Breakingthecycles.com – Changing the Conversations

by Lisa Frederiksen

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Awareness Month and the statistics surrounding drunk and drugged driving are staggering. Here a just a few:

• Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2006).
• During 2005, 16,885 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, representing 39% of all traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2006).
• In 2005, nearly 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (Department of Justice 2005). That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Quinlan et al. 2005). (1)

These statistics show there’s a lot still to be done, and while the obvious answer is “Don’t Drink and Drive,” the less obvious is what makes someone think they can still drive after having several drinks and how can that be avoided? In my opinion, it’s staying within the drinking limits that allow you to still think clearly and make wise choices — not only choices about whether to drink and drive but about what you say and do.

As for drinking limits? The NIAAA defines [ongoing] alcohol use that’s not likely to cause problems as:

• no more than 3 drinks in a day AND no more than 7 in a week for women
• no more than 4 drinks in a day AND no more than 14 drinks in a week for men.

So if a woman has three drinks at an event, for example, she may only have 4 more drinks that week in order to stay within these recommended limits. Of course, these “safe” limits can vary by size, weight, health, age, height, etc. of the individual. [Note: these limits also differ from USDA's recommendations of one drink/day for women and two for men, but that's another post.]

So how do you stay within safe drinking limits?

• Understand what constitutes “A” drink. You’ve heard it before and have read it in many articles but have you tried to measure it and see what it looks like? “A” drink of wine is 5 ounces; “A” drink of beer is 12 ounces; and “A” drink of spirits (vodka, gin, scotch) is 1.5 ounces. This means that drinks poured and consumed at bars and holiday parties often contain more than one drink as follows:
  • a margarita = 3-4 drinks
  • a martini = 2-3 drinks
  • a scotch on the rocks = 2 drinks
  • a standard bottle of table wine = 5 drinks.
• Know your glasses. What I mean here is understand that various homes, restaurants and holiday party locations will have different types of glasses, which means a glass of wine, for example, can have far more than just “A” drink of alcohol, depending on the type of glass that’s being used. This is another reason to actually measure out 5 ounces or 12 ounces or 1.5 ounces in various, common glass shapes, so that you have a clear visual of what “A” drink looks like.
• Don’t let them refill. When you’re at holiday parties, it’s easy to loose track if a waiter is constantly refilling your glass. Don’t let them until you’ve completely finished your original drink. That way you will know when you’ve had your limit.
• Alcohol interacts with medications. Just a reminder that alcohol and prescription drugs and some over-the-counter medications do not mix – be sure to read the label and heed the warning.
• It takes at least one hour. Again, depending on age, health, weight, metabolism, height, etc., it “typically” takes one hour for the body to process one drink. So for every drink, it takes the body at least one, alcohol-free hour to rid itself of the alcohol in that one drink (two drinks, two alcohol-free hours, and so on).

All of this said, please know it’s not meant as a formula for how to drink and drive. Impairment begins with the first drink. Rather, it’s shared in hopes that understanding what constitutes a drink and how easy it is to over-drink can help all of us make wise decisions [such as sticking with the plan to designate a non-drinking driver and only driving home with that person] in order to be safe on the road and in the many other social settings where drinking can compromise one’s judgment, decisions and behaviors.

Here’s to happy and safe holidays!

(1) Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drving.htm

by Lisa Frederiksen

Continuing with the theme of December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Awareness Month, I’ve included this link to MADD’s Safe Party Guide. It contains information on the myths associated with “sobering” a party guest (coffee does not work, nor do mixers dilute the alcohol); answers questions about what you should do if you have a guest who’s drinking too much and how to spot a drunk driver on the road once you’ve safely left a holiday party.

There is some great information here, and please share your own suggestions.

