Anybody remember by "blissful" post of last April? I remembered the drunken lout of my last post when I ran in to a group of drunken youths last night and started to question how much alcohol do we really drink in this country. My word, is everyone celebrating the great life in TnT or drowning their sorrows in booze?
According to The Economist magazine, Luxembourg heads the pack at 15.5 litres annual consumption per person. My data was only up to 2003 when we were 4.2 litres already, and as consumption went up in the good years and declined in the bad years, we have to be way up in the top 100 for sure. (Mexico was 89th at 4.2 in the report). So, unless I get it confirmed, I am being conservative with the 4.2 litres.
Resource:
Before you erroneously begin to think that 4.2 litres sound too small a figure, they meant pure alcohol. Because different alcohol beverages have different quantities of alcohol per volume, they based it on pure alcohol to be more representative. For example, a bottle of rum (750ml) has 40% alcohol by volume, so if we considered only this then it means one person drinks 14 bottles of rum per annum ((4.2/0.4))/0.75) or 1.17 bottles per month. Make sense? So let's check again - beers are average 5% alcohol so that will be 305.45 bottles/year or 0.836/day and as whiskey has the same potency as rum, that figure will be the same.
I hit a hurdle however in trying to figure out how many people live in Trinidad. Common or acceptable number has always been 1.3 million (EarthTrends agree at 1.306m) but the CIA World Factbook says only 1.0 million. Which to use for this exercise was a problem so I decided that the CIA didn't know anything... (Take a look at our net migration rate. Topic to discuss for sure)
Resource:
Just kidding, I did use some of their data. The Economist's data is based on population aged 15 years and over so using 75% of 1.3 million, ours will be 975,000. Using the average consumption above then we can imbibe the following based on my convoluted arithmetic:
If were are only beer drinkers, that'll be 297,813,750 beers = 12,408,906 cases per year = 238,633 cases per week. Graphical representation? At 275ml per bottle, that's 3,603 fuel tankers of beer... And if we were only rum or whiskey drinkers, it'll be 1,140,750 bottles = 21,938 bottles per week. That's 38 tankers...
I spoke to a relatively small bar owner about his numbers (he opens for 6 days max) and he moves approximately 50 cases of beer, 36 bottles of scotch and about 60 bottles of rum. If we use this as the average for weighting purposes then the numbers look more reasonable. That is, about 1/3 of our alcohol consumption is beers (approx. 99.3 million bottles) and 2/3 in the harder stuff (approx. 760,500 bottles).
Remember that all of the above is average for the population so when you take the teetolers and the binge drinkers out of the equation, there are a lot of people out there who drink quite a bit of the stuff - and regularly too. Just yesterday (overcast and rainy) I saw 5 maxi-taxis at one bar at 11:00am. There's one I pass on my way to work that's open before 6:00am and customers are already there. Now that's dedication to the task!
SYDNEY - An Australian man convicted of his seventh drink-driving charge was spending about A$1,000 a week on beer -- enough to buy more than 2,500 small bottles a month, a newspaper said Tuesday.
The heartbroken construction worker began drowning his sorrows after breaking up with his partner five years ago, the Northern Territory News said, quoting his defense lawyer as telling a court in Australia's remote, tropical north.
The magistrate declined to jail the father of four, Michael Leary, noting he had quit drinking since his latest arrest, but he banned Leary from buying or even holding a beer for 12 months.
The magistrate also poked fun at Leary's favorite beer, Melbourne Bitter, in a part of the country where drinkers can be as loyal to beer brands as they are to football teams.
"(That is) poor judgment on two counts there -- drinking that much and drinking Melbourne Bitter," magistrate Vince Luppino was quoted as saying.
Hacía tiempo que llevaba viviendo con una pena muy grande mi corazón, y es que nunca antes me habían echado de un bar como lo que me sucedió en aquella Herriko Taberna. Entre con mucha sed y pedí una copa de Osborne, y entonces el camarero me miró detenidamente, y me dio la contestación a algo en Euskera.
