Ex alcoholics warn of dangers of binge drinking

MAJORCAN ex alcoholics are warning of the risk that binge drinking sessions indulged in by young people could lead, in some cases, to an addiction to alcohol when they are adults. They also expressed their concern that the average age of the people attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings in the islands during the last few years has fallen, with many young people under 25 joining their therapy sessions. “At what age do they start drinking if they have the need for therapy at that age?” said 53 year old Joan (fictitious name), a businessman.
He stopped drinking “on June 4 1991”, after having lived through a “hell” in which he drank alcohol “until I nearly burst”. “A bottle of brandy only lasted minutes with me”, he recalled. Joan, who has been going to AA meetings since he was 38, said that the young people who come to the therapy sessions talked about experiences similar to his own. “I also started to get drunk at weekends when I was 15 or 16 years old. I did it because I was shy. After two glasses I would do things that I would never have done sober”, he said. But, he said, there is a difference today. “Now the problem is not just alcohol, but drugs as well, especially cocaine”, he said.