“I only had a couple of drinks.” or “We each had a drink and then split a bottle of wine.” These statements are common, and often the speaker is baffled after being pulled over for a DUI or having a hangover in the morning. One of the contributing factors is the lack of awareness of what’s in “a” drink. Each of the following quantities equals 1 drink:

• a 5 ounce glass of wine
• a 12 ounce beer
• 1.5 ounces (a shot) of 80-proof distilled spirits (scotch, gin, vodka)

This means that common drinks people serve and/or consume often contain more than one drink as follows:

• a margarita = 3-4 drinks
• a martini = 2-3 drinks
• a scotch on the rocks = 2-3 drinks
• a standard bottle of table wine = 5 drinks.

Awareness is half the battle. Try measuring these quantities in your favorite shaped drink glass or common-shaped restaurant glasses to get the visual of what “a” drink looks like (5 ounces of wine is a lot smaller than you may think). When you’re at a banquet or party, decline “refills” of your glass until you’ve finished so that you know how much you are really drinking. Understanding what’s in “a” drink and staying within safe drinking limits can help you avoid the consequences of over-drinking and know when to decline a ride from someone who’s “only had a ‘couple’.”

From someone who has direct experience with soldiers and underage drinking, Evan Hoapili, Colonel, USAF (ret), wrote an article titled, “The Nation Does Not Owe Youngest Veterans the Right to Drink,” September 2, 2008. It has been posted on the F.A.C.E.Project’s website and can be read by clicking on the article title. What’s equally astounding is the campaign Colonel Hoapili led while base commander at F.E. Warren Air Force Base to teach responsible alcohol use. It’s well worth the 16:25 minutes to watch the video developed and produced by the F.A.C.E. Project that explains F.E. Warren’s program and the heartening results 18 months after it was started, such as DUI’s down 86%, underage drinking down 81% and family violence referrals [as a result of alcohol] down 40%.

Click here and scroll down to “Teaching Responsible Alcohol Use – F.E.Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, WY Case Study,” to watch this video. It’s well worth your time and will give even more food for thought in the ongoing debate about underage drinking.

by Lisa Frederiksen

When I read that someone dies in America every 31 minutes in an alcohol-related vehicle crash (1), I was stunned. But then, when I thought about it, most of us don’t really know that different amounts of wine, beer and “distilled spirits” (gin, vodka, whiskey) all have the same level of alcohol. This means that they are all considered “a” drink. Here’s how the U.S. Department of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services define “a” drink:

• 12 ounces of beer, or
• 5 ounces of wine, or
• 1.5 ounces (1 shot) of 80-proof distilled spirits (gin, vodka, whiskey).

The reason for the differing amounts is alcohol content. The alcohol content in a 5 oz. glass of wine, for example, is the same as that in a 12-ounce beer. So how does this tie into the opening remarks?

The common drinks that adults serve and/or consume at bars, social events and restaurants often contain more than one drink:

• a margarita = 3-4 drinks
• a martini = 2-3 drinks
• a scotch on the rocks can be as much as 3 drinks (depending on the pour)
• a standard bottle of wine = 5 drinks.

(Additionally, the “proof” of the distilled spirit makes a difference. For example a shot of rum that is 151 proof is the equivalent of two drinks. Other variations occur with who’s pouring and the size of the glass – one restaurant’s “glass” of wine can vary considerably from another’s.)

So what does all of this mean? It means we often don’t know that when we have “a” drink and share a bottle of wine at dinner, we’ve actually had 4-5 drinks before we climb in the car and head on home — simply because we didn’t understand what’s in that drink. One way to get a sense of what a drink looks like is to actually measure similar amounts of water and pour in various glasses at home.

Your comments are welcomed. A question that I’d love your feedback on is whether you think drinks should be labeled the way foods are now labeled? But, instead of grams of fat, protein, fiber, carbohydrates, trans fats, etc., drinks would be labeled with the drink equivalent [for example, 1 Long Island Ice Tea = approximately 3 drinks]. At least when we’re ordering we’d understand what’s in that drink, which might help with our decision to drive or call a cab, instead.

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(1) Source: NHTSA 2006 / National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.