Another report on children and drinking, more horror stories for Halloween. Lock up your children now or they will succumb to the Voodoo Man's lethal juice.
Is underage drinking a result of availability? Not really, alcohol has always been available to children in some form or another. It was far worse of course in Victorian times which is one of the reasons that the abolitionist movement started to grow in the min 1800's. However simplification of the argument only leads us away from the real source of our problems, consumerism.
For those of you who remember go back to a teenagers bedroom in the early 1980s or late 1970s. What would you find there. Here's a list of possibles.
Posters
Old style mono record player with collection of 45s and 33s
Mono tape recorder
Games and Toys
Books and magazines
Clothes including possible hand me downs
Now forward to today
Posters
Flat screen TV
Blue ray player
iPod
Laptop computer
Mobile telephone
Top quality designer clothing
Many of the items that were designed for business efficacy have somehow found their way onto a teenagers wish list.
So if the most advanced adult tools are available for every average teenager then it becomes blindingly obvious that children are becoming more adult sooner. This is a challenge because it means that children start to want adult things, particularly the big four taboos, drugs,sex, gambling and booze much earlier. Because children wish to prove they are grown up.
So it is not the availability of booze that has made the difference but the media's constant squashing of childhood.
Now add this to the fact that parents, who are responsible for the education of children have no real understanding of alcohol in their own right and it is all too obvious that we are in the scenario of monkey see. monkey do. So if a child sees their parents throwing caution to the wind they start to believe that this is part of being an adult.
And whilst I long for simpler days of long gone summers I am realistic to know that the only way we will see a change to drinking habits in children is if we educate the adults around them on how to be responsible with alcohol.
The fightback starts here.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Now that the dust has settled
The inquest about Amy Winehouse has been held. The verdict misadventure.
My question is why misadventure?
Put simply consuming the amount of alcohol that she did would not as the papers would have you believe automatically led to death. There are far greater complexities than that, The record for someone caught for drinking and driving on one of my courses is a reading over double of that of Amy Winehouse and according to the police report on that person they were driving normally down the road! So the mad press headlines that we have seen are exactly that - mad!
Now that doesn't mean I advise people that it's OK to drink a couple of litres of vodka but it does lead me back to my favourite old adage
Educate people now, not when it's too late
I've listened to addiction expert after addiction expert pop their heads out of their ivory towers and glittering spires and talk about cross addiction this and human frailty that, quoting some fantastic theorists and academic studies to sound grand for their Andy Warhol moment, and I am fed up.
I am fed up because none of this public fetish with celebrity and it's ups and downs will actually help young and old alike understand and deal with alcohol from an informed position.
There are solutions there is a better way, but the politicians are too scared, the alcohol industry has an obvious vested interest and the so called abolitionists would have no reason to exist if they didn't have the fight.
Let's get real let's do it now
My question is why misadventure?
Put simply consuming the amount of alcohol that she did would not as the papers would have you believe automatically led to death. There are far greater complexities than that, The record for someone caught for drinking and driving on one of my courses is a reading over double of that of Amy Winehouse and according to the police report on that person they were driving normally down the road! So the mad press headlines that we have seen are exactly that - mad!
Now that doesn't mean I advise people that it's OK to drink a couple of litres of vodka but it does lead me back to my favourite old adage
Educate people now, not when it's too late
I've listened to addiction expert after addiction expert pop their heads out of their ivory towers and glittering spires and talk about cross addiction this and human frailty that, quoting some fantastic theorists and academic studies to sound grand for their Andy Warhol moment, and I am fed up.
I am fed up because none of this public fetish with celebrity and it's ups and downs will actually help young and old alike understand and deal with alcohol from an informed position.
There are solutions there is a better way, but the politicians are too scared, the alcohol industry has an obvious vested interest and the so called abolitionists would have no reason to exist if they didn't have the fight.
Let's get real let's do it now
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
My Dad
Happy Birthday Dad, you would have been 73 today.
You will never know what an inspiration you were to me.
You will never know how much you influenced who I am.
