‘Educate youngsters to discourage drinking’

KUALA LUMPUR: Education is still the best way to ensure that youngsters do not drink excessively and suffer alcohol-related dementia and liver damage later in life, says a consultant physician.

Prof Dr Philip George, the former president of the Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society said that people should start living healthy early on in life because once dementia hits, there was no way to stop or reverse it.

People with dementia have a hard time remembering things and if severe, they may not be able to care for themselves and would require a family member to leave his or her job to care for the person, or a nursing home, both of which would cause a burden to the family and society.

“Generally, it is education that is important. Getting families and schools to engage the young on the effects of excessive drinking would have greater impact,” he said in an interview.

And the emphasis on education was also important because enforcement itself posed a challenge, he said.

Dr Philip said that typically, a person by age 18 is capable of making decisions because his or her brain is almost developed and whether the drinking age is delayed or not, it would not deter those who want to consume alcohol.

Dr Philip said that the recommended units of alcohol consumption per week for men are 14 to 20 drinks which equals to 14 mugs (300ml) of normal strength beer or 14 pegs of 30ml of hard liquor while for women, it is seven to 14 drinks per week.

“It cannot be consumed in one day and cannot be more than three standard drinks in a day,” he said.

Besides alcohol-related dementia, Dr Philip said that long-term regular and heavy use of alcohol could lead to depression, suicide, anxiety and psychosis.

On physical health, it could lead to heart problems, hypertension, trigger or create instability in diabetes, liver damage, stomach and intestine problems, affect pancreas, decrease libido, and cause erectile dysfunction in men, serious impact on foetus during pregnancy, he added.