YOU CAN QUIT ALCOHOL
PART 2
QUOTATIONS
FROM THE LIQUOR
INDUSTRY
When
you buy liquor, you are financially supporting an industry. But you need to
know that they are not as much your friends as you might think. As the
quotations below indicate, intentionally or unintentionally, they appear to be
working to ruin not only you, but your children as well:
"We
must not forget that our business is dependent upon the sufferance [
permission] of the public. We are not in a position like the shoe business,
clothing business, flour business or the steel business." "The
Brewer's Digest, " February 1944 (the journal of the beer-manufacturing
industry).
"We
believe a teenage moderation program [to get more teenagers drinking] should be
adopted with some real strength behind it. We're told this is too 'ticklish.' We
don't agree. "—"Spirits," November 1955, page 44 (the magazine
of wine and liquor manufacturing executives).
"Beer
must compete with coffee, tea, milk, and a whole array of carbonated beverages.
The brewing industry has not found a satisfactory answer to the problem of
introducing beer to a high percentage of the younger generation that is coming
along. This is particularly true of the civilian element, which, after all is
the big percentage of the people. "—"The Brewer's Digest,"
February 1952, page 65 (accompanying this statement was a large picture,
filling onefourth of the page, of a child, not over five years of age,
playing with a toy beer truck).
"Here's
a chance for brewers to cultivate a taste for beer in millions of young men who
will eventually constitute the largest beer-consuming section of our population."— "The Brewer's Digest." May, 1941 (speaking about the
increasing number of military personnel, on the eve of World War II. As you can
see, they were quite patriotic: it is more important that we get our soldiers
drunk, than that we win the war).
(Statement
made following World War II:) "Beer has come into its own and more people
have an appetite for beer today since the war, because our recruits were
furnished with plenty of beer!'—"The Brewers Bulletin, " June 13,
1946.
"Show
young people how to enjoy liquor." "Train your publicity to catch the
eye and develop the interest of the younger generation." "Make youth
liquor conscious. "—Stated objectives of the liquor industry at a
liquor dealers convention, held in the Stevens Hotel, Chicago, 1935.
"Sociological
studies give evidence that more and more teenagers are drinking. . and are
drinking greater quantities than ever before. "—Editorial, in
"Tavern Topics," the Journal of the Washington State License Beverage
Association" June 1954.
"Brewers
were among the first to realize that television could play a big part in
increasing the consumption of beer, especially in the home, and many of them
hopped on the TV bandwagon as quickly as commuters hop on a rush hour subway. .
"In
relation to all other types of products, beer is a strongly advertised product,
holding a prominent position second to foods—in television advertising. .
"Brewers
were quick to jump on the TV sports bandwagon at the very outset. By doing so
they were able to dominate TV's most natural entertainment, and came up with
good audience ratings without the talent and production costs of dramatic and
variety shows.
"Television
has offered the brewers a unique advantage. It has opened a vast new market,
almost untapped—the American home."—"The Brewer's Digest,
September 1950, pages 60-61.
Medical
research has proven that the taking of alcohol into the body in any form or
quantity impairs the judgment, normal restraint, and the performance of
skilled movements. This means that it matters not whether it be beer, wine, or
hard liquor —it is equally dangerous—and the use of it can equally turn you
into an alcoholic.
Ten
to twenty-five teaspoons of pure alcohol will cause obvious drunkenness. A
bottle of 4% beer (360 c.c.) contains 4 teaspoons of alcohol. Four ounces (120
c.c.) of wine (14% alcohol) contains 4 teaspoons of alcohol. Three ounces of
fortified wine (21% alcohol) contains 5 teaspoons of alcohol. Eight teaspoons
(32 c.c.) of whisky contains 4 teaspoons of alcohol.
Statistics
indicate that one person in every seven that begins drinking ends up as a
confirmed alcoholic. The only answer that medical science knows for avoiding the
addictive properties of alcohol is total abstinence.
