If You Think Alcohol Consumption is Not Harmful, Think Again! (Part 2)

Abstract

Ironically, when family and friends announce that one of their female members or a partnered
couple is pregnant, the first thing that happens is that someone in a privileged position proposes
that each member of the group fills a glass with champagne, or some fine wine that has been
tabled, and lifts the glass high, with well-intentioned joyous praise for the happy couple. This
scenario is in essence a commentary on a deeply embedded sociocultural tradition that is difficult to extirpate, as we shall see, even in the name of good health. Indeed, it is paradoxical that
we toast the happy couple and their future offspring to good health, when what we nonchalantly
pour into our glasses are the very alcoholic beverages which are among the most deleterious
threats to a women’s health. Another problem is that such toasting-rituals extend far beyond
the confines of wedding celebrations to a whole host of social events that have traditionally
served to provide excuses for ‘ritualistic drinking’. For example, consider the fact that sporting
competitions of many kinds, especially Elite Motorsport Car Competitions, end up with the
successful drivers on the winners’ platform spraying and drenching each other with expensive
Champagne. By reiterating these celebratory rituals, Motorsport Heroes in competitions across
the globe implicitly legitimate such drinking behaviour, thereby encouraging their spectators
to swallow as much liquor as they can as a vicarious way of celebrating these events. It is clear
that we live in a society which laughs off educational advice about the problems alcohol causes
not only to the drinkers themselves, but also to innocent adults and children who are infelicitously and all too often fatally impacted by someone else’s drunk driving.