Punjabi Alcohol Culture

[Big_Tera]

I think one of the main problems effecting Sikhs today is Alcoholism and drinking culture.

Infact one of my theories on why Many Sikhs parents become bad parents or simply not good at raising kids with strong moral principles.

This is because drinking alcohol even small amounts like 1 glass of wine a day has an enormous effect on our hormonal balance. Its main effect is it lowers testosterone. This is caused by drinking alcohol even very small amounts of alcohol.

When this hormone is lowered it affects us in many ways. we become depressed, have no drive. Are unable to think clearly. Become intellectually muddled and confused. and many more negative effects. It takes away our normal aggressiveness and natural hormonal balance. making us weak both mentally and physically it makes one not care about anything.

Now most punjabi Sikh parents drink excessively. hence these people have all the above symptoms. no wonder so many Sikh youth are out of control. Its because their parents are suffering the effects of alcohol consumption.

do not underestimate testosterone. this hormone makes us who we are. And gives us everyting in life. if this hormone was taken away. you would not be able to function as a person and you wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning. All our strength, intellect brain power comes from testosterone.

Most Muslim parents don’t drink hence their minds are clear. this is the same for most Hindus. But Sikhs on the other hand drink very large quantities hence its affecting the mind as well as their health

[HSD1]

A lot of Sikhs in the Uk have started smoking too.

I know it's bad, but for many of them they see other people doing it all the time so they adopt British culture. No one seems to have any ideas on how to combat it.

[West London Singh]

Firstlty, I think the problem used to be a lot worse with previous generations of Punjabis. The current 2 generations of Punjabis drink alot less and take a lot less drugs than previous generations. As for what can be done about the problem that remains.....one only needs to look at the Irish example as to how....with the help and will of the state....a society can completely change its national characteristic regarding consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately for us though....we have and have always hd, in Punjab, a state government that not only doesn't care but is actualy complicit in the problem. A generation ago, the Irish...as a people....had the exact same problem and exactly same image as the Punjabis...i.e they drank to excess. I remember as a kid the streets around here used be full of drunk Irishmen laying on the street. Not long ago, the Irish government decided it was gonna try and educate the Irish people and completely change their way of thinking and how they thinbk of themselves. The result now is that the Irish, as a people, have completely reinvented themselves. Not only have they become a nation of sensible drinkers but have also gone from being Europe's poorest third world type country to Europe's most educated country. So....all is not lost for Punjab and Punjabis but as long as we have the disgusting likes of the Badals and captains at the realm in Punjab nothing is gonna change. These people feed on the alcoholism of Punjabis.

[Big_Tera]

Hopefully thats the case. Because Alcohol can seriously mess up ones mind and body. Poeple dont take alcohol seriously and think its some kind of competetion on who can drink the most and to show off.

Its long term effects are also a worry on the psycohological state of a person. when ones drinks he forgets about his family not to mention the health and hormonal changes that care which result in a weak person who is not fit to parent.

[Pyara]

http://www.sikhsanga...-alcohol-abuse/

Some more references to Alcohol abuse in the Sikh Community.

http://www.bmj.com/c...543/682.extract

The British Medical Journal reports:

"34% of Irish men drink above the weekly recommended limit of 21 units of alcohol, compared with 29% of the general Irish population and 27% of the general British population. A similar problem exists in south Asian (Sikh) male migrants to the UK, where problem drinking is higher than in the Sikh population in South Asia and similar to that of the UK general population."

http://www.emphasisn...khCommunity.pdf

"Numerous studies have shown that Sikh men are more likely to drink alcohol, consume alcohol more frequently and in greater amounts than any other South Asian group."

http://alcalc.oxford...28/1/1.abstract

"Consumption is higher in Sikhs than in Hindus or Muslims, and heavy spirit drinking appears to be especially common among Sikh men. Alcohol-related psychiatric admission rates for South Asians have risen since 1971, and appear to be especially high in Sikh men. The high alcohol-related morbidity rates in this group are a priority for further research and efforts at prevention."

http://onlinelibrary...55958258.d01t01

"Sikhs were most likely to be regular drinkers followed by whites and Hindus."

"Among regular drinkers Sikhs had higher average Alcohol Problem Scale Scores than did white men or Hindus."

http://www.alcoholle...aire_Turner.pdf

"Sikh girls drinking frequently increased in the 1990s"

"Sikh men, have high prevalence of alcohol-related liver damage and liver cirrhosis"

[singh135]

Pyara a demonstrates some rather damning statistics from reputable sources. I think perhaps Sikhs need to distance themselves from this culture and shun it. The vast majority of achievements in the part of the world have been Sikh achievements and not 'punjabi' ones. I am talking of the culture and not the geographical location and I think that what we need to reiterate to sangers.

[HSD1]

Blaming 'Punjabi' culture is such a cop out. Muslim, Hindu and Christian Punjabis dont have these problems.

Rather than finding something to hate and something to blame, why dont people tackle the problem in the Sikh community?

[West London Singh]

Pyara....interesting stats there. Whilst the stats do reveal that we, as Sikhs, in England, have the hard drinking rates of alcohol consumption one would perhaps expect in a nation of hard drinkers (England)....what they don't reveal, and is perhaps the real problem here, the possibility that many....though not all....Punjabis, as a race, have a defficiency of the enzyme required to break down alcohol in the body. Thus we are more likely to develop physical and psychological problems associated with alcohol. It is well known that Australian aborgines and many east Asian groups lack these enzymes. I think it is within the realms of possibility that we do also.

[West London Singh]

that many Sikhs (as ethnic Punjabis) geneticaly lack the enzyme required to break down alcohol in the body, thus severely increasing the risk of the physical and psychological problems assocciated with alcohol.

http://www.decodeme....-flush-reaction

Although its called the ' asian flush' etc.....it does cut across geographical boundaries in this world, affecting various ethnic groups....and it does change. The way I see it it may be wahegurus design. We, as sikhs, ain't supposed to drink. But....when we're too stupid to understand this basic fact he, who made everything, alters our dna so that we may finally get the message.