Stop 'Drinking Gaslighting'... Year-End Parties Rapidly Increasing!

According to the 2022 Alcohol Statistics Report by the Korea Health Promotion Institute, the annual drinking rate among adults aged 19 and older was 78.1% in 2020, showing little change from 79.1% in 2010, ten years earlier. The health, social, and economic harms caused by alcohol consumption remain serious.

Drinking [Image source=Clipart Korea]

Alcohol refers to beverages containing more than 1% alcohol, which are absorbed through the digestive system and broken down in the liver. During this process, a toxic substance called acetaldehyde is produced. If a person lacks the enzymes to break it down due to their constitution or excessive drinking, toxic reactions such as flushing, headaches, and dizziness occur in the body.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under the World Health Organization (WHO), has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen alongside tobacco. Excessive drinking causes various diseases affecting the brain, heart, digestive system, kidneys, and respiratory system, and negatively impacts mental health, including depression, memory loss, and learning disabilities. Moreover, heavy drinking leads to social problems ranging from disruption of daily life the next day to alcohol-related violence and drunk driving.

However, while society encourages quitting smoking, people often face social pressure when refusing alcohol. This is because the perception that alcohol is as harmful as tobacco has not been established.

In a public perception survey on drinking and smoking conducted by the National Cancer Center, 88.5% recognized tobacco as a Group 1 carcinogen, but only 33.6% recognized alcohol as such. Only 37.4% believed that alcohol and tobacco are equally harmful.

Kim Yoon-mi, head of the Comprehensive Health Screening Center at Daedong Hospital and a family medicine specialist, stated, “Alcohol, like tobacco, is a Group 1 carcinogen, but unlike tobacco, which is heavily regulated, alcohol packaging is often attractive, and media portrayals often associate drinking with stress relief or dating, which creates somewhat positive perceptions and lowers awareness of its carcinogenic risks.” She advised, “Although people know that excessive drinking is harmful to health, even small amounts of alcohol can negatively affect the body, so it should be recognized that there is no safe level of drinking for health.”

It is best to avoid drinking occasions whenever possible, but if it is difficult to skip year-end or New Year’s drinking gatherings, remember the WHO’s low-risk drinking limits: 40g of alcohol for men and 20g for women, and adjust consumption accordingly.

Know your own drinking capacity and avoid exceeding it. If you have underlying health conditions or adverse reactions to alcohol, it is best not to drink. Limit drinking frequency to once a week or less, and abstain from alcohol for three days after drinking.

When drinking, consume alcohol after meals, choose beverages with lower alcohol content, drink slowly and share drinks, and frequently drink water in between. Avoid forced drinking practices such as toasts or “wave” drinking games, as these are not part of a healthy drinking culture. Also, do not mix different types of alcohol or coerce others to drink. It is important to be able to refuse unnecessary drinking occasions or drinks you cannot consume for your own well-being, and for this refusal to be naturally accepted in the culture.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.