Raising a glass to No Alcohol Day
Today is No Alcohol Day - the day that Bermuda's Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention is urging us to abstain from alcoholic beverages, think about our alcohol consumption, and refrain from drinking and driving.
If the results of a survey that I've been running for the last week are representative of general opinion, however, few people intend to participate. Of the 259 respondents who are drinkers, 69% said that they will still have a drink today, whereas only 24% said that they would abstain. 7% were undecided.
I still intend to have my regular Friday evening glass of red wine tonight. Denying myself the pleasure will do nothing to help Bermuda's drink-driving problem, so abstaining seems rather pointless.
Needless to say, however, I'll either be drinking at home or making use of my pregnant (hence currently teetotal) wife as the designated driver.
No Alcohol Day
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I will only abide by the ‘No Alcohol Day’ if there is a corresponding ‘Alcohol Day’, where drinking is encourage all day long. Wait this is Bermuda, there are plenty of alcohol days, New Years, Cup Match (Both Days), Christmas, Boxing Day, Bermuda Day and Monday through Fridays, don’t forget about Saturdays... not Sunday though, THAT's the Lord's day… expect when it falls on any of the aforementioned days.. or if you get bored…whatever works.
Posted by Cancundreaming on 28.04.06 at 01:21
Cancundreaming - obviously you don't go to Church on Sundays for your Jesus biscuit and a slap!!!
Posted by Bandit on 28.04.06 at 08:16
Limey
I don't think the day was meant to only stop Bermudians from drunk driving, it was also meant to reflect on the hardships that alcohol abuse has caused in many Bermudian families. Sorry you don't see the point of that.
Posted by Cynic on 28.04.06 at 09:08
Cynic,
There IS no point. This is a ridiculous excercise. If you honestly believe that this will help people, you're dreaming. This whole idea is stupid.
Reflect on the hardships that acohol abuse causes?
Anyone that grew up in an alocholic household doesn't need a day to reflect on it. They need help. This idiotic idea is not offering anything other than lip service to the problem.
Instead of all the money and time they spent advertising this, they could have probably sent one need person to a rehab to get clean, or sponsored someone to a halfway house.
It's good intentioned, yes, but just plain stupid.
Posted by Uncle Elvis on 28.04.06 at 09:41
Am I the only person that finds the irony here unbelievable?? The two main people pushing this event;
1. The Food & BEVERAGE Manager at a local Property
2. Bermuda's newest recipient of an "A" Class Liquor Licence, allowing him to import & sell liquor in Bermuda
WTF is going on with this programme ???
Posted by Two Cents on 28.04.06 at 09:52
'No Alcohol Day' makes about as much sense as trying to hold a 'No Driving Day'.
If people seriously want to curb drinking and driving, then they should be rallying for better alternatives.
Lets take people who live in St. Davids as an example shall we?
The last bus that leaves town may well be 11:45pm, but the last bus running to St. Davids is 6:15pm.
Alternatives if you'd prefer to stay out and get drunk?
1. crash at a friends place
2. drive home drunk
3. take a $40 cab ride.
Given statistics, would you agree that most people don't choose the $40 option?
We should have extended nighttime bus routes on weekends if we really want to curb drinking and driving.
Posted by Denis Pitcher on 28.04.06 at 09:56
Well i am disappointed you all feel that way. Its funny that you all have all the answers to every single issue facing Bermuda, yet when people have good intentions to do something you always have to find a negative. So so sad!
Posted by Cynic on 28.04.06 at 10:43
Cynic (an ironic name, to be sure), I don't drink. 16 years now. I worked in a nightclub for 13 years straight. Trust me, I understand the problem. I am the son and brother of alcoholics and drug addicts. I've been aware of the problem since I was 8.
The problem has been an intrinsic part of my life for almost 30 years, so, yeah. I do have some answers.
Good frigging intentions aren't the answer.
What's sad is that you think this moronic idea is going to work in any way, shape or form.
How much money was spent on this good intention? How much time went into it.
How much better would that time and money be spent actually helping people instead of this grandstanding nonsense? How much better would the few hours people stood with Johnny Barnes have been spent trying to raise money for people who actually need the treatment?
