binge drinking on an average day on which alcohol was consumed.
The study defined binge drinking as an individual who reported consumption of more than five standard drinks on an average drinking day. Of drinkers, 43 % reported binge drinking (48.2% males, 32.4% females). The prevalence of selfreported binge drinking was highest among males and females aged 25 - 34 years. Dangerous alcohol consumption varies from occasional hazardous drinking to daily heavy drinking. Harmful alcohol consumption is associated with health and safety problems including cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis and various types of cancer; risky behaviour which could lead to the transmission of infectious diseases like cancer; and lead to road accidents and violence. According to the World Health Organisation’s 2011 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, each year 320 000 people between the age of 15 and 29 die from alcohol-related causes, representing 9% of all deaths in that age group.
“For many young people, especially students, intoxication usually is the main goal of drinking,” says Pamela Nkuna, Smart Drinking & CSR Manager Africa at SAB. One’s body can only process one unit of alcohol per hour. “With intoxication comes other dangers including lack of judgment about one’s personal safety, health concerns and even alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal.” “It is important that people drink in moderation. Pace yourself carefully – no more than one drink per hour. With the introduction of no- and lowalcohol beers – such as Castle Free and Hansa Golden Crisp – SAB is giving consumers more choice and smarter drinking options to pace oneself in between beers. Have something to eat. Drinking excessively, to get drunk, is very dangerous.” As a general rule for responsible drinking, one should aim to consume no more than one unit of alcohol per
