Warning: alcohol, cold don't mix
Report from The Nation dated Sunday 25 December 2005 :-
Warning: alcohol, cold don't mix
The Public Health Ministry yesterday issued a warning on the potentially fatal effects of drinking alcohol to keep warm during the winter.
Dr Prat Bunyawongwiroj, Acting Permanent Secretary, said that alcohol affects blood circulation resulting in the heart having to work harder to distribute blood and increasing blood pressure. The ultimate consequence could be a stroke, which could be fatal at low room temperatures.
Although alcohol makes drinkers feel warm for a short while, it actually causes the body temperature to fall to a level lower than normal, which could be dangerous in the winter, he said.
Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said he had instructed public-health offices across the country to educate local residents on preventive measures against wintertime illnesses including pneumonia, influenza and diarrhoea.
Meanwhile, a survey of Chulalongkorn University students released yesterday revealed that more than 65 per cent of university students regularly drink alcohol, as do 40 per cent of high-school students.
Of the 500 university students polled, 328 of them said they were regular drinkers, said lecturer Amornwich Nakhonthap, director of the university's Child Watch programme, which conducted the survey. The average age at which those surveyed began drinking was 16, while the youngest reported age was eight.
Citing information from a 2004 survey, Amornwich said that 40 per cent of junior high-school students surveyed admitted to drinking regularly and another 23 per cent said they smoked.
He added that according to a Criminal Court analysis alcohol contributed to 59 per cent of crimes involving damage to property, 34 per cent of sex crimes (plus 10 per cent of rapes) and 20 per cent of assaults.
He said Child Watch found that more than 9,000 students under the age of 25 had been involved in road accidents while under the influence of alcohol. The total number of road accidents caused by intoxicated people in Thailand reached 13,000 this year, injuring more than 270,000 people.
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