This No Drinking Day is a joke. The intention was to make people aware of the problem. The joke is that they're too busy organizing stupid shit like this to actually fucking help people get better.
Posted by Uncle Elvis on 28.04.06 at 11:15
National No Drinking Alcohol Day...hmmmmmm....has the Premiere heard of this insidious treachery and discrimination against those who "play" Bermuda's "National Sport (these were his words)"...this is just another example of how when one does not understand the exact nature and extent of the problem one's solutions become...well...sad. Just like aggressive dogs and marijuana, alcohol is not the problem here!
Posted by Backs on 28.04.06 at 11:46
I would welcome a "National No Drinking and Driving Day"...that seems to cut closer to the source of the problem at hand. Prevention is key...the question is "What are we trying to prevent?" Ironically it is exactly the people who "can't" stop drinking that we want to focus on...or am I missing the point? Mr Gosling and Mr Burrows must be "pissed" :)
Posted by Backs on 28.04.06 at 12:01
Uncle, one should never drink when one is sober :)
Posted by Backs on 28.04.06 at 12:34
Each is to each own whether they drink today,
You will not stop every one but you can try to see where it takes you.
I will still drink!
Posted by lynshell on 28.04.06 at 12:55
Cynic,
I’ll be drinking because I don't see how my abstinence will help anyone. I can reflect on the hardships that alcohol abuse has caused whether I’m sipping a glass of Coke or a glass of Merlot. But even if I did, what would be gained by it? How does that help address the problem? Good intentions aren't going to reduce alcohol abuse or stigmatise drink-driving.
Perhaps CADA should have put some collection boxes in bars and restaurants and encouraged people to donate the money they would have spent on an alcoholic drink (or the difference between the price of an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic one). Perhaps some of those bars and restaurants could have been persuaded to match any donations made by their patrons. Proceeds could then have been given to a charity such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
With a scheme like that, I would have been much more likely to participate.
Posted by Phil on 28.04.06 at 13:00
Phil
The truly wonderful thing about Alcoholics Anonymous is they don’t accept outside donations. They prefer to work alcoholic to alcoholic and above all rest outside affairs that don’t concern them, all be it in around alcohol issues. There are however an abundance of others that could use that money. A really good idea there, it would be much easier to donate the cost of a drink or three instead of saying no to the Château Margaux during lunch.
Posted by Ethiops on 28.04.06 at 13:10
The "Just say No!" campaign has now gone down in history as the least effective prevention strategy ever conceived...the reason? Because it misses the point and comes from a place of totally misunderstanding the nature of the problem. The real money needs to go into the more progressive campaigns that run under the banner "How do I say No?" and "Exactly what do I say No to?". An example would be the teenagers in the US, whose school's drug test for illicit drugs, have expressed how it is easier to say "No" when they can point to the fact that they are being drug tested at school. It helps them cope with the powerful draw of peer pressure...I was wondering if anyone has any data on exactly how much alcohol gets consumed here in Bermuda compared to other countries? For that matter does anyone have any data about how alcohol impacts our community in any shape or fashion...just wondering about what starting points strategists are using to generate solutions to the problems?
Posted by Backs on 28.04.06 at 13:27
I think CADA's hope for NAD is that like, giving up chocolate for a week or for Lent,
one realizes how much they really miss it or don't miss it. I think it's more about reflection , self-awareness and thus aiming for prevention (of any alcohol problems).
Posted by Greta on 28.04.06 at 15:50
Cynic, I'm off to the pub to give your posts serious consideration.
Posted by hotspur on 28.04.06 at 16:19
"obviously you don't go to Church on Sundays for your Jesus biscuit and a slap!!!"
LOL('til coffee comesout ya nose).
Posted by hotspur on 28.04.06 at 16:21
"yet when people have good intentions to do something you always have to find a negative. So so sad!"
No, we find hypocrites instead...So so sad.
Posted by smith on 28.04.06 at 16:29
Cynic, I'm off to the pub to give your posts serious consideration.
Posted by hotspur on 28.04.06 at 16:19
Dry and cheeky--I love it!
