The Young Ones Are Here

Has anybody noticed that alcoholics are not necessarily over forty anymore?

Permit me to be cliché but aren’t they usually smelly old guys falling over themselves and slurring their speech? Oh, you thought so too?

Well, ever heard this little jingle?

...and that’s the reason why

The rum will never die

Because the young ones are born before the old ones die...

I’m putting my fingers to these keys to ring the bell that the young ones are in fact born; they are teenagers and adolescents and social butterflies under thirty.

Alcoholism among youth is fast becoming a problem for our society whether we admit it or not.

It would be incorrect to refer to this as underage drinking because Dominica’s laws as they exist right now basically state that drinking over the age of 12 is fine. Yep, look it up.

But while we shake our heads at those old guys slumped in drains after sunset, are we amused by those younger alcoholics who, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, are steeped in alcohol in the hot Caribbean sun?

...Amused because maybe we do not see it as a problem. Neither do many of them, apparently.

No joke, a lot of young alcoholics don’t realise that they are. Is it because the line has been blurred between social drinking and blatant alcoholism? It is, actually. I see it all the time. A group of friends go out and the party doesn’t stop until someone is passed out in a puddle of puke on a sidewalk.

I understand that that happens at least once in one’s lifetime or at most very rarely. But what about the youths who drink to debilitation every time they take a glass or every time they go out?

They look forward to recounting how completely toasted they were the past weekend and the crazy stuff they did. They laugh about how many friends it took to take them home and how many drinks they had.

Are we amused by them because alcoholism among youth has become normal? Yes, that might also be a reason. Bartenders don’t bat an eye; shopkeepers see dollar signs; friends see normalcy and parents are oblivious.

No need to even debate that point. Just cruise around the city on the weekend or at community taverns in rural areas and identify the jester and the life of the party. Are they drunk? Most likely. Are they young? Yep.

Forget that, think back on the last time a group of young friends planned a little get-together. Was alcohol the focus? Indeed. It’s their Whatsapp profile photos and posted on their Facebook walls: drinks drinks drinks...

Even a lot of music coming out these days are focused on drinking until oblivion.

A third reason that we don’t notice that the next generation is at risk of becoming an alcoholic population is that they hide it well. There are those young folks who may not necessarily see themselves as full-blown alcoholics but realise that they have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

Instead of taking positive steps, though, they work harder to hide their dependency. They will be those who pressure others to drink all the time and suggest taking drinks to every event. They walk around barely holding on to real life just biding their time until the next excuse to get drunk. They’re able to fool those around them, even you and I. Sometimes, sadly, even themselves for a few hours.

Don’t these youths know that alcoholism is a real problem that has claimed more lives and destroyed more families that can be counted?

Do they think that they have enough time to kick the habit because they’re young? That’s laughable. Addiction respects no one.

Don’t they see that their bodies were not designed as flasks to convert blood to alcohol? Do they think that brain damage, liver damage and kidney failure only affect those over 50? Don’t they see the bloat, spots, bleary eyes and dehydration?

Don’t they feel their hearts struggling to cope?

Have they consciously decided to take on the risks of mouth, oesophagus, throat, liver and/or breast cancer?

Further, what kind of contributions are these youths making while chained to a bottle? What kind of professionals can they even be? What type of sisters, brothers, uncles, mothers, friends are they?

Importantly, what will the next five, ten or fifteen years be like for them?

Do they even realise that they have gotten to the point where they rely on alcohol like crutches to enjoy every event? There’s a name for that, it’s alcoholism and like any addiction, it’s not a good idea. Anything that robs one of freedom or choices cannot be highly-favoured.

Although few, any of these three reasons is all the reason anyone needs to get help.

There’s shame in denial, not in getting help.