Hey you. Yeah, you.
We need to talk about your Merry Christmas being that little bit too merry.
Because – let’s face it – there is literally no other time of year where Aussies get so crazy with the alcohol. As soon it hits the first of December, it immediately becomes socially acceptable to:
– Introduce alcohol to every social outing, whether it be a casual lunch with friends or a playdate at the park (yeah, this actually happened last weekend to a mum I know),
– Crack open a drink before it’s even 10am – and consume a great deal of them before the sun sets, especially if the cricket is on,
– Get wasted at work drinks and try to make out with Josh from Marketing (Christmas party, anyone?) and
– Drink to excess most nights of the week – because it’s Christmas and you’re treating yourself.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Medibank 24/7 Health Advice Line. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.
I’m not saying that nobody should drink over Christmas time (have you met me?! Pass me a champers already). But I am saying that even for the most reasonable of drinkers, any consideration of alcohol intake tends to go out the window when it gets to the festive season. Logic and reason disappears into the black hole of deliciousness that is made up of champagne, Baileys and cocktails. And turkey.
This wouldn’t be such a worry if it wasn’t for the stats – particularly those surrounding Gen Y. New research from the Medibank 24/7 Health Advice Line has highlighted some leading health concerns for Australians during the festive months. Among these concerns? Significant weight gain, food poisoning and… alcohol poisoning.
Interestingly, men think they’re twice as likely to get alcohol poisoning than women. And those of you in NSW, Victoria and Tassie are in more trouble than others – residents of those states are more likely to get alcohol poisoning than the rest of the country.
There is some good news for the baby boomers out there. Four out of five of you will make it through to January without any health troubles at all. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for 44 per cent of Gen Y, who suffer some kind of ailment at one point. (I suspect that may have something to do with Gen Y tending to consume their body weight in beer at the pub over the Christmas holidays.)
So here are my safe drinking tips for getting through the next few weeks in one piece, and staying relatively happy and healthy:
Top Comments
Good advice, unfortunately many drinkers are not likely to come across this post!