Posted by silencedogood on 28.04.06 at 16:42
In the RG today there was clear evidence that not only did people NOT abstain..."traffic" at the bars was actually higher than normal.
The reason is obvious for the increase in customers, the deadline for all the insurance companies filings was Friday. CADA picked the WRONG day to try this thing.
Posted by ace on 29.04.06 at 11:28
Sharing an experience. I had full intentions of not drinking for the day, not really because of CADA but more of a self testing experiment. Last night I dropped my friend off at a local watering hole while I went grocery shopping. I shopped, unpacked then went back to pick him up. The bar was full! I heard someone order me a beer and I declined by saying "no thank you, I do not wish any alcohol today". The room fell silent and then........
"get her one anyway"
"Yeah, get her one from me too"
"send her another one"
"send her two from me"
"I would like to buy the lady a drink"
This went on and on until I realized that by just saying "no" got me a drink from every person at the bar. In less than sixty seconds the whole bar bought me a drink just because I said no.
Eighteen coasters!
Needless to say I drank all night for free. I just wanted to say Thank you to CADA for the awareness. Now I am aware of the following:
I am weak.
My friends are all assholes.
No one wants to see anyone sober on this island.
Four Advil and dry toast do the trick.
Ps. I would like to try this experiment again next year, but could some suggest a Monday or Tuesday. I feel I will have a better success rate!
Posted by Save De Cut on 29.04.06 at 12:06
Addiction (which includes alcoholism) is a health issue that must be addressed with common sense, not with whimsical, neo-liberal tactics like a “No Alcohol Day.” What a freaking joke... just like their brochure! Here is my common sense plan for addressing drug abuse, simplified:
1) Hire and educate two or three down-to-earth social workers (not cops), preferably recovered alcoholic/addicts themselves (because only an addict can successfully relate to another addict), to cruise Bermuda’s drug hangouts. In time they would build trust and eventually get to know most of the addicts personally, say for starters, on “the Block.” These street-savvy, social worker, drug counsellors would continually encourage susceptible alcoholic/addicts to quit, and when they were down & out & ready, offer them a variety of local healing & treatment options -- NA & AA do not necessarily appeal to everyone. These street workers would also be able to identify new potential addicts, as they appeared on the Block, and try to draw them into other more positive activities, before they became hard core addicts.
2) Implement a truthful, preventative, educational programme for Middle Schools that does not lie about marijuana. The kids know what the deal is with weed, and if you lie about that, as they do in the USofA, they will not believe what you are telling them about hard drugs like alcohol, ecstasy, lsd, meth, cocaine and heroin. I feel marijuana should be discussed in an entirely different context.
3) Instead of wasting our hard-earned money on stupid schemes like “No Alcohol Day” our Gov’t should offer a variety of real options for recovery for alcoholic/addicts willing to take the plunge. Like a large local residential treatment centre for men, with extended follow-up care.
Let’s face it, addiction is a bitch, and we will never be able to eradicate all drug abuse, particularly by using political & legal methods... unless we legalise them all to remove the enormous profits involved in trafficking. And that ain’t gonna happen here soon! However, I do feel that my co-ordinated, three-point proposal to reduce addiction in Bermuda is a start and may actually work here -- over time.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albert Einstein
Posted by justamysticman on 01.05.06 at 09:01
I doubt that would work, see one of the main problems with drugs is that they work.
On another note Mexico legalizes weed, x pills, coke and heroin in small amounts for personal use.
Posted by ice_cube on 01.05.06 at 10:55
I doubt that would work, see one of the main problems with drugs is that they work.
Please elaborate....
Posted by justamysticman on 01.05.06 at 16:42
As a pub owner my concern is we have lost the gaming machines first smokings second and what's next drinking ? Drinking is a civel right if it is abused it is a personal problem. If the public is negativly impacted the POLICE have an obligation to enforce the law with road blocks, raids on bars that serve minors and drunks etc.
Posted by swinging on 01.05.06 at 16:53
Drinking is a civel right ... hiccup
Posted by observor on 01.05.06 at 17:19
Ethiops, no-one should EVER say no to Chateau Margaux.
Posted by TJL on 01.05.06 at 17:44