You never really understood how I looked up to you or how much I loved you,
I just wish I knew why you loved a whisky bottle more that your son.
I just wish I could understand what drove you to your self destruction
I long for those lost years
I long for less tears
I just wish you could have always been the man I knew at the end
For that was the dad and the grandad to my children I always dreamed of.
You were not bad but you were weak.
I have forgiven those weaknesses because I wonder if I could have been stronger
I just hope you are at peace
I just hope you will understand
I just hope that others who pass on this journey will pass the test better than I
I love you Dad, Happy Birthday
You will never know what an inspiration you were to me.
You will never know how much you influenced who I am.
You never really understood how I looked up to you or how much I loved you,
I just wish I knew why you loved a whisky bottle more that your son.
I just wish I could understand what drove you to your self destruction
I long for those lost years
I long for less tears
I just wish you could have always been the man I knew at the end
For that was the dad and the grandad to my children I always dreamed of.
You were not bad but you were weak.
I have forgiven those weaknesses because I wonder if I could have been stronger
I just hope you are at peace
I just hope you will understand
I just hope that others who pass on this journey will pass the test better than I
I love you Dad, Happy Birthday
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Oh No Mr Merson
Two well known people, two consecutive days, two stories about alcohol.
Yesterday Sarah Harding, today Paul Merson. Life can be very cruel sometimes.
Apparently Paul Merson was found to have given a positive roadside breath test however due to injuries sustained in the crash he had with a 40 tonne vehicle he was taken to hospital where blood tests were taken. Now the results of those blood tests will be pretty immediate. The ED doctors treating him will already know what his blood alcohol level was. They need that information so as to treat more effectively someone in the Emergency Department. The official reading will take up to 6 weeks.
And unfortunately this will be a case for strengthening Phillip Hammond's resolve to remove the statutory blood test for those people blowing between 35 and 50 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The accuracy of hand held portable devices and even the larger evidential intoximeters in Police Station is well documented as being questionable, particularly in the area highlighted above so what if Mr Merson's readings come back negative? Well it was just a time factor will be the answer from the makers of the intoximeter. Well they need to protect their market place don't they.
And all of this makes an excellent soundbite even if it is fundamentally the wrong approach to drinking and driving.
Now let me make this absolutely clear before all the finger waving starts at me: I loathe drinking and driving.
But I also loathe unfair systems!
If we are serious about stopping incidents like the Paul Merson situation then we have to get serious about what we are going to do. Draconian punishments should be part of the plan but they should be reserved for all those people who have basically stuck two fingers up at our society.
There is a solution to stopping drinking and driving that will have so many knock on effects on our country in terms of positive outcomes. It will help educate people, it will give people really great public transport and it will create jobs. And the irony is that the alcohol companies will not lose out either.
There is a third way, I know what it is but has Phillip Hammond got the guts to put it before his cabinet colleagues. I doubt it, he hasn't even got the guts to talk to me! Why? Because the politicians are only interested in the next 5 years, not our country's future!
Yesterday Sarah Harding, today Paul Merson. Life can be very cruel sometimes.
Apparently Paul Merson was found to have given a positive roadside breath test however due to injuries sustained in the crash he had with a 40 tonne vehicle he was taken to hospital where blood tests were taken. Now the results of those blood tests will be pretty immediate. The ED doctors treating him will already know what his blood alcohol level was. They need that information so as to treat more effectively someone in the Emergency Department. The official reading will take up to 6 weeks.
And unfortunately this will be a case for strengthening Phillip Hammond's resolve to remove the statutory blood test for those people blowing between 35 and 50 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The accuracy of hand held portable devices and even the larger evidential intoximeters in Police Station is well documented as being questionable, particularly in the area highlighted above so what if Mr Merson's readings come back negative? Well it was just a time factor will be the answer from the makers of the intoximeter. Well they need to protect their market place don't they.
And all of this makes an excellent soundbite even if it is fundamentally the wrong approach to drinking and driving.
Now let me make this absolutely clear before all the finger waving starts at me: I loathe drinking and driving.
