As research shows that one in six people has renounced alcohol, here is a sobering list of reasons why you (and I) really ought to join them.
Health
According to hundreds of studies reported in thousands of newspapers, Alcohol is bad for you. It might have some benefits, such as reducing your risk of coronary heart disease, but heavy drinking can lead to brain damage, liver cirrhosis, cancer, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, fertility problems, weight gain and various other complaints.
A report in 2015 estimated that alcohol is responsible for about 20,000 deaths.
Religion
The bible was specific when it said leave the alcohol to the poor, let them drink and forget there sorrows, i don't understand why some people keep saying that the bible didn't say drinking is bad, as a Christian you have the DNA of God, you cant be poor with that DNA, and you definitely can't drink with it.
Christianity may be permissive when it comes to alcohol, but many other religions are less receptive. It is forbidden by Islam, and in some countries drinking alcohol is illegal. Mormons, Methodists and Buddhists are also among those who commonly abstain from drinking.
Cost
Nigerians spend a collective 80 billion naira on alcohol each year, equating to an average of 80 naira per household per week. That's enough to get a life, don't you think.
The one silver lining is that laws being proposed to introduce an effective minimum price will set the barrier so low that there will be virtually no change in the price of most drinks. Happy days.
Accidents
Alcohol has a numbing effect on our judgment, concentration, reactions, balance and vision, so it is hardly surprising it is the leading cause of accidents in the home, accounting for about 40 per cent of all most road accidents.
The risk increases dramatically if you are on the road – whether driver, passenger or pedestrian – and alcohol is thought to be a factor in one in five road deaths.
Environment
The production of ethanol requires a great deal of energy, including the planting, maintenance and harvest of crops, the production of beer, wine and spirits, and packaging and transporting the end product to the nation's pubs and supermarkets.
An analysis of Fat Tire Amber Ale reportedly found that producing and assembling the ingredients created 678g of carbon dioxide equivalent per bottled six pack – 21 per cent of its total footprint – while a further 33 per cent of its cost to the environment came through refrigeration, both in shops and at home.
Hangovers
If none of the above has convinced you to renounce booze, then you are still among the five sixths of Nigerians who may be perfectly aware of the disadvantages of alcohol but enjoy it too much to renounce it.
But regardless of the risk of deadly disease, fatal accidents and financial worries, the most persuasive argument may be to go out and drink as much as you like. Waking up with a thumping headache and a tongue like sandpaper might just do the trick.
