Cannabis separates the spirits. Legalization, yes or no? The overarching – and perfectly valid – question is how dangerous is the intoxicant?
Alcohol, on the other hand, unites. Many people like to have passionate debates in a convivial atmosphere with friends or colleagues, a glass of wine or a bottle of beer in hand and enough supplies in the fridge. Alcohol is just part of it. The question of how dangerous alcohol is is hardly ever discussed in such groups.
People come together to celebrate, relax or reward each other. And possibly also to discuss the dangers of other drugs while they themselves consume an addictive substance that is poisonous to our body.
Even small amounts of alcohol are harmful
“Alcohol is a cell poison,” says Christina Rummel. The qualified sociologist is the managing director of the German Center for Addiction Questions (DHS). Actually, every sip is bad for the body, so Rummel. In order to give the child a name, limit values ​​were set at some point, which the majority of Germans regularly exceed.
“The limit is 12 grams of alcohol per day for women and 24 grams for men,” says Rummel. This difference results from the different proportion of water in the body of the two sexes. Females have a smaller volume of water in which the alcohol can disperse. However, 24 grams of alcohol is not much. This amount corresponds to about one glass of sparkling wine. And after the second? “From then on it becomes dangerous,” says Christina Rummel.
The current “Alcohol Atlas Germany” makes it clear how dangerous regular and excessive alcohol consumption is. Alcohol is involved in the development of over 200 diseases. These include various types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver disease. Alcohol consumption alone is responsible for the latter. According to DHS are round 62,000 deaths a year in Germany alone attributed to alcohol consumption.
In addition to these dangers for every single drinker, Christina Rummel also talks about the sometimes devastating consequences of “passive drinking”, as she calls it in analogy to passive smoking. This includes, for example, alcohol consumption during pregnancy, which can lead to serious organ damage in the unborn child. And for older children, drunken parents are not a pretty sight, and the risk of violent arguments within the family also increases with the alcohol level.
And then there is the financial aspect, because drinking alcohol consumes enormous sums of money. They can be broken down into direct costs for medical treatment, hospital stays and medication, and indirect costs, such as those caused by incapacity to work or early retirement. “The direct and indirect costs amount to around 57 billion a year,” says Rummel. money we all pay.
Alcohol as a gateway drug
Exactly how harmful alcohol is to an individual depends on various factors. Not only the gender plays a role, also the weight, the type of diet or the intake of medication can accelerate the destructive effect. As is so often the case, overweight smokers with pre-existing conditions have a particularly bad hand. Age is also important: the earlier you drink your first beer, the greater the risk of permanent damage and addiction.
Therefore, educating young people is of course particularly important, according to Rummel. But even adults are often not really aware of the dangers. “Alcohol is too deeply rooted in our society.”
Alcohol consumption as a social norm
“Just under four percent of the German population doesn’t drink alcohol,” says Christina Rummel. Anyone who would rather drink water than wine at a party has to justify themselves. Sick, pregnant or just spoilsport? Drinking is a social norm in many societies. Social norms describe what is commonly thought, felt and expected, explains the Social psychologist Hans-Peter Erb in a YouTube video. These norms would be supported by the majority of a society. That’s why people who don’t drink alcohol are often just as uncomfortable as vegans.
According to Erb, the psychological function of such social norms is to simplify life. We learn certain behaviors that make life easier for us in a society and integrate us socially. Drinking alcohol is one of them.
High-ranking politicians traveling as ambassadors for breweries or winemakers, and advertisements suggesting that drinking beer could save the rainforest do their best to support the norm of alcohol consumption.
Normal does not equal good
“Even when it comes to preventive measures, you run into a wall,” says Christina Rummel about the unsuccessful attempts to intercept the health consequences of drinking alcohol with targeted measures. The calls for preventive measures such as a tax increase or higher prices for alcoholic beverages in Germany died down, as did the proposals to restrict advertising or to label alcohol with warnings, as is the case on cigarette packs.
Not only regular, moderate drinking is considered normal. Those who zigzag their way home at the weekend are also in good company. Normal is not automatically good. Normality in alcohol consumption can legitimize a pathological state, so that the individual does not even realize that he has a problem. “Many people seek help far too late,” says Rummel.
So it remains that the responsibility for the drinking behavior lies with each individual. Rummel thinks that adults in particular, who may no longer drink themselves unconscious but regularly drink to excess, should question themselves more often.
Christina Rummel doesn’t want to clear anyone’s beer out of the fridge, but the German Head Office for Addiction Questions recommends not exceeding the daily maximum alcohol limit and also having at least two non-alcoholic days per week. In doing so, she tries to orientate herself towards a level that the average German drinker can cope with. And she offers that help to anyone who needs help.
Maybe people just need some kind of high? “Yes,” says Rummel, “that’s probably the case.” The desire for intoxication is also normal. But everyone should at least be aware of the dangers of alcohol.
