When do you know when you've had enough to drink? Usually when you feel a little "out of control". You realise that your co-ordination is a little out of whack and your speech and conversation is a little "odd'.

In Australia one of our most favourite pasttimes is drinking alcohol. We are great producers of alcoholic beverages that win awards throughout the world. This is nothing to be ashamed of, the skills used to create these delicious beverages takes years of practice and should be applauded. I, myself, am not averse to a little tipple every now and then. Luckily for me, the activity of getting drunk for the purpose of getting drunk is not something that I have ever aspired to.  Now don't get me wrong, each to their own, as I am not here to judge others behaviour, however we all need to be responsible for our own actions.

Alcohol is a major killer in Australian society, and has long-lasting impact on not only it's "victims" but the bystanders. For some it is the contributor to a motor vehicle accident, for others it increases the levels of domestic violence; in other cases it just destroys the foundations of the family unit.

Just recently I was a witness to the affects of alcoholic poisoning, the likes of which I had never seen. I sat up until 4am with the person making sure that they didn't fall asleep on the ground and choke on their own vomit. At no time was the person able to hold their own head up and could barely open their eyes. None of their speech was coherent and at regular intervals the individual would convulse with chills and shivers. I kept them warm with lots of towels and by hugging them and encouraging them to rinse their mouth with water and whenever possible take sips to try to rehydrate their system and flush their liver and kidneys. MAKE NO MISTAKE - ALCOHOLIC POISONING CAN BE LETHAL.

If you suspect that someone has had too much alcohol too quickly, THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR THEM IS TO RING THE AMBULANCE "000". Once they are in hospital they will be kept warm and their system will be flushed, possibly their stomach pumped to remove any excess alcohol they haven't already purged and their bodies will be injected with minerals and hydralytes that they have lost through the ingestion of the alcohol.

Alcohol slows down your entire body - nervous system which in turn slows the digestive system, sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, poisons the circulatory system and the endocrine system. That is why people suffering with alcoholic poisoning can get the shakes and chills which can lead to hypothermia which if left unattended can induce a heart attack. If the poisoning is too great then the liver shuts down and once that happens your entire body is totally toxic and then everything else shuts down too.

There are many different groups that can help people with long term alcohol problems such as Lifeline, Alcoholics Anonymous, The Salvos, Missions Australia, etc.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ADDICTION OF ALCOHOL. Inside your body alcohol is like pure sugar. Sugar is addictive in any form.