Yo le dije que a mí me hablara en español, y entonces todos los del bar se levantaron, me cogieron en volandas y me lanzaron, atravesando la vidriera, a la sucia calle. Y todo por no saber Euskera.
Así que decidí aprender ese idioma para no volver a Me apunte a ese sitio que llaman euskaltegi, empezando desde el nivel más básico, para sacarme la titulación, de pegármela en la frente y entrar en esa herriko taberna para demostrarles que son un vasco más, .
Entonces me di cuenta de la complejidad que entraña el idioma que quería aprender. A mí me sonaba a música celestial el izan, el ukan, y lo único que conseguía memorizar perfectamente eran los tacos, ya que al ver mis ejercicios la profesora los soltaba por doquier.
Era el día del examen para pasar al siguiente nivel y estaba desesperado, siendo consciente de que iba a tener un fracaso rotundo. Por eso, antes de presentarme en el aula me ventile cinco botellas de patxaran Olatz, y en el examen no era consciente de lo que hacía, pero cuando fui a ver los resultados, me sorprendí al encontrar que la máxima calificación me la habían otorgado a mí.
Me di cuenta del gran poderío que me otorgaba ese pacharan vasco, y comprendí que no era necesario estudiar Euskera para presentarme a los exámenes, así que fui a todas las convocatorias de los exámenes, ventilándome anteriormente garrafones de ese pacharan, y siendo la mejor nota en todos los casos. No entendía cómo, pero con el pacharan me convertía en un euskerahablante sin tener ni idea del idioma.
Ya sólo me quedaba el examen final para conseguir la titulación, y estaba orgulloso de mí mismo, cuando me di cuenta de que tendría un examen oral. Ese era un problema, porque podían descubrir mi truco y repudiarme sin dudarlo, de tal manera que todo mi esfuerzo en tragar hubiera sido en vano.
Por lo tanto, tome una determinación, que fue llenar de alcohol el bidón de agua donde bebían los examinadores. De esa manera, cuando entré en el aula ellos estaban más borrachos que yo.
Tengo que decir que suspendí ese examen. Lo suspendí porque se empeñaron en hacerme hablar en arameo, y lógicamente el pacharán no me permitía hablar esos idiomas, aunque en mi juventud yo era un gran conocedor de ese idioma, y gracias a mí se acuñó esa frase de "cuando los burros hablen en arameo".
Pero no será tanto el problema de suspender, porque ellos cometieron un gran error al pasar mi nota al expediente, y hace poco me llegó el título a casa. Ya sé que tenía que haberles denunciado por ir borrachos al trabajo, pero tampoco iba a protestar por el hecho de que ya tenía lo que quería y sin haberme estrujado el coco lo más mínimo.
Ahora me gustaría aprender ruso, y soy consciente de que tendré que emplear todas mis reservas de vodka para obtener el KGB.
Unas 1.500 personas mueren al año y 50.000 resultan heridas en accidentes de tráfico relacionados con el consumo de alcohol, y el 10% de los siniestros más graves están provocados por el consumo de drogas ilegales. Con el objetivo de reducir estas cifras se presentó ayer en el Hospital de Parapléjicos de Toledo la campaña de tráfico Alcohol y otras drogas incompatibles con la conducción. Lo que tienes que saber, coincidiendo con la época veraniega, que es en la que más accidentes ocurren, y con el fin de transmitir el siguiente mensaje: "la única tasa realmente segura es 0,0".
Además, el joven Mario, paciente del hospital que lleva diez años en una silla de ruedas, ofreció su testimonio de como "un segundo te cambia la vida", y la suya, desde que sufrió un accidente de moto es "buena, pero bastante dura". "No probéis el alcohol si vais a conducir", advirtió Mario, quien ha relatado como un sábado por la noche salió a cenar con los amigos y pensaba que con una o dos copas no iba a pasar nada, sin embargo, en una curva sencilla su moto se salió de la carretera y chocó contra un árbol.
