It is estimated that there are 2 billion people worldwide who drink alcohol. More than half of them are doing this in moderation and they are not looking for reasons to quit drinking. The 76 million drinkers who are considered to have an issue with alcohol, the problem drinkers, alcoholics or alcohol dependents, are the ones who may need to stop, but not all of them are looking for reasons either. It is for them that these reasons should be addresses. Chances are they are in denial; they know these reasons but they have found ways of rationalizing their way out of quitting. (i)
Among the many reasons, these are the 3 reasons to quit drinking that are found to be most effective in convincing alcoholics.
1) Quitting alcohol will save the life of alcoholics and those around them – This is the alarming fact: alcohol is found to be main cause of 1.8 million deaths a year or 3.2% of deaths around the world. This figure includes deaths due to diseases caused by alcohol abuse, alcohol poisoning, and alcohol related vehicular accidents. This also takes into consideration the global statistics on suicide and homicide directly related to alcoholic drinking.
2) Quitting alcohol will save a lot of money – For alcoholics, quitting drinking will save each and every one of them a small fortune. This is just for the direct cost of buying alcohol. That does not take into account the indirect cost such as car fuels when going to bars, the opportunity cost of missing a day of work due to hangovers, the cost of peanuts and nachos, the cost of renting a motel because alcoholics couldn’t drive themselves home and more.
Even if they justify the cost by saying that they drink at home, the cost of binge drinking and alcohol abuse is still staggering.
Another cost factor is the healthcare cost of treating alcoholics. As early as 1995, a report called “The economic costs of substance abuse” cited that “Annual health care expenditures for alcohol-related problems amount to $22.5 billion. The total cost of alcohol problems is $175.9 billion a year (compared to $114.2 billion for other drug problems and $137 billion for smoking).” (ii)
3) Quitting alcohol will make the alcoholic regain his freedom – Alcoholics oftentimes surrender their will and their freedom to the substance. It is not that they have become powerless over alcohol; it is more a willful surrender. Once it happens, alcohol takes over and dictates a person’s life – his time, his behavior, his productivity, his self-esteem, and his happiness.
Deeper than that, a loss of freedom may result in a loss of self-control and right thinking. Domestic abuse between husband and wife are more likely to increase with alcohol. In 1997, 40 percent of convicted rape and sexual assault offenders said that they were drinking at the time of their crime. (ii) In 2002, more than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault in the U.S. In all these incidents, alcohol is blamed.
These are some of the many reasons to quit drinking. Unfortunately, those who readily agree with these reasons are the people less likely to need them.
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i. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/01-number-people-affected.htm#0
ii. http://www.marininstitute.org/alcohol_policy/health_care_costs.htm#_edn2