ISSUE 3 : Mar/Apr - 1977 - Australian Defence Force Journal

48 DEFENCE FORCE JOURNALwe drink at the rate of one standard measuredrink per hour we allow the body to eliminateEthanol as fast as we absorb it.Increasing the intake beyond our capacityto eliminate causes an excess in the bloodalcohol level. This excess must circulate inthe bloodstream and thus through the brainuntil it is eliminated.These measurements are related to the'average' man. In practice the effect of Ethanolvaries from person to person and even fromplace to place and time to time. But the factremains that the figures for the average mangive us a yardstick by which to talk intelligentlyabout the effects. Tolerance to thisdrug, food in the stomach, atmosphere, bodyweight and other facts notwithstanding, eachof us has a body capacity to eliminate Ethanol(repeat for the average lOg per hour) and itis this ability which has to cope with our intake.Ethanol in Our SocietyWestern man uses Ethanol as a social drug.It is readily available and socially acceptable.It appears at most social gatherings, it is foundin most homes, and it is used in the centralsacramental act of Western Religion.It is one of our oldest drugs and we use itto relieve our tensions and frustrations, tolubricate our social intercourse, to promoteour relaxation, enhance our food and quenchour thirst. When it achieves these objects itprobably does us and our society much good.On the other hand it is perhaps unfortunatelytoo much associated with the process of reachingmaturity. Doing it, in fact overdoing it,is equated with masculinity. But sooner orlater we come up against the facts.Take these for starters—— Hospital admissions — 1 in every 5 beds.— Mental institutions — 1 in every 4 admissions.— Prison admissions — J of all violentcrime.— Road deaths — 1 in every 2.— Marriage disruption — 2 in every 5divorces and judicial separations.— Suicides — 1 in 3.— Industry — largest single cause of lostmanhours and accidents.— Health — the nation's No. 1 healthproblem. 2Those of us in the helping/healing professionshave known for years the importance ofrecognising such facts. At last the scientificanalysis of Ethanol and its physical and socialeffects is bringing the true picture into sharperdefinition. The result is probably worse thanwe feared.Consumption FiguresAustralian intake of Ethanol has been risingrapidly for decades. In the period betweenthe outbreak of the Second World War andnow. we have increased our intake by threetimes. If this tendency continues we can forgetabout continental defence or any other kind ofdefence. Newspaper sensationalism aside (andwe have enough of that) the fact is that theway we are using Ethanol makes it a very realcandidate for the position of public enemyNo. 1. We can tut, tut, about Pot and narcoticsand the decline of young Australia fromnow till kingdom come, but if we refuse toface the problem of Ethanol we may be wastingour time.Normal Use and OveruseAwareness of the Ethanol problem mustraise questions — "What is safe use?", "Howmuch is too much?" There are two basicguidelines:• For the Alcoholic. Alcoholism is achronic relapsing illness which has manycauses and occurs in specially susceptiblepeople. For such any use of Ethanol isdangerous.cOther Users. The following have beenestablished by the World Health Organisation:More than 8()g of Ethanol dailv — Riskof Strife.More than 120g of Ethanol daily — Certaintissue damage. 3Approx. 10% of drinkers are hazardoususers. Normal use for most drinkers liesbetween nil use to 80g of Ethanol or 8standard measure drinks on a regularbasis.The Industrial Problem"The Employer who says that he has noalcoholism problem does not know his employees."4"Australian Industry loses one billion dollarsa year from alcohol."' Apart from humani-