FAMILY MEDICINE® COLUMN
By John C. Wolf, D.O.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine®
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

PROPER PARTY PLANNING CAN PREVENT NEW YEAR'S EVE TRAGEDY

Question: I have a friend who is coming to my Millennium party who I don't know how to handle. Last year he went home drunk from our New Year's Eve party but made it safely. The problem is that he always says he can handle alcohol well and can drink more than the average person and not be drunk. Is this true? Are regular drinkers more immune to the effects of alcohol?

Answer: While moderate drinking is acceptable in our society, your friend's behavior is not. Anyone who regularly drinks to the point of getting drunk has a serious alcohol problem. And, when a person is drunk, there's absolutely no excuse for trying to drive a car. There are approximately 16,000 deaths caused by drunk drivers every year, and this accounts for about 39 percent of all motor vehicle deaths. This carnage is preventable! It takes the average person one to two hours to eliminate the typical alcoholic drink, such as an ounce of distilled liquor, a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. Given this fact, a good, conservative rule of thumb is that if you have had more than one drink for each two hours that you have been at a party, don't drive. Also, remember that inebriation is generally brought on quicker if you drink on an empty stomach.

Regular consumption of alcohol doesn't change the effect of this drug; however, the frequent drinker does develop a sense that he or she is less impaired by it. Numerous studies have shown that this is only a "sense" of being less influenced by alcohol. The time required to make a decision and then react to a driving situation goes up with each drink, regardless of how accustomed the person is to drinking. So, when your friend has violated the "rule of thumb" I gave earlier, you should not allow him to drive home regardless of how sober he thinks he is.

The good news is that the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show that many people have heeded the advice about drinking and driving. The number of alcohol-related vehicle deaths have decreased 39 percent since 1982. Part of this decrease can be attributed to increased law enforcement, but a great deal of it results from the efforts of responsible hosts like yourself. You are to be commended for your concern about your guests. Here are a few tips for you or anyone else who is holding a party this New Year's Eve:

* Suggest your guests come in groups and that each group select a "designated driver."

* Make non-alcoholic beverages available, preferably served in the same type of glasses as the alcohol, for the designated driver and for anyone else who chooses not to consume alcohol. 

* Guests should not be persuaded to drink, nor ridiculed if they choose not to. 

* Snacking should be encouraged. 

* Coffee and tea should be served in place of alcoholic beverages during the last hour or so of the party.

On the last point, let me make it clear that coffee does not counteract the alcohol as some people believe. However, any beverage with caffeine does offset drowsiness, and a lengthy period of socializing over non-alcoholic beverages provides guests time to sober up before heading home. Anybody -- including your problem friend -- who is obviously drunk should not be allowed to drive under ANY circumstances. Instead, insist they stay overnight, go home with somebody else or take a taxi. This isn't just for their safety and that of other motorists, but also for your protection. In some states you may now be held legally responsible for any injury the intoxicated person causes after leaving your party drunk.

On behalf of all of us at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers and their families a very happy, peaceful New Year. Here's to your health!

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to John C. Wolf, D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701.