Industry Contribution
CHANGE STARTS WITH AWARENESS Education is key in preventing underage drinking and reducing excessive consumption of alcohol by the youth . This is especially important , because there are many misconceptions that need to be corrected .
Most people think that binge or excessive consumption means drinking to the point of black-out , but the reality is that the required quantities are much lower than that . In the US , binge drinking is defined by sustained or heavy drinking . Roughly speaking , this is four drinks for women and five drinks for men in a two-hour period of time .
In addition , binge drinking is defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) as drinking five or more alcoholic drinks on the same occasion at least once in 30 days , while heavy drinking is consuming five or more drinks in one sitting , over five different days in a 30-day period .
EDUCATION IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY While more attention needs to be paid to the problem of alcohol dependence starting at a secondary school level , educating the youth on the dangers of alcohol is not solely the responsibility of parents and educators .
Alcohol manufacturers and retailers should be made to display prominent warning labels on their products about the dangers of excessive consumption and educate as to what excessive consumption is .
In Australia , alcohol units refer to a specific volume of alcohol by percentage , and manufacturers are obliged to display serving sizes on their products . So , for example , a man-sized can of beer would be 1.5 units of alcohol .
Another misconception that needs to be clarified is how the liver processes and breaks down alcohol in the body . While most people think that stopping drinking at 10pm means that one will be fine for work in the morning , the truth is that the liver can only process approximately one unit of alcohol every hour . This means that a person who consumes a six-pack of man-sized beers will require at least nine hours to recover .
ALCOHOL AND THE WORKPLACE Excessive alcohol consumption for the younger generation can have a negative impact on their work and the risk of being involved in a workplace accident is higher when alcohol is involved , even if it ’ s from the night before .
The Occupational Health and Safety Act mandates that all employers must provide a safe working environment , which includes not allowing an intoxicated person to enter the workplace . This requires businesses to have a clear policy on alcohol in their workplace and could necessitate the compulsory testing of workers by means of a breathalyser before entry to the workplace is permitted .
In addition to a clear policy on alcohol and testing procedures , it ’ s also important for companies to educate their workers on quantifying excessive consumption as well as the dangers associated with binge drinking . Providing a safe space for young workers to come forward and seek help with their alcohol consumption could negate it before it becomes a dependence . RACA
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RACA Journal I September 2021 www . hvacronline . co . za