Here
is a medical definition of alcohol:
Alcohol,
from a medical point of view, is an intoxicating, hypnotic, analgesic,
anesthetic, narcotic, poisonous, habit-forming, craving-producing, and
addiction-producing
drug.
1. Alcohol is
intoxicating because drunkenness is created by its use.
2.
Alcohol is hypnotic, because it tends to put people to sleep.
3. Alcohol is analgesic, because
in certain doses it stops pain.
4. Alcohol is anesthetic,
because in higher doses it induces sound sleep so that a person can undergo an
operation.
5. Alcohol is a narcotic,
because in large doses it stupifies.
6. Alcohol is a depressant,
because it depresses (slows down) the central nervous system and a number of
body functions.,
7.
Alcohol is a poison, because in large doses it will kill a human being, an
animal, or a plant that has been exposed to it.
8.
Alcohol is habit-forming because with continued use a fixed desire will be
created to repeatedly drink it. Alcohol is addiction-producing in that its
continued
use as a habit cannot easily be set aside.
[Remember-
'intoxicated' means 'poisoned'!]
Here
are some problems that alcohol has brought to America: Juvenile
Delinquency—From 25-75 percent of juvenile delinquency is directly or
indirectly due to alcoholic beverages, according to various reports.
Divorce—From 25-75 percent of all divorces are directly or indirectly due to
alcohol. Crime-Felonies and misdemeanors are reported to be due to alcohol in at
least 50 percent of the cases. Arrests for drunkenness —In a recent year, over
7,000,000 arrests for drunkenness occurred in the United States. It is estimated
that less than 10 percent of the people actually drunk that year were
arrested.
Economic
loss —It is estimated that the economic loss costs America more than
$10,000,000,000 yearly.
Sense
of values —In the United States there are 537,303 schools and churches, and
582,033 retail liquor stores and saloons. In a recent year, 12,500,000,000 was
spent on all religious and educational purposes, whereas 18,250,000,000 was
spent on alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol
does some things that the liquor ads never mention: It destroys brain cells,
fatty tissue, and body heat balance. It seriously damages the nervous system.
It lessens disease resistance, hearing, nerve sensitivities, good judgment, and
vision. It deadens one's sense of fatigue. It slows physical reactions. It
scars liver tissue. It ruins the brain.
Scores
of tests reveal the same thing: alcohol always reduces efficiency and safety:
When you take 1 ½ shots of
whiskey, or 1 ½ bottles of beer, or 1 ½ glasses of wine,—your reaction time
is slowed 6 percent. When you take 3 ½ shots of whisky, or 3 ½ bottIes of
beer, or 3 ½ glasses of wine, your reaction time is slowed 34 percent. To
an automobile driver this would mean that, at a speed of 50 miles per hour, it
would require 17 additional feet to bring a car to a stop. But this problem is
compounded by the fact that "loaded" drivers are more confident, take
more risks, and have far less coordination and good judgment.
In
any given year, a drinking driver is generally involved in about one-half of all
fatal accidents. Some experts place it as high as 60 percent.
Alcoholic
beverages contain ethyl alcohol, which is an anesthetic—not a stimulant. Its
effects are inevitable. It undermines power of decision, distorts judgment,
impairs eyesight, retards muscular reaction, and increases accidents.
Six
out of every ten arrests in the United States are related to alcohol. Two thirds
of today's alcoholics began drinking when of high school age. A few years ago
one out of every six alcoholics was a woman; now it is one in four. This means
over a million women alcoholics. In Los Angeles County, three out of every four
applications for divorce or separate maintenance during 1955 resulted because of
a liquor problem. More than 40,000 people are killed each year because of a
liquor-induced accidents.
The
former alcoholic knows that his only safeguard is total abstinence for the
rest of his life. He must stay away entirely from liquor in every form. Even to
take one gulp will awaken a demon of craving within him.