Este es uno de los 50.000 siniestros anuales provocados por la suma de conducción y alcohol, pues se calcula que de cada 100 accidentes mortales, entre 30 y 50 están relacionados con el consumo de alcohol, y detrás de estas cifras, ha dicho el ministro de Sanidad, "hay un drama" que te acompaña para toda la vida.
Soria también recordó que beber una o dos cervezas multiplica por dos el riesgo de sufrir un accidente, pero beber cinco cervezas lo multiplica por cinco y más de tres, por diez, y añadió que no es cierto el mito de que hacer ejercicio, tomar café, mascar chicle o consumir cocaína reduzca la tasa de alcoholemia.
El consumo de alcohol y otras drogas psicoactivas altera de forma grave la capacidad de conducir y aumenta el riesgo de accidente, ya que provoca la sensación de falsa seguridad, una conducción más agresiva, peor percepción de las señales, poca capacidad de concentración, mayor tiempo de reacción, decisiones erróneas ante un peligro y somnolencia.
ACPI is proud to welcome Vanessa Van Petten to talk about Teen Issues.
Hi Vanessa,
I am very concerned about cyberbullying and have read so many recent news summaries about how bullying has changed, can you talk about how bullying has changed so I can talk to my kids about it?
Thank you, Terry
The Internet has changed the playground-bully into the in-my-bedroom-bully. It’s true, the line between school life and home life is gone. Kids can no longer leave the social pressures, cliques, bullies, snoodiness and the other highlights of adolescence at school.
Now the social scene follows students home, into their bedrooms, and can be turned on at any moment. No, in fact it is never turned off, because you never know who is going to post something mean on your wall next. Here, I want to give a brief overview of how bullying has changed for the net-generation so parents are more equipped to handle it and help their kids deal with it. Today, bullying/cyberbullying is:
1) Creative
Options for a bully circa 1980:
-steal lunch money
-call someone names/say mean things to their face
-call someone names/say mean things behind their back
-punch them in the face/kick them/pinch them/ physically assault them
-punch them in the face/kick them/pinch them/ physically assault their friend or usually younger, relative.
-write a nasty note and pass it around class, leave it on their locker
-stick your tongue out at them
Options for a bully today: (just from the news stories I found on bullying alone, I could think of many more that have not been reported on)
“” Everything from above, plus
-write a nasty note or rumor on their facebook wall for everyone to see
-put up embarrassing pictures of the person on your school’s social network
-digitally impose the person’s head onto a naked body and pass it around like it is real
-submit their name/picture to a site like “Hot or Not” for strangers to rate how ugly the person is
-create a website dedicated to how much you hate that person
-bate them into writing a mean/weird IM chat and post it all over MySpace or the school.
-Create a fake user, pretend to be hot, flirt with the person and then break up with them/tell them you hate them/ tell them they are too ugly for you.
-Send mean text messages
-harass their avatars or video game players on gaming websites
It is incredibly sad, but the Internet has brought thousands of ways to bully someone without ever being caught. Parents need to know that their child could be bullied in a number of ways online, through phones and even through video games.
2) Instant
Before, if you got in a fight at school, or found out you were not invited to a party, you were able to come home and vent about to mom/ dad/ sister/ brother, get a snack and cool off. Now, if you are mad at someone, you can instantly send a text message to your social networking profile to post a mean comment. Now there is no ‘off’ time and the second something happens, everyone knows about it because they all get alerts or texts from automated news feeds or plugged-in friends. Teens are checking these services CONSTANTLY, so before what took a few days to spread, now can take a few minutes.
3) Permanent
Some things, like postings on your wall, video, a text message or email, you can delete. Other things, such as photos or social network announcements can be up there forever or until the writer removes them.
Also, even if they post a superimposed picture for five minutes on a school network before it is removed, others can easily download it and repost it or pass it around by email undetected—and as with all gossip, even the most factless based rumors hurt a reputation.
