The repeated use and abuse of alcohol is very hazardous, and can trigger a vast change in behaviour towards others, even family and friends. An incident with alcohol could impact how your family and friends view you, especially when you are under the influence of a depressant that has been consumed repetitively. Legal problems like a conviction for an alcohol-related offense could result in break-ups in relationships and tension between family. As the prolonged effects of alcohol gradually interfere with the brain, it makes thought processes slower and affects the mind’s control over the body. Slurred speech and loss of balance and coordination are one of many symptoms of binging on drinks. The impact that alcohol has on one’s social life can spread to more than just friends, but even workplaces, and can alter the outside performance negatively.
The effects of heavy drinking before work may lead to hangovers or illnesses during work. Co-workers may be unwilling to cover for those affected by alcohol because of the unprofessional behaviour displayed as a result of binge-drinking effects. The affected person may act violent towards his/her colleagues and cause unwanted conflict or workplace injuries. Short-term absenteeism and lower quantity and quality of work potentially disturbs co-workers as well. The wide range of symptoms in a hangover diversify from nausea to vomiting, which greatly reduces the production rates in workplaces. According to the Healthy Workers Alcohol Program, young male workers aged 14-29 years are most likely to engage in risky drinking. The risk is influenced by the culture of the workplace and environment. For example, stress and professional instability are all factors that highly impact the workflow. People that binge drink to solve these problems often end up with worse conditions from before, some even resorting to crime.
(Crime paragraph)
An estimated 1.4 million incidents of alcohol-related violence are committed against strangers each year, with over 70,000 Australians being victims of alcohol-related assault. Crime under the influence of alcohol is a serious problem, not towards just family and friends, but the community and its safety as well. By reducing a person’s ability to think and decreasing inhibitions, alcohol influences people into taking dangerous risks and bars them from acting appropriately. Research by the Australian Drug Foundation (https://adf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Preventing-AOD-problems.pdf) had concluded that harmful alcohol use in Australia results in high social costs to the community, but can be prevented by raising awareness amongst parents and improving facilities for young people within the community. 19.6% of current drinkers aged 12 to 17 in Western Australia reported verbal abuse towards another person after drinking in the past 12 months, and 13% reported that they had physically assaulted someone after drinking. As stated by McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, (https://mcaay.org.au/assets/publications/factsheets/alcohol-and-violence-in-australia-final.pdf), one in five Australians aged 18 to 19 years have been a victim of physical abuse by someone under the influence of alcohol. For 20-29 year olds, more than one in seven have been a victim. Data suggests that engaging in prolonged or binge drinking significantly increases your risk of involvement in violent offenses.With the amount of alcohol-related crime that occurs in Australia, there must be funds to support the prevention. The quantity of money that goes into supporting crimes related to alcohol is always a large sum, and is another problem needed to be corrected.
Financial
Medical Expenditure
The misuse of alcohol introduces a problem for all levels of government, usually first response and public emergency services including police, ambulance, and hospital emergency departments. The risks of common illnesses like pneumonia, as well as cardiovascular diseases and cancer are increased by heavy drinking, as alcohol suppresses the immune system. The need to fund the services that prevents these problems is what brings about the costs. Most of these services comprise of nursing homes, pharmaceuticals, ambulances and road accident preventions. With more visits and time spent in hospitals, the medical bills would naturally be higher for these binge drinkers. Not only do traffic accidents incur significant amounts of money, but also vehicle and property damage related costs. The total expenditure of alcohol related problems in 2010 was estimated to be around 15 billion (Australian Institute of Criminology). 11.7% comprised the costs to the health system, 42.1% to Australian productivity, and 25.5% with traffic accidents.