Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 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

    Take The Stairs To Slow Brain Ageing

    Take The Stairs To Slow Brain Ageing
    Climbing the stairs can not only help you stay physically fit but also improve brain health, suggests new research.

    Take The Stairs To Slow Brain Ageing

    Red Meat Intake May Advance Onset Of Girls' Periods

    Red Meat Intake May Advance Onset Of Girls' Periods
    Girls who eat red meat often start their periods on average five months earlier than those who do not, the findings showed.

    Red Meat Intake May Advance Onset Of Girls' Periods

    Pistachios Also Sold In Canada Blamed For At Least 11 Illnesses In US

    At least 11 people in nine U.S. states have been infected in a salmonella outbreak linked to pistachios and two of them have been hospitalized.

    Pistachios Also Sold In Canada Blamed For At Least 11 Illnesses In US

    Tampon Tax: Does Being Female In The US Carry Unfair Costs?

    Tampon Tax: Does Being Female In The US Carry Unfair Costs?
    Margo Seibert and Natalie Brasington don't think women should have to pay a "period tax," and like a growing number of other women, they are publicly questioning whether being female in the U.S. carries unfair costs.

    Tampon Tax: Does Being Female In The US Carry Unfair Costs?

    To Fluoridate Or Not To Fluoridate? Municipalities Drinking Up Water Debate

    To Fluoridate Or Not To Fluoridate? Municipalities Drinking Up Water Debate
    Dentist Larry Levin has made his pitch about the importance of adding fluoride to drinking water several times in recent years to city councils voting on the controversial issue.

    To Fluoridate Or Not To Fluoridate? Municipalities Drinking Up Water Debate

    New Ways Of Fighting Zika Needed After Dengue Problems

    New Ways Of Fighting Zika Needed After Dengue Problems
    Everything that was done in the country to control (mosquitoes) apparently didn't work," said Jorge Kalil, director of the Butantan Institute in Sao Paolo, Brazil, who attended the meeting

    New Ways Of Fighting Zika Needed After Dengue Problems