Alcohol Awareness Campaign
PHASE 1: Alcohol Use Questionnaire
JotForm Survey: https://bit.ly/alcohol_use_questionnaire
August 2024 Column Originally Published in Helena Independent Record
Montana Has a Drinking Problem: Creating Sober Solutions Together
It is hard to be human. For countless eons, people have medicated their humanity with various substances unique to their place and time in world geography and world history.
The word “substance” is loaded, and it can be loaded with so many different things.
There are legal substances: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, prescription opioids, food. People are legally smoking and eating their way into an early grave.
Then there are the not so legal substances: illicit drugs like cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, non-prescription opioids, meth, and fentanyl. Someone who uses cocaine every day will lose between 10-30 years of their lives.
It could be argued that most humans are users and addicts; where they fall on the spectrum of addiction, and to what substance they use is unique to each person.
And yes, there are some people who can use but not misuse substances. And yes, some addictions are far more benign than others. A caffeine addiction is completely different from an addiction to fentanyl.
Substance use and misuse is complicated and there is no easy fix. But there is so much judgment and so little support.
One of the most widely used and socially acceptable substances in our county and our state is alcohol. The consumption of alcohol is not just acceptable, it is encouraged and promoted, even pushed.
Yet what is often not promoted are the very real stories about how alcohol destroys so many lives and families in Montana.
DUIs and vehicle-related deaths. Depression and Anxiety. Suicides. Injuries and accidents. Domestic and dating violence. Child abuse and neglect. Heart disease. Cancer. Alcohol amplifies all these physical and social ills.
Alcoholism does not discriminate. It is blind to socio-economic status and the color of your skin. However, health equity data teaches us that there are some in our community hit harder by its impacts due to lack of resources and cultural histories and prejudice.
And years lost to alcohol are too many. According to the Centers for Disease Control, excessive alcohol use was responsible for about 178,000 deaths in the United States each year during 2020-2021. Each year, deaths from excessive drinking shortened the lives of those who died by an average of 24 years.
Many of the states that suffer the most years lost to alcohol-related deaths among residents (based on population) are located in the West. Montana is in the top five.
And those most likely to die from alcohol-related death are aged 35 or older and male. Two thirds of those deaths are due to chronic conditions that develop from long-term alcohol use, conditions like cancer, liver disease, and heart disease. One third of those deaths are acute, caused by things like vehicle crashes, suicides, and alcohol poisoning.
While more and more breweries and distilleries and bars open in Lewis and Clark County, the number of rehabilitation centers and beds have not kept pace. The sad truth is that people are dying from alcoholism and there is no place for them to go to get the help they need.
It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A person does not have to be an alcoholic to have a problem with alcohol. One of the most powerful and humble acts of love that someone can do, for themselves and those they care about, is to summon the courage to admit that they have a problem and to do something about it before it’s too late.
Yet, even when someone makes an effort to change, the culture at large makes moderation and sobriety feel like a battle they cannot win. Because alcohol is the water we swim in.
Sober parties are almost non-existent. Many if not most family-friendly events in Helena encourage the sale of alcohol. We even take our children with us to bars and breweries.
Thankfully, local bars and breweries are offering a larger menu of non-alcoholic alternatives. Some bars are offering free Uber rides to intoxicated patrons. Dry January is all the rage each year. Yet more needs to be done.
How do we change culture together? It’s a big question. And we’d like to hear from county residents. Because everyone has an alcohol story.
Please consider sharing your thoughts, stories, personal reflections, ideas, and more with us on this online questionnaire: https://bit.ly/alcohol_use_questionnaire.
Respondents are welcome to remain anonymous, use an alias, or share their real names.
The survey is open now and will remain open through Friday, November 29. Information collected will be shared and reported in future digital reports and materials.
Survey answers will also help us guide a handful of community discussions in January 2025.
Community solutions require community participation. We look forward to hearing from you and creating sober solutions together.
For more information about how you can get involved in LCPH’s alcohol awareness campaign, please contact Communications Specialist Amber Johnson at 406-558-9459 or email her at ajohnson@lccountymt.gov.