But I also loathe unfair systems!
If we are serious about stopping incidents like the Paul Merson situation then we have to get serious about what we are going to do. Draconian punishments should be part of the plan but they should be reserved for all those people who have basically stuck two fingers up at our society.
There is a solution to stopping drinking and driving that will have so many knock on effects on our country in terms of positive outcomes. It will help educate people, it will give people really great public transport and it will create jobs. And the irony is that the alcohol companies will not lose out either.
There is a third way, I know what it is but has Phillip Hammond got the guts to put it before his cabinet colleagues. I doubt it, he hasn't even got the guts to talk to me! Why? Because the politicians are only interested in the next 5 years, not our country's future!
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Rock Chick Sick
Sarah Harding has checked herself into rehab because of alcohol problems according to NME. Am I surprised? Not really because living in a fishbowl for 10 years is going to take it's toll on you. Is it going to mean mass hysteria? Possibly, well from the press at least as they all scramble for another story to heap more pressure on someone who is obviously facing some serious challenges at the moment.
Sadly Sarah is not the only one in this situation. In the UK alone it is estimated that 1in 20 or 5% of the drinking population is suffering from a serious issue associated with alcohol. Putting this into reality when you jump on your bus today carrying 70 passengers 3 of them will possibly be addicted to alcohol. In your child's class 3 parents are likely to be addicted. In an average school 2 teachers are likely to be addicted. In a hospital with 200 doctors then 10 of them are likely to be addicted and in every premiership match at least 1 footballer is likely to be addicted. That's what the stats would mean if they spread evenly across the board.
The problem is for those of us in the know is that the stats don't spread evenly and the more pressurised the situation the more likely there is to be abuse of alcohol and/or drugs.
We know the medical profession, the legal profession, the police force, the teaching profession and the military all suffer high levels of alcohol abuse whereas ironically manual workers who are often portrayed as being in the pub constantly do not.
The sad reality is that alcohol services in the UK are extremely overstretched. Not because there is a lack of money but because there is a lack of will by Government. No 11 know that if they go war on the alcohol companies that large amounts of revenue are potentially at risk and in an economy as fragile as the one we have at the moment the risk is simply too great. So the Government are happy to sit back on the advice of the Treasury, look as if they are doing something with smoke and mirrors but in reality are doing nothing. And this is simply not on.
The smoke and mirrors come in the form of the highly paid and overrated academics sat in their ivory towers who half the time wouldn't know a true alcohol problem if it hit them square between the eyes but have made a fortune out of "studying" the problem.
Addiction is not a research paper it is a cold hard symptom of a lack of education and symbiotic relationship between the Government, the alcohol industry and the prohibitionists.
Whilst I wish Sarah well in the journey to conquer her demons we need real funding, for real people to do a real job now! It is no good waiting until the dead bodies start piling up.
Sadly Sarah is not the only one in this situation. In the UK alone it is estimated that 1in 20 or 5% of the drinking population is suffering from a serious issue associated with alcohol. Putting this into reality when you jump on your bus today carrying 70 passengers 3 of them will possibly be addicted to alcohol. In your child's class 3 parents are likely to be addicted. In an average school 2 teachers are likely to be addicted. In a hospital with 200 doctors then 10 of them are likely to be addicted and in every premiership match at least 1 footballer is likely to be addicted. That's what the stats would mean if they spread evenly across the board.
The problem is for those of us in the know is that the stats don't spread evenly and the more pressurised the situation the more likely there is to be abuse of alcohol and/or drugs.
We know the medical profession, the legal profession, the police force, the teaching profession and the military all suffer high levels of alcohol abuse whereas ironically manual workers who are often portrayed as being in the pub constantly do not.
The sad reality is that alcohol services in the UK are extremely overstretched. Not because there is a lack of money but because there is a lack of will by Government. No 11 know that if they go war on the alcohol companies that large amounts of revenue are potentially at risk and in an economy as fragile as the one we have at the moment the risk is simply too great. So the Government are happy to sit back on the advice of the Treasury, look as if they are doing something with smoke and mirrors but in reality are doing nothing. And this is simply not on.
