Alcohol is a public health issue

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is to be congratulated on the launch of its public service campaign this summer. The campaign, “Just One More Drink CAN Hurt,” aims to reduce excessive drinking or binge drinking — defined as five or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period of time for men and four drinks or more for women. 

Many readers will no doubt remember an incident this past May when Oliver D’Orio, an Italian tourist, was killed in an altercation outside a Belmont bodega here in the Bronx.  Security footage from the incident caught intoxicated D’Orio aggressively asking customers to buy him more beer. When he was refused, a fight commenced. 

Mr. D’Orio was struck once in the head with an open palm and fatally cracked his skull when he fell to the concrete sidewalk. He had obviously had too much to drink to be in control of his faculties and his case highlights the social cost associated with excessive drinking. 

Public health researchers have established strong correlations between alcohol and violence — almost half (46 percent) of murders in New York involve alcohol. Non-fatal assaults in which alcohol plays a part happen regularly in the city.  The correlation between sexual assault and binge drinking has increasingly become apparent, with a focus on college settings such as the cases coming out of Columbia University. 

Date rape drug

At a recent conference on the harms of alcohol, organized by the Partnership for A Healthier New York City, Christine Fowely, a panelist and social worker at St. Luke’s Crime Victims Center, described alcohol as “still the number one date rape drug.”  When we look at what demographic is most at risk for binge drinking, it is not surprising that it is primarily young and underage drinkers.  

Professionals working in the field of prevention and substance abuse counseling see that alcohol is the most commonly misused drug among people of all ages. Youth workers involved with delinquent youth can readily testify to the role that alcohol plays in juvenile delinquency. 

Also, sociologists have documented how alcohol is an integral part of gang culture and a tool for socializing young people into the culture of career criminality. Young people who abuse alcohol are more likely to be involved on either side of violent incidents such as assault or sexual abuse than their peers. They are also more likely to perform poorly in school or be involved with the criminal justice system, thereby altering their life chances.

Quality of life issues

Even among those who do not drink excessively, alcohol can lead to a decreased quality of life. The DOHMH found that “more than one in five New Yorkers have experienced harm as a result of someone else’s drinking. Over two-thirds (67 percent) of those adults experiencing harm were either non-drinkers or low-risk drinkers.” 

Far too common are stories of “problem establishments” in all five boroughs that have a negative impact on their neighbors. These establishments contribute to excessive drinking by serving intoxicated patrons, which leads to loud rowdy behavior, patrons urinating or throwing up on the street, and lewd comments directed at female residents. 

The air of menace that comes with violent bar confrontations is an unfortunate reality from Brooklyn to the Bronx. In 2012, alcohol-serving establishments generated 600 noise complaints to 311 in the Bronx alone.  As Mayor De Blasio attempts to implement “Vision Zero,” we should all keep in mind the connection between intoxicated individuals and motor vehicle deaths. It is not just drivers who are at risk when driving drunk; one in three pedestrians killed by cars was legally intoxicated. 

Drunk driving

Traditionally, most public health work around alcohol has focused on drunk driving.  Considering that many of the dangers associated with excessive and underage drinking can have immediate consequences — and especially considering the prevalence of this practice among young New Yorkers — I hope that the community will come together to have larger discussions about the harms related to excessive and underage drinking and how we can work together to reduce them. 

Ian Christner, Community Outreach Coordinator for the New York Alcohol Policy Alliance, is a Riverdale resident. Point of view is a column open to all.