Alcohol intoxication is an increasing problem in Australia, and more concerning is the fact that it’s young Aussie girls who are leading the trend.
A Current Affair on Channel 9 recently did a cover story on Australia’s “Generation Intoxication” focusing on young women who are drinking themselves into oblivion and a previous episode on “Generation Wasted” concerning the high levels of intoxication the general youth are aiming for on a big night out.
The show describes alcohol problems in Australia as “outrageous” and “out of control” with nearly two thirds of Australians admitting that they drink for the sole purpose of getting wasted.
Some young women have no idea when to stop drinking, putting them at high risk of injuring themselves or worse, getting into the hands of a sexual predator. More concerning is the fact that some ladies are proud of getting wasted, wanting to ‘take on the boys’ by matching them drink for drink.
While there’s nothing wrong with having a fun night out with drinks, the problem arises when you land yourself in a police cell or worse, in an emergency room.
The fact is that young ladies do not metabolise alcohol as well as men. For women, it takes less alcohol to get drunk and when the alcohol is in the blood stream, they take longer to decrease. This means that girls get drunk a lot faster and stay drunk for much longer than guys.
As mentioned on the program, there has been a 200% increase in girls drinking alcohol since the year 2000. Many girls also drink in excess even before leaving the home, making “a mockery of the responsible alcohol laws” because those serving them have no idea how many drinks they’ve had before.
Responsible drinking is the drinker's choice
Though new alcohol laws are getting stricter in hopes of curbing binge drinking among our youth, the number of youths who are drinking way above the legal driving limit (0.05% BAC) will shock parents around the country.
Education on responsible drinking is ever so important but has it ever worked? Heavy advertising by the government and social groups against drink drivers and alcohol violence can only do so much and has so far failed to succeed in educating their target group.
The key to responsible drinking should begin from the individual – knowing the dangers, knowing the limit and knowing when to stop.
Why you need a breathalyser
There is no way of knowing what your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is because there are just too many factors to take into consideration such as gender, weight, liver health, previous food consumption, and overall health.
You can only estimate your BAC based on the number of drinks that you’ve had, but why take the risk of playing the guessing game when your health and safety is concerned? The only real way to find out your BAC is by using a breathalyser.
A breathalyser is a device used in alcohol testing to estimate an individual’s blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample.
It does not directly measure the blood alcohol content or concentration. This requires the analysis of a blood sample. Instead, they estimate BAC by measuring the amount of alcohol in one’s breath.
Enjoy your time out, but we encourage you to not drink and then drive. Our range of breathalysers are there for assistance in determining your BAC.
Keeping yourself in check
Drinking is not only important when you want to drive – drinking too much is detrimental to short term and long term health.
Our attitudes on drinking must change and personal responsibility needs to be taken by all. Get yourself a breathalyser now to keep yourself and your mates in check on a night out, if not for your safety, then for your health.
Browse our range of personal breathalysers.
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