The smoke and mirrors come in the form of the highly paid and overrated academics sat in their ivory towers who half the time wouldn't know a true alcohol problem if it hit them square between the eyes but have made a fortune out of "studying" the problem.
Addiction is not a research paper it is a cold hard symptom of a lack of education and symbiotic relationship between the Government, the alcohol industry and the prohibitionists.
Whilst I wish Sarah well in the journey to conquer her demons we need real funding, for real people to do a real job now! It is no good waiting until the dead bodies start piling up.
Monday, 10 October 2011
You cannot command the tide to turn back!
King Canute was famous, or infamous for ordering the tide to stop according to legend. Well in modern day terms that's pretty much what anyone who seeks to stop people drinking is trying to do, with I might add as much chance of success. If you really want to change peoples drinking habits then you don't just stand up in front of them and say stop! Nor do you try and blow away their minds with study upon study. You have to get clever. Just like the Dutch did when building the dikes that salvaged land from the sea. They used their brains!
Psychology is the key to turning the tide on alcohol. You can't fight it head on. Lets face it the first records of alcohol production en mass go back to the first civilisations where you will also find records of drug abuse, gambling and fornication/prostitution. The four great taboos of civilised society have in fact been present since day one of civilisation so you would not be trying to change a fashion, which lasts for a few weeks, or a trend that can last for several years.
By telling people to stop drinking you are effectively trying to turn back history, And history has a habit of not liking that!
So effectively you have to play smart and change attitudes and throwing a load of studies at people, most of whom wouldn't know a scientific study if it hit them in the face, is not the answer.
In the words of Ali G you gotta keep it real!
People need to be able to identify with what you are asking them to do and why you are asking them to do it. And remember you are fighting against a sophisticated machine called the alcohol industry and their PR gurus who know how to stay on message and keep people on message. So you have to do a better sales job than the salesman. You have to know the tricks of the trade.
And that's where psychologists come in! You cannot command the tide to turn back you have to fool it into wanting to turn back so that eventually it does - simples eh?
Psychology is the key to turning the tide on alcohol. You can't fight it head on. Lets face it the first records of alcohol production en mass go back to the first civilisations where you will also find records of drug abuse, gambling and fornication/prostitution. The four great taboos of civilised society have in fact been present since day one of civilisation so you would not be trying to change a fashion, which lasts for a few weeks, or a trend that can last for several years.
By telling people to stop drinking you are effectively trying to turn back history, And history has a habit of not liking that!
So effectively you have to play smart and change attitudes and throwing a load of studies at people, most of whom wouldn't know a scientific study if it hit them in the face, is not the answer.
In the words of Ali G you gotta keep it real!
People need to be able to identify with what you are asking them to do and why you are asking them to do it. And remember you are fighting against a sophisticated machine called the alcohol industry and their PR gurus who know how to stay on message and keep people on message. So you have to do a better sales job than the salesman. You have to know the tricks of the trade.
And that's where psychologists come in! You cannot command the tide to turn back you have to fool it into wanting to turn back so that eventually it does - simples eh?
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Oh Dear Don
When is Don Shenker ever going to realise that he has no chance at influencing children to stay away from alcohol?
His latest attempt at getting facebook to stop giving access to under 18's to alcohol advertising just shows he has absolutely no idea how children work, how facebook works or how marketing works. He is also showing scant regard for history but it all sounds very good.
Problem 1 : Children lie about their age on facebook!
Problem 2: It is not the marketing of alcohol that has made the difference it is marketing full stop,
Problem 3: Constantly saying that a teenager shouldn't do something guarantees they will.
Once again we see the relationship continue. Big alcohol are the bad guys, Alcohol Concern the knights in shining armour and the Government are in between.
It is a symbiotic relationship of the highest order and the voice of reason and understanding gets lost.
I have spent my life dedicated to changing the habits of those who use alcohol and I still see the same old entrenched attitudes that lead us on a road to nowhere.
Change the paradigms - NOW!
