ALCOHOL – IS COST THE ONLY PRICE?
Three days into Lent: I’m buying ten bottles of M & S non-alcoholic mulled punch and lots of sparkling water. “Must be nice stuff,” says the till operator. I tell him it is, and reduced to clear at 79 cent, it’s going to get me through six wine free weeks. “I’m off the booze too,” he tells me, “Jaysus I don’t think I can do it, it’s very hard.” I want to tell him it’s only been three days. I want to encourage him to at least get through the weekend, but he probably went to the pub last night and sat watching his friends get drunk as they told him he was no fun anymore.
We all know Ireland’s social activities revolve around the pub, but there is an emerging breed of Irish woman, as sophisticated as her French sisters in her knowledge of wine, but perhaps a little too fond of it. A bottle of Merlot over dinner is innocent enough, though with our local shop making it cheaper to buy two bottles instead of one, it’s all too easy to open a second without thinking. What are the other costs of all this casual drinking?
Amy and Julia, two young mothers from Stillorgan, are typical of many Irish women. “A night out means a babysitter and taxis before you even start,” says Amy, “so it’s easier to meet in each other’s houses. Everyone brings a bottle and a packet of tortilla chips or something and there you go – your night out costs less than a tenner.” But is it a good night out? “God yeah!” says Julia, “you’d drink at least the bottle you brought, maybe more.” Problems arise the next day when the kids are up and looking for breakfast and you can’t face the day. “I’m definitely on a shorter fuse with them,” says Julia, “and I feel guilty about it later.”
Counselling psychologist Niamh Delmar says more and more people worry about drinking too much. “It bothers them. They’re disappointed in themselves the next day. It also stops people from growing and developing; they might have written a book or done a course; maybe taken up a hobby. It helps to think, ‘what would I be doing now if I wasn’t drinking wine?’”
Jim from Cabinteely is trying to combat a growing beer belly and high cholesterol through diet and exercise. “I run most evenings and try to get a swim in at least twice a week”, he says “but I still like my pint and I don’t want to give it up.” But, Jim may be taking two steps back for every step forward. According to Dr Henry S. Lodge, co-author of the best selling book Younger Next Year, “Exercise is the master signaling system that tells our cells to grow instead of fade. When we exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger – a lot younger.” But exercise is futile if you poison your body with alcohol, which damages our cells in the same way a sedentary lifestyle can. “You can’t poison yourself and expect to remain healthy.” So Jim’s few pints are costing him a lot more than he bargained for, even before taking into consideration the calorific count. A pint of beer has roughly the same calories as a slice of pizza, while for your bottle of wine you’re clocking up the same calories as a bacon cheeseburger. That’s a pretty big price to pay. I mention it to Amy and Julia. There is a moment of silence before Julia jokes that they’ll have to go on gin and diet tonic instead.
Spirits in particular have a drastic effect on the liver and four percent of the world population die because of alcohol every year according to the World Health Organisation. Spirits are increasingly becoming the drink of choice for young people according to student Claire from Dundrum. “People my age drink vodka before going out to save money, then you pick where you go to depending on the drink promotions that night. Everywhere you go it’s two euro shots, always spirits.” Apart from the health implications of this, Claire admits to taking chances too; “You think you’re safer than you are. My friends and I would never be stupid, but we would walk further for a taxi rather than pay the money for the whole journey. You trust everyone when you’ve been drinking.”
I can drink my week’s quota of fourteen units for less than fifteen euro. But the costs could be much higher if I’m sharing a harmless bottle of Merlot with my husband more than once (or twice) a week.
Three days into Lent: I’m buying ten bottles of M & S non-alcoholic mulled punch and lots of sparkling water. “Must be nice stuff,” says the till operator. I tell him it is, and reduced to clear at 79 cent, it’s going to get me through six wine free weeks. “I’m off the booze too,” he tells me, “Jaysus I don’t think I can do it, it’s very hard.” I want to tell him it’s only been three days. I want to encourage him to at least get through the weekend, but he probably went to the pub last night and sat watching his friends get drunk as they told him he was no fun anymore.
We all know Ireland’s social activities revolve around the pub, but there is an emerging breed of Irish woman, as sophisticated as her French sisters in her knowledge of wine, but perhaps a little too fond of it. A bottle of Merlot over dinner is innocent enough, though with our local shop making it cheaper to buy two bottles instead of one, it’s all too easy to open a second without thinking. What are the other costs of all this casual drinking?
Amy and Julia, two young mothers from Stillorgan, are typical of many Irish women. “A night out means a babysitter and taxis before you even start,” says Amy, “so it’s easier to meet in each other’s houses. Everyone brings a bottle and a packet of tortilla chips or something and there you go – your night out costs less than a tenner.” But is it a good night out? “God yeah!” says Julia, “you’d drink at least the bottle you brought, maybe more.” Problems arise the next day when the kids are up and looking for breakfast and you can’t face the day. “I’m definitely on a shorter fuse with them,” says Julia, “and I feel guilty about it later.”
Counselling psychologist Niamh Delmar says more and more people worry about drinking too much. “It bothers them. They’re disappointed in themselves the next day. It also stops people from growing and developing; they might have written a book or done a course; maybe taken up a hobby. It helps to think, ‘what would I be doing now if I wasn’t drinking wine?’”
Jim from Cabinteely is trying to combat a growing beer belly and high cholesterol through diet and exercise. “I run most evenings and try to get a swim in at least twice a week”, he says “but I still like my pint and I don’t want to give it up.” But, Jim may be taking two steps back for every step forward. According to Dr Henry S. Lodge, co-author of the best selling book Younger Next Year, “Exercise is the master signaling system that tells our cells to grow instead of fade. When we exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger – a lot younger.” But exercise is futile if you poison your body with alcohol, which damages our cells in the same way a sedentary lifestyle can. “You can’t poison yourself and expect to remain healthy.” So Jim’s few pints are costing him a lot more than he bargained for, even before taking into consideration the calorific count. A pint of beer has roughly the same calories as a slice of pizza, while for your bottle of wine you’re clocking up the same calories as a bacon cheeseburger. That’s a pretty big price to pay. I mention it to Amy and Julia. There is a moment of silence before Julia jokes that they’ll have to go on gin and diet tonic instead.
Spirits in particular have a drastic effect on the liver and four percent of the world population die because of alcohol every year according to the World Health Organisation. Spirits are increasingly becoming the drink of choice for young people according to student Claire from Dundrum. “People my age drink vodka before going out to save money, then you pick where you go to depending on the drink promotions that night. Everywhere you go it’s two euro shots, always spirits.” Apart from the health implications of this, Claire admits to taking chances too; “You think you’re safer than you are. My friends and I would never be stupid, but we would walk further for a taxi rather than pay the money for the whole journey. You trust everyone when you’ve been drinking.”
I can drink my week’s quota of fourteen units for less than fifteen euro. But the costs could be much higher if I’m sharing a harmless bottle of Merlot with my husband more than once (or twice) a week.
