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Description

Aim: To give young people information about alcohol in order for them to make informed and responsible decisions. Introduction: Leaders working on this topic with young people will need to be aware of their church’s stance on alcohol. Leaders will need to be aware that for some young people in the group alcohol abuse or addiction may be an issue within the family. Recent research shows that 80% of young people aged 11-16 have tried alcohol in a variety of circumstances. In the UK each year 50,000 13-19 year olds are admitted into Accident & Emergency Departments with acute alcohol intoxication. Taken from the BB Company Section Discoverer Pro Pack, Recreation, Health and Lifestyle L1

Resources

Activity 1
• Pens
• ‘Alcohol Awareness template
• ‘The Effects of Alcohol’ template

Activity 2
• flipchart
• Pens
• ‘Who would you treat?’ template

Activity 3
• Pens
• Health Issues’ template

Activity 4
• Glasses
• Measuring jug
• Tea spoon
• ‘The Law’ template
• ‘Health Guidelines’ template

Activity 5
• Bibles

Instructions

Activity 1 - The Facts about Alcohol

Aim: To present facts about alcohol, consider Its effects and lead Into a discussion regarding health issues.

Instructions:
• Explain that you are going to discuss alcohol and that having looked at some facts, the young people will then complete sheets which will then be discussed.
• Present the following information:
As well as drinking, alcohol has other uses. You can bum it (methanol/ethanol can be alternatives to fossil fuels); you can wear it (ethanol is used in perfumes to stop animal or plant extracts from going off); you can clean with it (methylated spirits although highly poisonous is effective at cleaning paint brushes).”
• You may wish to share some of the facts contained in the introduction.
• Distribute Alcohol Awareness’ and ‘The Effects of Alcohol’ template.
• Discuss — were there any facts that surprised the young people?
— what are the young people’s views on alcohol?

Tips / Advice:
Be sensitive to the particular needs of individuals who may have experience of alcohol related problems.

Activity 2 - Who Would You Treat ?

Aim: To consider the financial as well as other costs of the misuse of alcohol.

Instructions:
Present the young people with the following information. This could be displayed on large sheets
around the room or by a
projector etc.
— Alcohol related problems cost the economy £21 billion per year. (2014 England only)
— Alcohol misuse is increasing causing two main problems: crime and anti-social behaviour in town centres; health problems as a result of chronic and binge drinking.
— 55655 15-24 year olds are admitted to A & E with acute alcohol intoxication each year. (Correct at 2010)
— 40% of street crime is alcohol related.
— There are approximately 3,000 deaths and serious injuries each year caused by drink-drive collisions.

• Having seen the information split into smaller groups to complete the task.

• Give out the ‘Who would you treat’? template.

• The groups have to prioritise the order of treatment for 6 fictitious arrivals at the town’s A & E Department. There are no right answers, but the smaller groups will need to be able to share and justify the decisions to the other young people.

• Discuss any differences between groups. If injuries are self-inflicted, should hospitals give them a lower priority?

• Consider how drinking can have consequences for not only you, but for other people also.

Tips / Advice:
• Remember that some young people may come from homes with alcohol issues and some facts could cause distress. There should be no criticism of lifestyles.
• It may be better with the exercise on the handout to cut the characters into individual strips so that the young people can move them into the order they believe.

Activity 3 - Why do people drink ? Health Issues

Aim: To consider the short and long term health problems of excessive consumption of alcohol.

Instructions:
• On the Health Issues’ template there are a list of statements relating to alcohol and some potential health problems. Ask the young people to mark them true or false.

• All of the statements on the sheet are true. Alcohol is a powerful drug and affects the body straight away.

• Alcohol dehydrates the body and lowers blood sugar levels. It takes 8 units of water and approximately 1 hour for the body to process 1 unit of alcohol.

• Alcohol dulls the brain. Although it feels stimulating at first, it is a depressant and slows the body down. This can lead to loss of coordination and cause accidents.

• Alcohol affects judgement.

Activity 4 - Guidelines and the Law

Aim: To consider health guidelines and the law on alcohol consumption and purchase. To understand the measure of alcohol as a unit and consider the recommended safe amounts

Instructions:

• Look at the laws relating to purchase and consumption of alcohol by completing ‘The Law’ template. (Answers — 5 years, 18 years, 16 years, 18 years, 18 years)

• Are there any ages that the young people found surprising?

• Discuss why there is underage drinking if it is illegal for under 18’s to buy alcohol or for other people to buy it for them? Do the young people think that the ages in the laws are correct?

• Consider the Health Guidelines template. Think about what 1 unit of alcohol looks like. Measure out glasses of water to illustrate what a unit of different kinds of alcohol will look like — a unit of spirits is 25m1, wine is 125m1, lager is 265ml (‘/2 pint). (1 teaspoon = 5ml)

• Use the sheet to show young people how to work out the units of alcohol in a drink when they know its strength and volume. You could use the examples on the sheet or provide labels or cans that the young people could use.

Tips / Advice:
Be sensitive to the particular needs of individuals who may have experience of alcohol related problems.

Activity 5 - Alcohol and Christians

Aim: To consider the Christian response to the Information that we have acquired.

Instructions:

• Different Christian traditions take a different stance on alcohol.

• There is no commandment not to drink alcohol, but there are strong statements about not getting drunk. In Proverbs 20 v 1 there is a warning about being led astray by alcohol.

• There are examples of the use of alcohol in the Bible. Jesus wined and dined with sinners (Matthew 11 v 19); Jesus turned water into wine ( John 2 v 1-11).

• BUT, to accept the latter references as a licence to drink without thinking of the consequences is to act without exercising responsibility.

• Life was different in first century Jewish culture — there were no fast cars, advertising did not exist, sanitation was almost non-existent and water was often unsafe to drink.

• Discuss with the young people what they think Jesus would say and do now.

Tips / Advice:
Be sensitive to the particular needs of individuals who may have experience of alcohol related problems. Some denominations will have a particular stance on alcohol and it is recommended that you discuss this with the church leadership before commencing this unit.

For full details see the BB Company Section Discoverer Pro Pack, Recreation, Health and Lifestyle L1

Tags

• alcohol
• company
• discoverer
• Health and Lifestyle
• reacreation

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