Did anybody see the Panaroma about binge drinking last night?

[Orangelight23]

Real eye opener for me. Women in their 30s being diagnosed with liver disease. I must admit I have myself been drawn into wine culture and drinking wine to relax.

It's made me have a real think about my alcohol intake to be honest.

@Oofpaans class A's in the UK include heroin and other opiates such as fentanyl, they are not 'low risk' even by Professor Nutt's standards, there are some in there that are probably lower risk than alcohol, but that's because alcohol is quite dangerous as a drug!

Professor Nutt's point, which is a good one I think, is that such classification systems are a bit irrational and so ecstasy which was regularly taken by 1 million plus on a weekend is classified as dangerous similar to heroin use, but it's not as dangerous. One problem is though, that drugs can be synthetically made or combined to be stronger and more potent and so what 'cannabis' was in the 60's is probably not what skunk is now, and similar with some mods to ecstasy.

@cookiebee with all due respect (because I am not mean or vicious as you've previously stated) you are the one who is trying to silence people. You told people who disagreed with you to leave the thread.

I haven't read your post but it's clear you've had health issues because of alcohol so obviously you are emotionally invested in this subject and want to raise awareness which is admirable. I have experience or alcoholism in my family. Not so much the health side but certainly the emotional issues that come with loving someone who prioritises booze.

That said I do still like a drink, possibly too much and actually reading this thread has opened my eyes to the damage I could have been doing. I am going to make a conscious effort to cut back.

So yeah. No hard feelings and I hope you have recovered but I'm just saying that trying to cancel people who disagree with you/havent shared your experience or implying that they are 'mean girls' isn't that helpful.

I've no idea why I think injecting heroine is worse than a couple of beers. I must be crazy.

Alcohol does far more damage than any other drug in the UK because it so available and advertised and normalised.

I didn't see it, but I was aware of the argument. I've heard NHS doctors discussing for years that the middle class bottle of wine a night crew are getting into as much medical hot water as teenage binge drinkers.

That does not mean heroine is safer than alcohol.

Yes it’s also individual. Some people are capable of having one or two glasses of wine with dinner and stopping. That level of drinking is not as harmful as shooting up heroin.

Though apparently being able to moderate and stop at one makes you smug and not allowed to contribute to this thread.

I was thinking more like cocaine and ecstasy.

A line of coke is far worse for you than a glass of wine..

And with ecstasy you obviously have that risk of dying with a dodgy pill. You don’t have a risk of dying if you drink a glass of wine. You know where you are with alcohol. Some people abuse it and aren’t able to moderate. So no they shouldn’t drink.

The memories of gurning faces at raves will never leave me and Daniella Westbrook's face. I was also in a posh pub and was verbally assaulted by a bloke off his tits on cocaine.

If you’re interested in what you shouldn’t put in your body, also watch Irresistible- why we can’t stop eating on BBC2. About upfs. Very interesting

@cookiebee I didn't see your thread about pancreatitis but just want to say I hope you're much better now, because I've heard that that is the pain that surpasseth understanding and there's hardly any analgesia to touch it! 😰

You've been through something mega, thanks for coming here to share your experience. 🤗

Thank you I really appreciate that, and it’s true, even morphine did nothing to stop the pain. It’s like a raccoon is digging through your guts for days on end.

One factor could be that I didn't have kids, so didn't have the protective factor of breastfeeding. But I do know that my BC was heavily oestrogen-positive (Allred score of 8), and that alcohol is 'oestrogenic' (which is why male alcoholics can get fatty breast tissue and impotence). I also noticed that, when I stopped drinking, my breasts got a lot less sore generally... 🧐

I'm sorry you've had cancer and I hope you're better now. An aunt of mine had the same and the consultant did say that it was most likely because she hadn't had children. I think pregnancy not just b/feeding lowers risk dramatically doesn't it? In her case she would never have had children anyway (didn't want them) but I've always thought how awful it would be if they'd said something like that to a woman who wasn't able to have children.

Lots of doctors have in the past used Heroin without the associated usual negative effects because they could get hold of the pure stuff ‘medicinal’ Morphine. Some became addicted, some didn’t. Since Shipman, morphine prescription is now closely monitored, so doctors can’t just have a good time with it.

Cocaine is, for the last few decades and even more recently very widely used recreationally. Like alcohol, some become addicted, but most users don’t.

Taking account of the above, why do you judge class A drug users, but not those who drink a lot of alcohol?

What is that based on?

What are you talking about? You can't see why someone injecting heroine is worse than someone having a couple of drinks?

@AnnieSnap What about drug trafficking etc?

I’m asking why you “judge Class A drug users” (your words). Judging someone for using a different drug to your drug of choice is an interesting thing to do. Particularly Cocaine, which is apparently no more addictive than alcohol and is used widely. You may think using Class A drugs is unwise (I think that myself), but why do you judge them?

I don’t disagree, but most users don’t think about that (no more than alcohol users think about the violence, NHS resource use, etc of the use of alcohol). I am asking about you judging users.

I think victim blaming is fuelled by those who make profit from industries that result in carcinogenic products or environments.

great book by Azra Raza called the First Cell explains a lot about the human body develops cancer. cancer = mostly down to age and being human.

Ooh I’ve not heard of that book - thanks will check it out

Cancer is basically cells going awry. Can happen to anyone and yes, risk increased with age.

Based on the fact that a line of coke can give you a heart attack. And you don’t know what it’s cut with.

A glass of wine doesn’t carry the same risk.

Hope you are fully healed and thank you for highlighting what alcohol can do to you even in more moderate amounts. It’s quite frightening and anyone sensible would take heed from your post, not argue against it.

I wouldn’t let them get to you, as the saying goes: you can lead a horse to water…
Reading the comments on this post is on a par with someone buying a pack of cigarettes where they put a decomposed lung on a graphic image on the pack but they still smoke the pack. Addiction and denial is very real and the change needs to come from within.

If anyone is getting rattled and arguing against how bad alcohol is for their health they need to have a very long think about their own addiction at this stage.