His latest attempt at getting facebook to stop giving access to under 18's to alcohol advertising just shows he has absolutely no idea how children work, how facebook works or how marketing works. He is also showing scant regard for history but it all sounds very good.
Problem 1 : Children lie about their age on facebook!
Problem 2: It is not the marketing of alcohol that has made the difference it is marketing full stop,
Problem 3: Constantly saying that a teenager shouldn't do something guarantees they will.
Once again we see the relationship continue. Big alcohol are the bad guys, Alcohol Concern the knights in shining armour and the Government are in between.
It is a symbiotic relationship of the highest order and the voice of reason and understanding gets lost.
I have spent my life dedicated to changing the habits of those who use alcohol and I still see the same old entrenched attitudes that lead us on a road to nowhere.
Change the paradigms - NOW!
Now that is the pot calling the kettle!
You may remember the previous input about drinkaware.co.uk and my dislike of the way in which the alcohol industry portrays itself. Now it's time for me to show you the opposite side of the coin and talk about the abolitionists and detractors.
The Sunday Times carried on it's front page a small but not insignificant article today with regards to the drinking habits of Members of Parliament. The medical profession had decided to attack MP's who according to them are exhibiting alcoholic behaviour patterns.
Maybe the medical profession needs to be reminded that the highest rate of abuse of alcohol is within their own four walls and although the 600 plus MP's may be influential on our society the tens of thousands of doctors are more influential at the grass roots because people ultimately still trust their doctors whereas they are ambivalent to their MP!
And as most doctors have little or no real knowledge of alcohol then why do they think that they are best placed to criticise anyway?
The medical profession needs to put it's own house in order first before they try and take the moral high ground relating to the misuse of alcohol and come to that drugs. Leave it to those of us who have made alcohol and it's challenges our lifelong work. Leave it to the real professionals! Because if the message gets lost the only beneficiaries will be the alcohol companies
The Sunday Times carried on it's front page a small but not insignificant article today with regards to the drinking habits of Members of Parliament. The medical profession had decided to attack MP's who according to them are exhibiting alcoholic behaviour patterns.
Maybe the medical profession needs to be reminded that the highest rate of abuse of alcohol is within their own four walls and although the 600 plus MP's may be influential on our society the tens of thousands of doctors are more influential at the grass roots because people ultimately still trust their doctors whereas they are ambivalent to their MP!
And as most doctors have little or no real knowledge of alcohol then why do they think that they are best placed to criticise anyway?
The medical profession needs to put it's own house in order first before they try and take the moral high ground relating to the misuse of alcohol and come to that drugs. Leave it to those of us who have made alcohol and it's challenges our lifelong work. Leave it to the real professionals! Because if the message gets lost the only beneficiaries will be the alcohol companies
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink
I sometimes wonder how pathetic the great manipulators, the alcohol companies, really can be.
I have never been anti-alcohol. I enjoy a drink as much as the next person, but I am anti binge drinking and excessive drinking for I see all to clearly the damage that this does.
A friend of mine on twitter who owns a very well established and successful business retailing and wholesaling non alcoholic wines told me that drinkaware refused to put a link from their website to his. This is ridiculous and they know it. What it does show though that like big tobacco, alcohol companies will go about using their PR machine to prevent any semblance of education or choice.
People who sell non alcoholic wines and beers are not generally anti alcohol they just want to operate a business where people can make a choice based on a product. After all Toyota brought us the Prius and that hasn't stopped people buying other non hybrid Toyota cars, or Ferraris come to that. And interestingly enough the alcohol companies can make exceedingly good non alcoholic wines and beers but chose not to heavily market them themselves as the profit margins tend to be lower.
So come on drinkaware.co.uk get your act together. You are supposed to be promoting education and choice not denying it. You are getting as bad as Alcohol Concern who have the exact opposite views but still deny education and choice.
We live in a world where we can educate and get free choice through that education, give us some credit please and start treating us like grown ups!
I have never been anti-alcohol. I enjoy a drink as much as the next person, but I am anti binge drinking and excessive drinking for I see all to clearly the damage that this does.
