Later this week, a lot of people will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Some people might engage in holiday-related traditions with their friends and family.
Did you know that how you celebrate Patrick’s Day depends a lot on where you live? In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were traditionally more subdued, but Irish Americans and tourists have helped make the holiday a celebratory party.
Americans have transformed the holiday back in the United States as well. Eating corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day is more an American tradition than an Irish one, as is green beer and other green food and beverages.
There’s another tradition that some Americans embrace on St. Patrick’s Day: drinking alcohol, often large amounts of it. This seems to relate to other American alcohol-related traditions, like drinking a lot at college parties.
Of course drinking, drinking heavily, and drinking heavily at parties and other celebrations aren’t new occurrences, and they’re certainly aren’t exclusive to Americans. But it seems that for some people, drinking heavily and getting drunk are their go-to behaviors at parties and get-togethers.
If people behave this way on a regular basis, that can be a problem. Women who drink frequently have a much higher risk of developing cancer, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
We all know that cancer isn’t the only damage alcohol can cause. Just a few of the other side effects of too much alcohol in the short term might include:
- Impaired judgment
- Delayed reaction times
- Slurred speech
- Coordination problems
- Sleepiness
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Alcohol poisoning
People experiencing these side effects could be hurting themselves, but they could be hurting others if they get into violent arguments or get behind the wheels of their cars. They could turn St. Patrick’s Day parties or other celebrations into tragic events. Isn’t it better (and easier) to avoid such tragedy in the first place?
