"Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes"
Oscar Wilde
A flippant remark, which often draws a laugh - particularly given the originator, but a remark nevertheless that has a serious side. In a November 2007 blog I wrote about alcohol and particularly binge drinking amongst the younger generation. It is a subject about which I feel strongly, not because I am some sort of puritanical reformer who is teetotal, far from it in fact, but because I see the damage it does - and will continue to do unless we accept that it is a problem to be resolved.
My attention was re-drawn to the issue last week, following the death of a 22 year old from cirrhosis of the liver, after a life of drinking heavily from the age of 13. I was particularly alarmed at the comments of the boy's Mother who blamed "widely available cheap alcohol". She would perhaps have found another answer closer to home if she had paused to look in a mirror. Surely she must have had some idea that her son was drinking to excess from an early age. Early enough to act.
Statistics in the UK indicate that from 2002/3 to 2007/8, alcohol related admissions to hospital increased by 70%. That is a worrying number no matter which way you look at it. But despite the health warnings, the advertising curbs on when alcohol related advertisements can be shown, there is a culture that "booze is cool". The pop stars, and even sports stars do it ... so for the impressionable younger generation "it must be okay".
We need more public comments from these younger stars who set the standards today, to echo the admissions of some of the older ones. People for example like Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna Everage, who in a recent interview said that in his early career he was drinking to "flamboyant excess". He stopped drinking 39 years ago, after realising that his blackouts were not funny. He says that he has had every possible alcoholic experience - all of which were disastrous. But his career ever since has been hugely successful.
Or the popular Scots-born US TV Chat Show host Craig Ferguson, who said it all on one of his shows. If you have 10 minutes to spare - watch it on YouTube. And maybe pass it on.
Alcohol is not the only addiction, obviously. The list seems endless, but we are watching young lives thrown away needlessly because appropriate support does not appear to be available. In Britain, it is being suggested that doctors are being encouraged to ask children from the age of 10 upwards how much alcohol they drink. Perhaps they should do the same with smoking - although heaven knows what sort of answers they will get in either case.
Some of the nicest, funniest, down to earth people in the world manage to go through life without falling into that deep pit. But the cleverest are those who, having fallen down a black hole, managed to climb out in time and create a new life for themselves. They are the ones who enjoy the love and support of their family and friends, and if that support and understanding is not given, or they get ridiculed by their friends for being "different" then their future is bleak.
For Gary Reinbach, dead at 22, I wonder who was providing his support.
Pete Seeger's song "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" has the lines "When Will We Ever Learn?" When indeed.
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