As per a small research and survey I did in my community, I came to realisation that people take in alcohol for three main reasons here in Ghana.

1.     Eating -  Some people (drinkers) believe that when they take in alcohol before eating, the alcohol actually helps boost their appetite and they eat very well.

2.     To release stress – Some people also said that they take in alcohol whenever they feel stressed up. They also believe that the alcohol gives them sound mind to sleep and rethink.

3.     The reason as per the survey is that, some also take alcohol just for fun.

This reasons except the last one, are all very good excuses with no proof and scientific backings. Alcohol is generally not a good substance for consumption because it actually slows your rate of thinking. This is why we are always adviced to avoid drinking and driving, once you take in alcohol, the brain begins to work slowly and that could be very dangerous. I however want to look at impacts alcoholic beverages have on the environment.

There are a number of ways in which alcohol production negatively impacts the planet, starting with the process of growing the ingredients necessary to produce alcohol. Grains, potatoes, rice, botanicals, sugar cane, and agave are all significant ingredients in the alcohol industry, each of which require a significant amount of water, fertilizer, land, and use of machinery. 

So yes alcoholic beverages have a negative impact on the environment. Industrial production of alcohol leads to massive pollution of the environment. Plants need to be fell and in this regard, the vegetation is destroyed. Water that is used during the period of production becomes a waste after the production and hence water is wasted. So we may be taking the alcohol for fun but inversely, it also contributes to the destruction of the environment.

#Let us try and say no alcoholism

Green cheers from Ghana.