TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ahead of the festivities associated with the year’s end, Taiwan’s medical community is reminding everyone of the dangers of excessive drinking.
Motor reflexes will become delayed after imbibing alcohol, while visual ability will also be reduced. Furthermore, response time while driving under the influence will decrease. Many tragedies often occur because of a 0.1-second delay in responding to an incident on the road.
Although a continuous government clampdown on drinking and driving has indeed led to a decreased number of violations year after year, the cumulative number of drunk driving violations in the country still exceeded 90,000 in 2019, an average of 250 violations per day, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.
Physician Chien Li-jien (簡立建), director of disaster medicine at Taipei’s United Hospital Ren ai Branch, pointed out that "When driving under the influence of alcohol, people’s ability to track and focus on their surroundings is weakened, and their ability to react becomes slower, making it easier to make a wrong move. Erroneous actions and unexpected situations will make things worse, causing irreversible tragedies.”
Chien continued by saying that, according to trauma data collected by the Formosa Association for the Surgery of Trauma, drunk driving is more dangerous in a mildly intoxicated state because the alcohol induces a heightened sense of self-confidence.
Chien explained that many people will overestimate their judgment, so trauma is the most serious during this stage. As social gatherings increase in number near the end of the year, the number of ER injuries caused by drunk driving also increases, and most of them are traumatic, he said.
On the other hand, many people think that as long as they sleep after drinking, they will be okay. People falsely assume that upon waking, if they do not feel dizzy, they can drive to work immediately. In fact, the alcohol may not have completely metabolized, and it is still possible to violate the legal alcohol limit.
Dr. Fang Kuan-chieh (方冠傑), a physician at Taipei Medical University Hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology, pointed out that "If you drive early the next morning after a night of drinking, you will experience ‘overnight drunkenness.’” This is because the body has accumulated too much acetaldehyde, which makes it easier to sleep the next day, he explained, adding that most people have a negligent attitude toward the feeling of being drunk overnight, which easily leads to dangerous situations.
To avoid drunkenness and discomfort, remember not to drink on an empty stomach
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and National Health Administration, National Dietary Guidelines state that adult men 18 years or older are recommended to consume no more than two alcohol units (20 grams) per day, while adult women of the same age should drink no more than one alcohol unit (10 grams).
If a person feels unwell, it is not recommended that they drink.
Drinking more water in congruence with alcohol can help prevent dehydration. Minors and pregnant women should not drink so as to avoid health issues and fetal abnormalities. Excessive drinking can cause great damage to the liver, pancreas, and other organs.
Dr. Fang explained that when alcohol enters the human body, it will stimulate the intestines and stomach, especially when it comes into contact with the stomach’s mucus membrane, where it will be absorbed into blood vessels. The high concentration of alcohol in the blood will cause drunkenness, Fang said.
The physician suggested that in addition to avoiding drinking on an empty stomach, one should eat some fruits and vegetables, starch, protein, and meat before drinking in order to “alleviate the impact of alcohol on the human body."
To learn more about how to drink responsibly, take the DrinkiQ Quiz.
