Q07249

New Zealand’s Drinking Culture

Drinking is a huge part of today’s society when it comes to celebrations, social gatherings and events during the year. There is a lot of controversy on the harms of drinking alcohol and also the harms you may cause under the effect of alcohol. The knowledge of drinking is what separates a lot of us and is a very debated topic.

With celebrations all over the world you see alcoholic beverages chosen as the drink of choice. It is chosen to celebrate with because it is not drunk regularly and is brought out in special occasions. We see this on the world stage with Formula One drivers opening a big bottle of champagne to celebrate a victory. The christening of yachts with a bottle of champagne being smashed on the bow. Champagne can be costly and is thought to be a drink of special occasions.

Drinking alcohol can cause your body harm and you can then cause harm to other people while you are under intoxication. Your liver can only handle one standard drink an hour and anything more than that will be harming your liver. Intoxicated people can then cause harm to other people by verbally abusing, physical abusing them and domestic and family violence. People see drinking as a way to ‘drink away their sorrows’ and when they have to really face these problems, they abuse in different forms both verbal and physical. On an average day in New Zealand 272 people who have been drinking get arrested as a consequence of their behaviour under intoxication.

The knowledge of what you are drinking and how you are drinking it is what a lot of people do not know. You should know the alcohol percentage of your drink and this should change how you drink it depending on the percentage. With all these new vodka mixes drinks that taste like fruits and Red bull, people are unaware that they are in fact eight percentage alcohol. This also occurs when people buy a bottle of vodka and mix it themselves and end up with a drink that could be an even higher percentage of alcohol. It just tastes like your standard Red bull energy drink which tastes so good, and can drink so quickly and in a brief amount of time you will be under intoxication. This is where people need to be taught the knowledge of drinking and then change their attitude towards it which is said to be people ‘drinking to get drunk’.

New Zealand’s drinking culture has always been the same. It is just with new alcoholic mixes, people mixing drinks which have changed. We do not live in a binge drinking culture where a high percentage of people ‘drink to get drunk’. Schools and parents just have to teach the knowledge of drinking early or it will be too late and people may already have drinking habits in place. Then it is up to their friends to tell them the consequences of drinking and help them to change.