A friend of mine on twitter who owns a very well established and successful business retailing and wholesaling non alcoholic wines told me that drinkaware refused to put a link from their website to his. This is ridiculous and they know it. What it does show though that like big tobacco, alcohol companies will go about using their PR machine to prevent any semblance of education or choice.
People who sell non alcoholic wines and beers are not generally anti alcohol they just want to operate a business where people can make a choice based on a product. After all Toyota brought us the Prius and that hasn't stopped people buying other non hybrid Toyota cars, or Ferraris come to that. And interestingly enough the alcohol companies can make exceedingly good non alcoholic wines and beers but chose not to heavily market them themselves as the profit margins tend to be lower.
So come on drinkaware.co.uk get your act together. You are supposed to be promoting education and choice not denying it. You are getting as bad as Alcohol Concern who have the exact opposite views but still deny education and choice.
We live in a world where we can educate and get free choice through that education, give us some credit please and start treating us like grown ups!
Monday, 3 October 2011
It's all in the message
I was sat reading through a publication called PR Week when I turned, as I am want to out of curiosity, to the jobs/employment pages. Lo and behold staring me in the face was an advertisement for a Communications Officer for drinkaware.co.uk the industry organisation voluntarily set up to give information to the general public about the so called facts about alcohol.
The advertisement goes on to talk about joining an award winning Communications team promoting key messages to several sectors and also implies working intimately with the medical profession. And for the right person the remuneration package is £25k per annum.
Now is there any wonder why when a body, set up by the alcohol industry, can pay £25k for a very junior spin doctor that those of us who really seek to educate about alcohol stand a chance?
Now I'm not naive enough to believe that a multi-billion pound industry is going to roll over and say yes we've misled you for thousands of years, let's face it look at big tobacco, but I would like to think that they have the courage to tell the truth because for all of you that know me I am not anti alcohol just anti abuse of alcohol.
Also how are these "Communications Officers" trained? Oh I forgot to tell you. They are trained by Universities and Colleges who specialise in Communications but have little understanding of the true neurophysiological or psychological impact that those Communications have upon the intended subject. Sure there are one or two really good centres out there but the reality is that once someone has written the "Communications Bible" they all preach from the same sheet. However those organisations who do understand this deep impact upon the human psyche are very powerful indeed and have the ability to manipulate the human race as if they were a toy in the bath. Don't believe me? Ask Stanley Milgram, Josef Goebbels or even Rupert Murdoch.
So if an industry like the alcohol industry really wants to make you believe something they take fresh young minds and turn them into Communications Officers implanting them with the message that they are being responsible and educational about alcohol.
After all it's all in the message
The advertisement goes on to talk about joining an award winning Communications team promoting key messages to several sectors and also implies working intimately with the medical profession. And for the right person the remuneration package is £25k per annum.
Now is there any wonder why when a body, set up by the alcohol industry, can pay £25k for a very junior spin doctor that those of us who really seek to educate about alcohol stand a chance?
Now I'm not naive enough to believe that a multi-billion pound industry is going to roll over and say yes we've misled you for thousands of years, let's face it look at big tobacco, but I would like to think that they have the courage to tell the truth because for all of you that know me I am not anti alcohol just anti abuse of alcohol.
Also how are these "Communications Officers" trained? Oh I forgot to tell you. They are trained by Universities and Colleges who specialise in Communications but have little understanding of the true neurophysiological or psychological impact that those Communications have upon the intended subject. Sure there are one or two really good centres out there but the reality is that once someone has written the "Communications Bible" they all preach from the same sheet. However those organisations who do understand this deep impact upon the human psyche are very powerful indeed and have the ability to manipulate the human race as if they were a toy in the bath. Don't believe me? Ask Stanley Milgram, Josef Goebbels or even Rupert Murdoch.
So if an industry like the alcohol industry really wants to make you believe something they take fresh young minds and turn them into Communications Officers implanting them with the message that they are being responsible and educational about alcohol.
After all it's all in the message
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