There
is only one answer: leave it totally alone. Alcoholism usually begins with a
social drink or two with friends. Sometimes it begins with a "business
drink" or two, with a boss or client. It is easy to start, not so easy to
stop. The pressures are there to conform, but it takes a man to say "No, I
choose not to; thank you."
Case
histories of all kinds are to be found in books and magazines. Newspapers run
stories on them. But at the heart of them all is the simple fact that it all
began with one drink.
If
you have never had that first drink; don't take it. If you are having trouble
keeping it under control; stop and never again take that "first
drink."
You
are done with it and you are glad you are done with it, and you thank the God of
heaven every day that you are done with it.
At
the present time over half the adult population of our nation drink alcoholic
beverages. Some eight to nine million of these are known alcoholics. But there
are also those who are secret alcoholics. A surprising number of women fall into
this category. Not long ago, Harvey Fiske of the National Council on Alcoholism
was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "Today there are probably as
many women alcoholics as men, and they may be doing more damage and be even
farther away from help than men." —Because so many won't admit that they
have a real problem.
We
cannot solve a problem we deny that we have. No one ever stopped smoking or
drinking until he came to the point of admitting that he had a problem and
dared not continue any longer.
In
1970, the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies made what was probably the largest
single study of American drinking practices. A total of 2,746 adult Americans
were picked at random and interviewed by a George Washington University research
team. Funded by a federal grant of $400,000, the study findings were later
placed in a book, "American Drinking Practices." This is what they
discovered: Drinkers compose 68 percent of the population, and abstainers
(non-drinkers) comprise 32 percent.
The
heavy drinkers (12 percent) usually drink nearly every day, but some drink less
frequently, taking five or more drinks each time they do.
The
moderate drinkers (13 percent) drink from once to several times a month, taking
an average of three to four drinks each time.
The
light drinkers (28 percent) drink at least once a month, and at each time take
one or two drinks.
Infrequent
drinkers (15 percent) drink varying amounts less frequently than once a month.
More
men drink than women, but the number of drinking women is steadily increasing.
Of the men surveyed, 77 percent drink at least occasionally; of the women 60
percent drink. Yet ten years earlier, only 45 percent of the women were
drinking.
Classified
by nationality groups, 91 percent of the Italian-Americans drink, 80 percent of
Russian, Polish, or Baltic origins. Irish immigrants were the highest: 93
percent, with 31 percent heavy drinkers. The Rutgers study also revealed that
those who attend church regularly are 50 percent less likely to be heavy
drinkers than those who have no church affiliation. Yet there was drinking among
church members: At the top of the list were Jews, Episcopalians, and Roman
Catholics, in that order.
The
highest percentage of drinkers live in the Northeast (79 percent), and the
second highest on the Pacific Coast (73 percent). The lowest was found in the
Southern States, and the average (about 35 percent) was in the South Central
States.
The
heaviest drinkers (1) come from families where the parents drank also, (2) their
origin is in ethnic groups, such as the Irish, where drinking is quite common,
(3) their religion (Roman Catholic, for example) places little or no restraint
on drinking, and (4) they live in large cities where heavy drinking is
prevalent.
Here
are two interesting statements:
Addiction
to alcohol is "the number one health problem in the nation."—Dr.
Roger O. Egeberg, Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs, Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington D.C.
"The
provision of adequate manpower and facilities to treat all alcoholics with
presently known methods on a one-to-one basis would in itself utilize the full
time of every physician and fill every hospital bed in the nation. "—The
National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Alcohol
fools people. They think it has done one thing for them when in reality it has
accomplished quite the opposite. Drinking some of it, a person imagines that
he has become strong, when he is becoming weakened; he thinks he is becoming
warmer, when his body is actually becoming colder. It appears that he is being
energized by the alcohol, when in reality his coordination, nutrition and
strength are being lessened. He thinks that the alcohol is stimulating him, when
actually it is depressing his entire physical system.
