ALCOHOLISM: A FAMILY SCOURGE

 

"Who was woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long on the wine, those who go in search of mixed wines? Do not look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse words. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one, who lies on top of  the mast, saying: 'They have struck me, but I wasn't hurt; they have beaten me, but I didn't feel it. When I shall awake, that I may seek another drink!'" (Proverbs 23:29-35).

When I recopied this part from my bible I got the idea to write about this topic. The writer of these proverbs expressed very well the effect of alcohol.

Why is alcoholism such a scourge to society? When compared to many other common diseases such as heart disease, alcoholism has a much more devastating social effect — not just on that person, but also their family, who painfully watch for years, helplessly, as their loved one slides into decline. Yes, many diseases are terrible and affect others; smoking can cause secondhand smoke diseases to family members. But alcoholism is a sad disease, and it’s those bad memories that really haunt families of alcoholics — memories of being afraid as we weave across wintry roads as dad drives home tipsy; memories of mom crying as dad refuses to hand over the car keys; memories of watching his belly get bigger and his memory weakening as his liver starts to fail.

Alcohol is, as we all know, a depressant. It slows down the function of all the body's parts. Vital functions can be slowed down to the point of death. Under its influence people choke to death at family picnics, drown at the beach, fall asleep while driving a car, hurt and even kill other people.

The devil's alcohol creates a feeling of freedom without worries and euphoria. Our feelings are really free flowing, everyday worries are replaced with a carefree spirit. Wow, I really feel on top of the world today... .

I joined the circle of many other fellows around, more or less regular social drinking, and/or habitual drinking with meals (beer or wine!). When I stayed in France, I couldn't believe that for many Frenchmen a breakfast consists of bread (baguette), cheese, coffee - and red wine! Anyway, social drinking also means occasional drinks to relieve stress or boredom.

Once we reach the addictive stage we are already in danger. Gulping drinks and secret drinking daily to relieve stress makes one lose control, and being unable to stop drinking creates drinking habits, Danger is with us, if we lose control over when, where and how much we drink. The memory blackouts don't let us remember any more, where we had been or how we got home. We lose our self-respect and the performance of our work is seriously affected. Loss of interest in everything (except in drinking) means loss of jobs, conflicts with the law, mental deterioration, and even death. The sad consequences should let us tremble with fear.

A few people who decide to stop drinking find it easy. Having made the decision, they simply never drink again. And honestly, every time I enjoy a drink in really acceptable measurements I am trying to ask myself, if I could stop drinking right now. And I am pretty sure, the answer is YES. That's how I quit smoking almost 35 years ago... .

Oil firms announce big-time price cut

A motorist gets a fuel refill at a gasoline station in Delpan, Manila on June 13, 2022. PHOTO BY JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

By Eireene Jairee GomezManila Times

Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil will lower the cost of gasoline by P5.70 per liter and diesel by P6.10 per liter effective 6 a.m. tomorrow.

The price of kerosene will go down by P6.30 per liter.

ew super contagious Omicron mutant spreads

By Associated Press

THE quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious Omicron mutant that's worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States.

Scientists say the variant — called BA.2.75 — may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It's unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other Omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5.

"It's still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions," said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "But it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase." Whether it will outcompete BA.5, he said, is yet to be determined.

Still, the fact that it has already been detected in many parts of the world even with lower levels of viral surveillance "is an early indication it is spreading," said Shishi Luo, head of infectious diseases for Helix, a company that supplies viral sequencing information to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest mutant has been spotted in several distant states in India, and appears to be spreading faster than other variants there, said Lipi Thukral, a scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi. It's also been detected in about 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Two cases were recently identified on the West Coast of the US, and Helix identified a third US case last week.

Fueling experts' concerns are a large number of mutations separating this new variant from Omicron predecessors. Some of those mutations are in areas that relate to the spike protein and could allow the virus to bind onto cells more efficiently, Binnicker said.

Another concern is that the genetic tweaks may make it easier for the virus to skirt past antibodies — protective proteins made by the body in response to a vaccine or infection from an earlier variant.

But experts say vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against severe Covid-19. In the fall, it's likely the US will see updated formulations of the vaccine being developed that target more recent Omicron strains.

"Some may say, 'Well, vaccination and boosting hasn't prevented people from getting infected.' And, yes, that is true," he said. "But what we have seen is that the rates of people ending up in the hospital and dying have significantly decreased. As more people have been vaccinated, boosted or naturally infected, we are starting to see the background levels of immunity worldwide creep up."

PH logs first Omicron sub-variant case

It may take several weeks to get a sense of whether the latest Omicron mutant may affect the trajectory of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who studies viruses at India's Christian Medical College in Vellore, said the growing concern over the variant underlines the need for more sustained efforts to track and trace viruses that combine genetic efforts with real world information about who is getting sick and how badly. "It is important that surveillance isn't a start-stop strategy," she said.

Luo said BA.2.75 is another reminder that the coronavirus is continually evolving — and spreading.

"We would like to return to pre-pandemic life, but we still need to be careful," she said. "We need to accept that we're now living with a higher level of risk than we used to."