4) Accessible
The whole point of many social networks, texting and websites is to be connected to people you would not normally be connected to. I always say that ‘privacy settings’ should really be called ‘lace curtain settings’ because you never know who is going to get into your profile the back way (MySpace Pedophiles). Before, nerds, jocks or drama queens went to different parties and traveled in different circles. Now, the ‘great connector that is the Internet makes everyone’s personal information and attention accessible on the same sites.
5) Cool
The more popular kids have always made fun of the ‘uncool’kids, but now bullying is easily made ‘fun’ for everyone. At Juicy Campus, a website all about spreading gossip and rumors, or Hot or Not.com, users can vote on the attractiveness of submitted pictures and make students who would not normally ‘bully’ or gossip attracted to the idea. Hot or Not makes it cool and fun to judge people based on their appearence and is very popular with my generation.
Even Gangs are now using Social Networking Sites to recruit and organize activities…seriously.
6) Buffered
It is really hard to walk up to someone and say to them: “You are a fat slut.” It is much easier to write that on someone’s Facebook wall—which someone did. Technology provides a way for students to be mean even more ‘behind the back.’ Many times, you can even post pictures, videos or send messages anonymously! This has changed the face of bullying because it allows people to be mean and not face the consequences—they can’t get punched back, they can hide it from parents and teachers by posting anonymously and do not have to say it to people, they can simply type a comment in a moment of passion when they are alone in their room!
It is really important to talk about these new aspects of bullying. I bring these issues up with all of the kids I mentor and teen groups I speak to. Make sure to discuss with them the ramifications of letting a friend take a sexy picture, disabling the Facebook wall or what would happen if they got in a fight with a friend.
Also give them resources if they know another student is being bullied. With the recent school shootings, it is important for kids to have a place to anonymously report bullying of any kind. They can do this at: ancomm.com.
I hope that this post has been relevant and informative, be sure to send it to any families or teens who you think might need it.
Stay informed,
Vanessa
A few years ago, I went with a team on a church mission trip to Mexico to help build casitas (little houses) for an impoverished family.
Ranging in ages from babies to adults, the family consisted of about 14 people (15 if you counted a petite, pregnant 14-year-old who still looked very much like a baby herself) all living in one cluttered room with a dirt floor. They had no heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer. Their makeshift kitchen was a tiny, rundown stove in a dilapidated shed next to the house and their bathroom was an outhouse with a hole in the ground.
Compared to the one room in which they'd all been living, the casita we built them, which was probably about the size of an average contemporary master bedroom, was a mansion.
I had never been on a mission trip before and had no idea what to expect. The squalor of what I saw affected me deeply. Seeing and playing with the little unkempt children on the street who had no shoes and watching their eyes light up whenever we sang songs with them about Jesus or gave them candy or some small trinket touched me in a way I hadn't expected.
The family we ministered to was very poor and yet, on our last day, they cooked us a wonderful meal of tortillas and beans that I will never forget not only because it tasted so good but because they'd pooled together their last bit of money to buy the food that fed us. Yet they were so happy, so grateful to share the little with us they had. It made me cry.
It also made me realize how truly blessed I was and how I had taken so much for granted.
Through their simple act of unselfishness, that family taught me something. And I realized that even though I had originally gone to give them something, they had inadvertently ended up giving me something.
The minister became the ministered.
That scenario happened again the other day when I was asked to sing at a Bible study for a group of incarcerated women housed in a lock-up facility for inmates who, as part of their probation sentence, are undergoing rehabilitation for drug and alcohol-related crimes.
As with the Mexico trip, I had never ministered to anyone in jail or prison before and had no idea what to expect. My ministry is still very new, only a few months old, and God is slowly but steadily opening doors for me through which I can minister. As a former police reporter, I had been to the police station on many occasions and even made a few trips to the jail to gather information for stories but I'd never been any further than the front desk.