Alcohol
first increases stomach acid secretions, and then slows them down. Then the
alcohol irritates the stomach lining, resulting in congestion, inflammation,
and ulceration. A chronically-inflamed stomach is the result of regularly
using liquor.
Alcohol
also develops in alcoholics a disease known as cirrhosis of the liver. Many
small areas of it are destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. As the destruction
of liver cells continues, the liver tries to make new ones, but scar tissue
keeps building up where the dead cells once were. These scar nodules give the
liver an appearance of being "hob-nailed."
The
damage and scarring reduces proper blood circulation through this, the largest
organ inside the body. Impaired circulation to the liver equally affects the
stomach, intestines, and spleen, and those organs also suffer.
The
back pressure, of blood held back from entering the liver, begins to cause blood
plasma to flow out from the peritoneal veins into the abdominal cavity behind
the liver. There it accumulates, sometimes in such large quantities that it must
be drawn off repeatedly in order to relieve the alcoholic of severe distention
and discomfort.
We
call this nightmare cirrhosis of the liver. It is progressive, and generally
ends in death. Yet it could be entirely avoided. Drinking-liquor was the
indirect cause of the problem. And stopping the alcohol was the only real way to
solve it.
Drinking
alcohol produces warm, flushed skin. The drinker feels warmer because more blood
is flowing through the skin vessels. But the blood is being drawn from inside
the body, which becomes gradually cooler. Body temperature keeps falling. Some
people think that drinking liquor will "warm" them up in cold weather.
But this is not really true.
Alcohol
lowers resistance to disease (especially pneumonia). Medical reports have dealt
with this fact in detail. Here is an example of this: The Cook County
Hospital, in Chicago, summarized the death rates among 3,422 cases of pneumonia
as follows:
49.87%
of them were excessive drinkers; 34.40% were moderate drinkers; 22.45% were
occasional drinkers.
Drinking
alcohol shortens the life span drastically. The death records of 2,000,000
policyholders in 43 American life insurance companies are summarized for the
20-year period from 1885 to 1905, as follows:
People
drinking 2 glasses of beer or 1 of whisky per day—were 18% more likely to die
than the average American.
Of
those with a past record of heavy drinking, but with present apparent cure—50%
higher.
Among
those using over 2 glasses of beer or 1 of whisky daily—86% higher.
Alcohol,
when it enters the blood stream and is carried to the liver, it begins being
slowly converted into carbon dioxide and water. This oxidation is quite slow,
amounting to about 2 teaspoons of alcohol an hour. (If it were food, it would be
equal to the body using up two cubes of sugar each hour—and that is slow!)
Alcohol
is not a food, and cannot be stored in the body. Also it remains in the same
form until converted into oxygen and water, so it provides no nourishment of any
kind. It aids in neither growth nor repair. It is a useless fluid in the body,
as far as help is concerned; it is a dangerous fluid in the body, when all the
damage that it does is considered.
It
neither builds up nor energizes any part of the body. Instead it depresses the
system and causes a vicious addiction that is difficult to break.
Drinking
alcohol greatly hinders proper nutrition for the body. Chronic alcoholics are
always quite malnourished. This is due to decreased food intake (because they
lose their appetite for food), decreased absorption and utilization of the food
eaten (because of changes in the liver and digestive tract), and increased
food requirements (because liquor-drinking increases body requirements for
calories and certain vitamins, especially those of the B complex).
Two
malnutrition diseases that alcoholics are most likely to develop are these:
Beriberi, with its characteristic damage to the nerves controlling the legs and
arms,—or damage to the general circulation, with weakness and enlargement of
the heart. Pellagra, with a sore tongue; rash over the hands, ankles and neck;
abdominal pain, diarrhea, and serious mental changes.
Alcoholic
consumption directly leads to several mental diseases. A study of over 56,000
patients in Massachusetts, resulted in the fact, as stated by Dr. Neil Dayton of
Boston, that chronic alcoholism was a prominent cause of one fifth of all
admissions to mental hospitals in that state.
CONTINUE PART 3
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