irishgirl, are you single? Would you be interested in a fellah who is not a “problem drinker”?*
*Who has 7 kids?
Note: :):):)
Just joking. VeryCoolSpouse and I are bonded for life.
Some of the definitions regarding alcohol use in Canada (and the US) have changed over time. North Americans tend to drink less than the Irish, and tend to be stricter in terms of how many units of alcohol might cause a problem. Pregnant women in Canada are told “no amount of alcohol is safe for your baby”. Although true, I find this needlessly alarmist. I strongly suspect many British doctors would tell pregnant women “one drink now and then is okay”.
Drinking more than 14 units a week does not make you a problem drinker, as I may have previously implied. It does make you a “potential problem drinker”, however, and many doctors would do much more screening regarding potential problems at this level – including the CAGE questionnaire (and its ilk). The Irish psychiatrist who taught us this in med school was aghast at this! We all know a problem drinker is “a patient who drinks more than the doctor”.
Even people who drink well over 14 drinks a week may lack physical dependence, as you say. People who have legal or social problems as a result of their alcohol use are considered to have a more serious problem – alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, “major loss of control” (depending on who you ask, and their tolerance levels, etc).
E.G. In American Family Physician (April 1, 2003), Mersey et al.:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030401/1529.html
The distinction between addiction and problem use is particularly important. The problem drinker or drug user may have undiagnosed medical or social problems but not yet have experienced a major loss of control. In full-blown addiction, patients continue using alcohol or drugs despite negative consequences, have a compulsion to continue using alcohol or drugs, and are in denial about the effects on themselves and others.
I didn’t come up with these labels. I find them problematic. The physical signs and social/legal problems are more important than just a given number of drinks (which many patients don’t express honestly anyways).
Through the power of the internet!
Seriously though, I fell for a Canadian and we couldn’t stand being apart any longer. So I’m living with him and going to school in Ottawa. Hopefully they’ll let me stay for good.
I think it’s also about resources here…we don’t concentrate on heavy drinkers unless they have problems or dependence, it’s just not worth it.
I have several North American classmates who were horrified at the idea of going to the pub for a few scoops mid week, even though our Wednesday anatomy lab ended at 5 and our Thursday lectures started at 11. One memorable person started handing out AA leaflets and taking people aside for brief chats about their “problem”. That stopped when they realised that these “problem” drinkers were turning up for all our lectures and managing to out-perform them in exams.
Basically alcohol is part of the culture here, there is no point in telling people they have a “problem” if they don’t see it as one, and even objectively speaking their drinking hasn’t caused them any problems.
NoCoolUserName not only am I married, but I was thinking of my dad when I wrote that. He’s a typical Irishman when it comes to drink, but I can count on my thumbs the number of times I’ve actually seen him drunk, and one of those times was at my wedding.