Christmas is the season to be jolly, but these happy times can also bring risks to your health. That is because alcohol consumption increases during this time of the year.
“Alcohol consumption is widespread during Christmas, noted Dr. Diana A. Payawal of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology during the “Malusog na Katawan Ngayong Kapaskuhan” (Proper Alcohol Intake, Nutrition and Diet, and Medication Compliance) health forum hosted by the Philippine College of Physicians.
This was evident, she said, as the period of January to December 2020 saw the sale of alcohol rise to “millions of cases.”
Dr. Payawal also cited a study on Holiday Drinking Facts which indicated that 96 percent went to work with a hangover after a holiday party or knew someone who did. The same study said 60 percent think that alcohol makes a party fun; 57 percent have seen people drive under the influence of alcohol; and 40 percent say they, their friends, and their family member use the holidays as an excuse to drink.
Alarming
Dr. Payawal shared that during the holidays, two to three times more people die in alcohol-related crashes.
“Forty percent of traffic fatalities involve a driver who is impaired by alcohol,” she said, adding that 37 percent occurred during Christmas holiday, 58 percent on New Year’s holiday, and 31 percent during the rest of the year.
She also said that a global status report on alcohol and health by the World Health Organization in 2014 showed that alcohol drinking had become a problem.
“In Asia we are considered as one of the heaviest drinkers,” she said.
She cited that the Philippines placed third in the world when it comes to rum consumption (liters per person) and number one in Asia. The country is the top gin consumer (liters per person) in the world and 7th in Asia when it comes to beer consumption.
The Philippines also placed second in Southeast Asia when it comes to alcohol consumption.
“The prevalent rate of alcohol consumption is estimated at five million Filipino drinkers in a population of 90 million,” she said.
Starting young
Dr. Payawal said that Filipinos start drinking alcohol at a very young.
In a survey, she said, it recorded that 41.4 percent of males aged 16 to 17 saw an advertisement of alcohol and 34.5 percent were female.
In the same survey, it showed that 22.6 percent of females (aged 16 to17) and 36.6 percent of males currently drink alcohol.
Meanwhile, in a study on the percentage of alcohol consumption among students aged 13 to 15 years old “70 percent of students drank alcohol before they reached the age of 14,” a situation Dr. Payawal found very alarming.
Health risks of heavy drinkers
Dr. Payawal warned that consuming large amounts of alcohol has a detrimental effect on your health like cancer (7.6 percent in men, 13.5 percent in women), unintentional injuries (25.4 percent men, 12.7 percent women) and intentional injuries (25.4 percent men, 12.7 percent women). Likewise, 7.2 percent of years of life lost prematurely are attributed to alcohol globally.
“It can also cause liver diseases like Cirrhosis of the liver,” Dr. Payawal said.
Dr. Payawal stressed that alcohol is not a normal consumer product and should have regulations because of its addictive nature. She added that the drinking culture increases the harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
“There is no minimized limit, no safe limits of alcohol consumption,” she said. “You should always think before your drink.”