I went to a funeral the other day of an ex work colleague. Alcohol was the cause of her death and she is the third one of my friends who has died of this cause. Anyone who tries to tell me that drinking in moderation is ok is deceiving themselves because the quantity drunk is not the problem. It is the realisation that one cannot get through a day without it that is the problem. In my experience it doesn’t need to involve huge amounts, just getting into the habit of having alcohol with every meal is enough. There is a very fine line between the habit and the addiction. It is an illness and much more needs to be done to support those who suffer from it. The Methodist Church claims to promote teetotalism but there isn’t any evidence of this policy at local level. Perhaps we should start drawing more attention to the harm which it can cause and educate our young people about the ease in which it can become addictive and where this can lead. I just wonder what the parents of those who die of alcohol poisoning think when they hear teetotalism being mocked within the Church.
