Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Second-Hand Drinking As Bad As Second-Hand Smoke

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Jul, 2019 08:29 PM

    Just like second-hand smoking, society needs to combat the second-hand effects of drinking as millions of people are suffering alcohol's harm because of someone else's drinking, warn a study led by an Indian-origin scientist.


    An analysis of US national survey data showed that some 21 per cent of women and 23 per cent of men -- an estimated 53 million adults -- experienced harm because of someone else's drinking in the last 12 months.


    These harms could be threats or harassment, ruined property or vandalism, physical aggression, harms related to driving or financial or family problems.


    The most common harm was threats or harassment, reported by 16 per cent of survey respondents, said researchers led by Madhabika B. Nayak of the Alcohol Research Group, a programme of the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California.


    The specific types of harm experienced differed by gender. Women were more likely to report financial and family problems, whereas ruined property, vandalism and physical aggression were more likely to be reported by men.


    There is "considerable risk for women from heavy, often male, drinkers in the household and, for men, from drinkers outside their family," wrote the authors in a paper published in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.


    Additional factors, including age and the person's own drinking, were also important.


    People younger than age 25 had a higher risk of experiencing harm from someone else's drinking.


    Further, almost half of men and women who themselves were heavy drinkers said they had been harmed by someone else's drinking.


    Even people who drank but not heavily were at two to three times the risk of harassment, threats and driving-related harm compared with abstainers.


    "Control policies, such as alcohol pricing, taxation, reduced availability, and restricting advertising, may be the most effective ways to reduce not only alcohol consumption but also alcohol's harm to persons other than the drinker," said Nayak.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    New UBC Study Finds HIV Treatment Could Contribute To Syphilis Outbreak

    New UBC Study Finds HIV Treatment Could Contribute To Syphilis Outbreak
    The study says drugs used to treat HIV could affect how the body responds to syphilis, inadvertently contributing to an outbreak reported in several countries, primarily affecting men having sex with men.

    New UBC Study Finds HIV Treatment Could Contribute To Syphilis Outbreak

    Boy Or Girl? Mother's Blood Pressure May Predict Sex Of Baby

    Boy Or Girl? Mother's Blood Pressure May Predict Sex Of Baby
    The sex of a baby may be predicted by the mother's blood pressure, according to a new study which found that women with lower BP before pregnancy are more likely to give birth to a girl.

    Boy Or Girl? Mother's Blood Pressure May Predict Sex Of Baby

    Some Facts About Flu And How To Avoid Getting It

    Some Facts About Flu And How To Avoid Getting It
    ORONTO — Canada is in the midst of the flu season, with cases mounting across the country. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about influenza.   

    Some Facts About Flu And How To Avoid Getting It

    Ways To Lose Post Pregnancy Weight

    Celebrity fitness trainer Yogesh Bhateja has shared some key elements that will help one in speedy recovery and getting back in shape in a healthier way. 

    Ways To Lose Post Pregnancy Weight

    Don't Cut The Cord Too Fast; A Pause Benefits Most Newborns

    Don't Cut The Cord Too Fast; A Pause Benefits Most Newborns
    WASHINGTON — Don't cut that umbilical cord too soon: A brief pause after birth could benefit most newborns by delivering them a surge of oxygen-rich blood.

    Don't Cut The Cord Too Fast; A Pause Benefits Most Newborns

    Pregnancy Causes Alterations In Women's Brain To Adapt To Motherhood

    Pregnancy can cause long-lasting changes -- at least for two years post-partum -- in the morphology of a woman's brain and help them adapt to challenges of motherhood such as the ability to interact with the child, researchers have found.

    Pregnancy Causes Alterations In Women's Brain To Adapt To Motherhood