CRYING IN YOUR BEER

CRYING IN YOUR BEER I quit smoking. Okay, I lied to get your attention. Everyone wants me to quit smoking because it would be better for my health. I agree to quit smoking when everyone else agrees to quit drinking. People justify liquor consumption by stating that a glass of wine is “good for your heart.” Maybe one glass of wine a day is healthy, but people do not stop at one glass. The Distilled Spirits Council of America is whining because the Illinois general Assembly is debating raising the state excise tax on alcohol. Dale Szyndrowski, Vice President of The Council claims, “With millions being spent to boost tourism in hopes of winning a 2016 Olympics bid, now is the worst time to hamstring consumers and hospitality businesses with increased taxes on alcohol.” What a specious argument! To argue that Chicago would not get an Olympic bid because liquor is expensive is almost too ludicrous to waste time arguing against. Liquor related accidents cause the death, destruction or maiming of thousands of innocent victims and their families. Statistics demonstrate that the likelihood of a fatal car accident increases dramatically when alcohol is involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 39% of the deaths taking place on roadways were alcohol related; 47% car accidents during holiday weekends involve alcohol crashes and that there is one alcohol-related fatality every 31 minutes.

Impaired driving is one of America’s most often committed and deadliest crimes. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report, more than 1,400,000 people nationwide were arrested in 2003 for driving under the influence. I know that is an old number, but it is still scary!

In addition to these figures, estimates show that the economic and societal cost of alcohol related car accidents are very high. Alcohol impaired drivers cost American taxpayers about 21 to 24 billion dollars a year. Other studies show a much higher figure of $136 billion dollars is spent on alcohol related accidents. This is in addition to the huge insurance costs of alcohol related accidents and the injury, destruction and death that come with them. According to Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lives and fifty to 75 percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to drive. More than 1.46 million drivers were arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States. I only quoted statistics here that relate to car accidents. How many other statistics do I have to quote before people start understanding what mental, physical and emotional destruction is caused by excessive liquor consumption? At one time our country was smart enough to pass an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit the consumption of liquor, but then bent to enormous pressure and repealed it. When the 18th Amendment is restored, I will quit smoking in celebration. Unless a drunk driver kills me first.