I REFER to the letter from B. Judd, (Alcohol abuse costly, RT July 27).
Alcohol abuse is far more costly than we could ever imagine!
A recent newspaper aricle states: "Alcohol-fuelled violence has a horrific aftermath. Tens of thousands of Australians receive serious disabilities from alcohol-fuelled violence and accidents each year."
Not only can "one punch kill", but brain injuries, vision impairments, memory loss, hearing and personality changes, can result from such and other vicious attacks.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, when we see and hear of domestic violence, crazy deaths on our roads, assaults of young men and women stoned out of their minds, doing things they wouldn't even consider in their saner moments.
What a waste of lives! The waste of human beings trying to drown their sorrows or having a good time, seeking a complete binge, out for fun, when all the while the the beast, alcohol, is on the prowl for the next victim.
Of course it will never go away, but we can petition our local members of parliament and the government, to tackle this problem at its source - those who make and sell alcohol, alcohol.promotion, cost and health warnings, and whatever it takes to prevent this terrible carnage.
Recently I attended the funeral of my eldest brother. In his early years he was highly intelligent and a gifted young man. In his teens he started drinking. It took over his life. He and his bothers created mayhem in our family of three teenage girls and our mother.
It was ugly, terrifying and a lot more. Over the years we watched, helplessly, as he destroyed himself with the wretched drink. His drunken binges created serious health problems from which he recently died. What a waste of a life. What could have been was lost for ever.
Let's make our voices heard for our younger generation.
Alan Young, Alexandra Hills