Now I was on the inside of what pretty much amounted to a jail, actually standing before a small group of women who, unlike myself, couldn't simply walk out the door when the Bible study was over.
I had originally been asked to sing one song at the start of the study time. After I sang, I could leave if I wanted or I could stay for the rest of the Bible study. There was a Christian open mike jam happening at a church I wanted to get to, so my plan was to sing my song, maybe speak a little word of encouragement to the ladies the Lord had given me for them and leave. I was going to do this new thing called ministry and make a quiet exit.
Funny how the Holy Spirit works. The minute I stepped into that room and began to set up to sing, I started to get the sense that God had other plans.
I ended up singing three songs, all the songs I had, and as I sang, each time I locked eyes with those ladies (there were about 12 of them all seated on chairs and sofas around me in an semi-circle) and saw how the Spirit of God was speaking to them through the music...how their eyes welled with tears and the naked pain, anguish and despair they felt began to surface on their faces, it made me start to cry and I had to catch myself. In an effort to keep my composure, I tried to look straight ahead, close my eyes or look at the ceiling but it was too late. The tears of those women had seared my heart, leaving an indelible impression.
When I looked at them, I saw myself. The pain they felt was my pain. I recognized their teary countenances because my face had once carried that same teary expression.
Their brokenness was familiar because it was also mine.
I got through the songs, although my voice broke a couple of times.
After the songs, I decided to stay for the rest of the Bible study. During the discussion, one of the girls, whom I later found out never cries, broke down and began to sob uncontrollably. Another one of the women went over to her and warmly put her arms around her. Before she'd started crying, the girl had been talking about how she'd known the Lord as a child but had strayed away when she got older. She talked of letting the light within her burn out and how, before she repented, she'd thought God had abandoned her and didn't love her. It might as well have been me talking.
As the discussion continued, it seemed the overall concern for these women, most of whom were new Christians, was wrapping their minds around the fact that God loved them in spite of themselves and that even though they weren't living this new Christian existence perfectly, God was willing to forgive. But I keep messing up, they would all say. And God still forgives me??? He still loves me???
The answer, of course, was 'yes.'
During my singing and even after when we were all seated around the table talking, as my eyes scanned the faces of each woman, some older and quite a few young, I didn't see criminals. I didn't see alcoholics. I didn't see drug addicts. I only saw broken, hurting, wounded women who wanted desperately to hear and know there was a God who loved them unconditionally...that despite whatever they'd done to end up in that lock-up and despite how others may see them or how they'd been branded, they were worth something in the sight of God.
I saw them through the eyes of the Spirit and I realized that I was just like them. Even though I'd never been in an actual prison, before I turned to Jesus, I had been in prison all right. Only my bars had been invisible. My heart went out to these ladies because we shared a kinship: pain, anguish, guilt, shame. All the brokenness that registered on their faces had been (and still is) my brokenness.
Psalm 34:18-"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit."
Psalm 51:17-"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise."
Those women taught me something. Never again will I simply look at a person behind bars or living on the street, smugly dismiss them and think, "Well, they're just a drunk or a dopehead that needs to get their act together!"
There but for the grace of God, that person could have been me. And it could STILL become me if I'm not careful. Pride is a deadly, tricky thing. I don't think anyone wakes up in the morning and consciously decides to become an addict.
The devil is a liar.
He lied to that young girl who didn't believe she was any good or that God loved her just as he'd lied to me in the same way. But praise God:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” ~Isaiah 61:1-3
I hear God saying, "I got you out of prison, now you go and do for others what I did for you."
I saw a lot of unmined diamonds in that lock-up; I intend to go back and help them discover their luster.
Before I left, I made a point to go up to that girl who'd broken down earlier. I felt led to tell her God wasn't looking for her to be perfect, He just wants her to seek Him.
As I spoke the words, I got the feeling that message was also meant for me.
“Llénate...pero de emoción” es un programa de prevención que promociona alternativas al consumo excesivo de alcohol en fiestas de los diferentes municipios del País Vasco.
