Introduction

IT STARTS HERE

A Conversation About Alcohol in the City of Kingston

Here's to good times. To blue skies and Market Square. To new friends and football games. To patios and scenic shorelines. The City of Kingston is a vibrant place to live, work, study, and play. Kingston's story is one of a passionate and caring community.

In fact, one of the values of the Sustainable Kingston plan is to ensure well-being - "...(to) create a sustainable community where all members of the community are able to meet their needs, advance their potential, and improve well being through healthy, safe, and fulfilling work and play".¹

From Public Health's perspective, this is a shared value. Ensuring the well-being and health of the community is central to the work of Public Health. Great strides have been made in the City of Kingston in many areas, but there is an area in which we need to start having a serious conversation.  That area is alcohol, including current attitudes surrounding its use and misuse in our community. Alcohol is so intricately woven into our social fabric that discussions surrounding it are often challenging, animated, and personal.

Many people drink alcohol to celebrate, to relax, to socialize, and to savour. Some drink alcohol for courage, to forget, and to numb. For others drinking alcohol is seen as a recreational activity where drinking games are the norm and drinking to get drunk is the ultimate goal. In a 2012 community alcohol survey, the most common reasons Kingston respondents gave for drinking alcohol included "for entertainment, to be sociable, and to relax". Ninety-eight percent of respondents believe entertainment is a common or very common reason to drink alcohol. Still others drink alcohol because of loneliness, to escape and to forget their worries. Eighty-four percent of respondents believe depression / loneliness is a common or very common reason to drink alcohol.2 Most of the time alcohol is simply a part of the good times - the fun evening out with friends, or the quiet dinner at home. However, in far too many cases alcohol can be blamed for a good time gone wrong. Why does this happen? Do individuals simply need to take more responsibility and control their drinking, or do the environmental factors that encourage alcohol to be used in ways that are harmful, need to be addressed?

The cultural acceptance of alcohol use as recreation in our community perpetuates the myth that alcohol is an ordinary commodity. However, as a commodity it is far from ordinary. This report is intended to shed some light on a public health issue that continues to be downplayed in the popular media. It's time to begin a conversation, and examine the impact alcohol is having on individuals and the community at large, and how we can create the conditions for alcohol use to only be a part of our good times.

A BURNING ISSUE

"When I was in University, my housemate got really drunk one night and accidentally set our kitchen on fire while cooking. She was the only one home at the time and was too drunk to control it. If I hadn't come home and put it out when I did, we would have lost the whole kitchen. The crazy thing is, the next morning she didn't even remember what had happened the night before."

Kingston Resident 

PARKS  AT  NIGHT

"I think teenagers drinking in public parks late at night in the dark is a concern...as a mother with young children who use the parks I think it's sad and disappointing to see vandalised parks...I  also worry about the safety of the youth who are drinking there. It's late, it's dark, (and) there are

isolated areas. It's worrisome."

Kingston resident

DOWNTOWN VIOLENCE

"In November, 2010, my son went downtown to hear a friend's band perform at a local bar. He left the bar after the band finished and, while walking down Princess Street near Division, was sucker punched by an inebriated 20 year old who was walking on the street in front of him...My son knew nothing until waking up on the sidewalk with an ambulance siren wailing in the background...my son was taken to KGH where scans revealed his face was broken in several places and his eyesight may be compromised...The result of this experience for my son (and all his family and friends) is still unfolding...I read the newspaper and know that what we have gone through is something many Kingston and area families have experienced from assaults as a result...(of) excess drinking... I am curious to know what the long term results will be from excess alcohol consumption of our young people today. Will they have more addiction, health and other problems as adults?"

Kingston resident

DRIVING AFTER DRINKING

"My husband and I are proud Kingstonians, were both educated at Queen's and are proud of the organizations we work for, both of which are deeply rooted in the community. We feel that we are contributing members of society. Our story about alcohol might be from a different perspective because my husband was charged with blowing over 0.08. The impact of the charge has been very detrimental to us. My husband went for a few drinks after winning a sports game with friends, after leaving the establishment he spent a few hours at a friend's house until he felt he was able to drive home....After receiving this charge many of our friends and family did say how they may have had one too many glasses of wine and driven home afterwards and our story was a lesson to them. I'm happy that our friends and family can learn from this mistake which could cost us upwards of $20,000. As a parent to be, I certainly want to feel that our roads are safe from impaired drivers...We all make mistakes and I don't think many people understand the gravity of this mistake and the cost it puts on families."

Kingston Resident

SECOND HAND EFFECTS

I am not much of a drinker, nor are my friends. A beer here or there, a glass of wine with dinner a few times a year. I was stunned when I moved to Kingston from Toronto 6 years ago. I'd never been exposed to roving bands of drunk(s)...bellowing and screaming at all hours of the night, setting off firecrackers at 3 a.m....having no thought for the communities they share. Last summer I was reduced to tears every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I don't have air conditioning and must leave my windows open for ventilation. First I tried ear plugs. Not good enough. Then I acquired a white noise machine. This was a little better but I get so angry that I'm reduced to sleeping with noise to cover boorish and illegal behaviour...I approach (the) open window season with trepidation...I love my house. I love my neighbourhood. If I'm forced to sell due to the abuse of alcohol, I'll leave Kingston. This would be a shame as I CHOSE this city to move to. It seemed ideal..."

Kingston resident

It is common for alcohol consumption to be viewed as one of personal choice and responsibility. However, as described by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing "there is...a growing recognition that individual choices and behaviours are constrained and shaped by broader social factors..."3 When it comes to alcohol consumption, we are not seeing the entire picture if we don't also consider the environment that individuals live in and the options available to them. There are many influences shaped by government, business, and community actions that have an impact on individual choice. These determinants of health are key to enabling health; lifestyle choices reflect the policy decisions that shape our environments. When considering the health impacts of any issue it is important to take into consideration the diverse social and economic factors that determine the health of a population. According to Dr. Gerald Thomas, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, "Alcohol is thoroughly embedded in our social and economic fabric". In order to reduce harm the social and economic conditions that encourage or discourage alcohol misuse need to be considered.