Close X
Friday, November 1, 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

    Did You Know Your Height And Weight May Affect Income?

    Men who are shorter in height and women who are obese are more likely to be socio-economically deprived with lower levels of education, occupation, and income, suggests new research.

    Did You Know Your Height And Weight May Affect Income?

    Strong Sexual Desires Common Among Women Too

    Strong Sexual Desires Common Among Women Too
    The findings showed that a number of legal sexual interests and behaviours considered anomalous are actually common in the general population. 

    Strong Sexual Desires Common Among Women Too

    Women Experience More Neck Pain Than Men

    Women Experience More Neck Pain Than Men
    Shedding new light on how differently men and women experience pain, researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have found that women are 1.38 times more likely than men to report neck pain due to cervical degenerative disc disease.

    Women Experience More Neck Pain Than Men

    A Moment Of Firsts, As Justin Trudeau Arrives In The U.S. Today

    Trudeau today begins his first prime ministerial visit to the U.S. — which will also feature the first White House state dinner for a Canadian in 19 years.

    A Moment Of Firsts, As Justin Trudeau Arrives In The U.S. Today

    WHO: Sexual Transmission Of Zika More Common Than Thought

    WHO: Sexual Transmission Of Zika More Common Than Thought
    Sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than previously thought, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, citing reports from several countries.

    WHO: Sexual Transmission Of Zika More Common Than Thought

    New Guidelines Back CT Scans For Lung Cancer Screening In Longtime Smoke

    New Guidelines Back CT Scans For Lung Cancer Screening In Longtime Smoke
    The guidelines from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care apply to current smokers and those who have quit within the past 15 years with at least a so-called 30 pack-year history of smoking

    New Guidelines Back CT Scans For Lung Cancer Screening In Longtime Smoke