El encargado de promover esta nueva iniciativa es el Gobierno Vasco, que instalará carpas provistas de información y material adicional en los recintos festivos de aquí a principios del mes de septiembre.
En las carpas se realizaran controles de alcoholemia cuantitativos (medición exacta del nivel de alcoholemia en aire expirado). Y se adjuntarán materiales informativos con pautas de reducción de riesgos para futuros consumos como alcoholímetros cualitativos y regletas informativas.
Del mismo modo, los interesados podrán encontrarse con diferentes actividades como Jumping: Actividad de deporte extremo consistente en el salto desde una grúa de 75 metros. El saltador se lanza desde una cesta o cabina por una grúa telescópica estando anclado a través de una cuerda por los tobillos y cintura con un arnés especial. Solamente podrán participar en la actividad personas mayores de 18 años o mayores de 16 años con autorización.
Antes del salto se realizará una prueba cualitativa de alcoholemia (únicamente dice si es positiva o negativa, no mide la cantidad exacta en aire expirado), y únicamente en el caso de resultado negativo (menos de 0,25 mg/litro en aire expirado) se podrá realizar el salto.
Regletas y alcoholímetros:
Se repartirán en la carpa a las personas que lo solicitan. Son alcoholímetros de usar y tirar, y las regletas dan información aproximada de la cantidad de alcohol en sangre según sexo, edad y peso.
La DGT y el Ministerio de Sanidad presentan en el Hospital de Parapléjicos de Toledo una campaña de concienciación para prevenir este tipo de siniestros.
Cada año 1.500 personas mueren en las carreteras españolas en accidentes de tráfico relacionados con el consumo de alcohol y otras drogas. De esta cifra, 1.000 son jóvenes. Además, el alcohol está presente en más del 30% de los accidentes de circulación mortales y las demás drogas en el 10% de los siniestros de gravedad. Estos datos deberían hacer reflexionar a los conductores de la importancia vital de no tomar «una sola gota de alcohol» antes de ponerse al volante. Con este mensaje, la Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) y el Ministerio de Sanidad presentaron ayer en Toledo una campaña informativa para prevenir los siniestros provocados por el consumo de alcohol y otras drogas.
El lugar elegido fue el Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, adonde cada año ingresan centenares de personas tras haber sufrido un accidente de circulación; en concreto, el 40% de sus ingresos anuales. «La única tasa de alcohol segura es cero cero». Así resumió el director general de la DGT, Pere Navarro, el contenido de esta campaña de concienciación que demuestra que «el alcohol y el volante son incompatibles». «La elección del Hospital de Parapléjicos para presentar esta campaña está motivada por lo caras que son las cifras, los dramas personales y el sufrimiento que conllevan los accidentes», añadió Navarro, quien reconoció que «una visita a las entrañas de este centro estimula todavía más la lucha contra los accidentes de circulación».
Joven, 25 años
Según datos de la DGT, los accidentes de tráfico son la segunda causa de siniestralidad y mortalidad evitable y la primera de muerte entre los adolescentes españoles. Y es que el perfil de quien sufre un accidente en la carretera es el de una persona joven, con menos de 25 años.
En la misma línea argumental, el ministro de Sanidad, Bernat Soria, subrayó que «el consumo de una cerveza multiplica el riesgo de accidente y el consumo de tres quintuplica las posibilidades. Por eso, cero alcohol. No se puede conducir con alcohol. Y cero drogas. No se puede conducir con drogas», añadió Soria, quien se mostró esperanzado con este tipo de campañas porque «la sociedad está captando el mensaje de los riesgos de conducir bebido». La dimensión de este problema se refleja en la Encuesta Escolar sobre Drogas 2006-2007, que señala que el 20% de los jóvenes de entre 14 y 18 años reconocen que han viajado alguna vez en vehículos conducidos por personas bajo los efectos del alcohol.
Además, a los 18 años, el 14,9% ha conducido un vehículo a motor después de haber bebido.
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