Friday, January 9, 2009

CHRISTMAS - AN ORDEAL

For nearly 6 per cent of Ontarians, Christmas parties can be an ordeal. They are the alcoholics for whom one drink is one too many.

Ontario has the second highest percentage of alcoholics in Canada. British Columbia tops the list with 6.38 per cent, Ontario has 5.94 per cent. The national average is 5.45 percent, representing 617,000 alcoholics among the 11 million plus of our population who take a drink.

Amounts of alcohol considered dangerous to health (if taken as a daily steady diet), vary according to weight and sex. But the average man should watch himself if he's downing 9 ounces of liquor, or 5 1/2 bottles of beer, or 21 ounces of over 16 percent alcohol wine a day.

Whatever you do, don't suggest that "a little one won't hurt" - it will, and hurt badly. Not only could your guest spend his holiday in jail, but you might have pulled him off the wagon and into weeks of costly and socially demeaning unhappiness.

The Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundation does not advise giving the alcoholic any special treatment at your party. If he knows he's an alcoholic and is really trying, he won't touch a drink anyway and the host or hostess will only embarrass him by being persuasive.

On the other hand the host shouldn't consider that the entire party should be dry because there is an alcoholic guest. He has to learn to live with his problem and it shouldn't be at the expense of moderate drinkers. Of course, it's a good idea to have something around that he can drink, and most bars include ginger ale, bitter lemon or some other soft drink that doesn't make it obvious that he isn't fully joining in the party.

You might find, for instance, that he has preference for something like the non-alcoholic ginger wine that's available from specialty stores. The hostess does not have to be more careful with foods she cooks for an alcoholic. In cooked dishes, the alcohol is burned off, and the flavor that is left is enjoyable and non-addictive. Flaming the brandy over the Christmas pudding is not going to set the eater on the road to alcoholism.

THE TORONTO DAILY STAR

DON says: Personally I found the Christmas season the hardest to cope with in regard to alcohol. I would start the holiday time drinking while wrapping christmas presents for the kids, drinking before, during, and after the Christmas dinner. It was a big time for my drinking, even moreso than New Years, since there were more relatives and friends around and more "excuses" to drink. Eventually, when I finally decided that I couldn't go any further with my drinking, I grudgingly gave up drinking at all times. And it was hard, but the rewards were wonderful

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