DELIGHTED by the prospect of going to Poland to see his wife and two young children, hotel worker Jacek Lipowski went out with a few friends to celebrate over a couple of drinks. But before doing so, he consumed the best part of two litres of vodka – one of the last things he did.
The same friends who found him asleep that night realised the following morning that he was dead, a victim of alcoholic poisoning.
It is tempting to say ‘another’ victim, although such events are mercifully rare in Guernsey. Nevertheless, they are common in the UK and are on the increase.
Even locally, however, Accident and Emergency regularly has to deal with youngsters who have drunk far too much and who need overnight care or who injure themselves as a result of intoxication.
What the tragic death of Jacek Lipowski has brought home with brutal force is that too much alcohol is a killer.
What should have been a fun night out with a few drinks has left a young and grieving widow and two now-fatherless children. The added sadness is that it was all so unnecessary.
Many islanders get irritated by the constant dripfeed of health advice from governments about how to lead their lives, how not to smoke and what fats and calories to avoid.
Perhaps that ‘white noise’ of the nanny state is deafening us to what are eminently sensible messages: good advice can be overdone.
Whatever the reality, this latest incident brings home the risk not just of binge drinking but of any one-off celebration that gets a bit out of hand.
The worry is that getting drunk is the activity of choice for so many youngsters. Add to that the inevitable photos and YouTube video clips without which no night out is truly complete and it is clear that getting totally plastered is now socially acceptable, certainly in younger circles.
And that is where the real danger lies.
Just one binge too many can be fatal and it is that message the various drink aware campaigns are not getting across.
But perhaps the untimely death of Jacek Lipowski will act as a warning and then his passing won’t have been entirely in vain.
Warning would be an epitaph
DELIGHTED by the prospect of going to Poland to see his wife and two young children, hotel worker Jacek Lipowski went out with a few friends to celebrate over a couple of drinks. But before doing so, he consumed the best part of two litres of vodka – one of the last things he did.
The same friends who found him asleep that night realised the following morning that he was dead, a victim of alcoholic poisoning.
It is tempting to say ‘another’ victim, although such events are mercifully rare in Guernsey. Nevertheless, they are common in the UK and are on the increase.
Even locally, however, Accident and Emergency regularly has to deal with youngsters who have drunk far too much and who need overnight care or who injure themselves as a result of intoxication.
What the tragic death of Jacek Lipowski has brought home with brutal force is that too much alcohol is a killer.
What should have been a fun night out with a few drinks has left a young and grieving widow and two now-fatherless children. The added sadness is that it was all so unnecessary.
Many islanders get irritated by the constant dripfeed of health advice from governments about how to lead their lives, how not to smoke and what fats and calories to avoid.
Perhaps that ‘white noise’ of the nanny state is deafening us to what are eminently sensible messages: good advice can be overdone.
Whatever the reality, this latest incident brings home the risk not just of binge drinking but of any one-off celebration that gets a bit out of hand.
The worry is that getting drunk is the activity of choice for so many youngsters. Add to that the inevitable photos and YouTube video clips without which no night out is truly complete and it is clear that getting totally plastered is now socially acceptable, certainly in younger circles.
And that is where the real danger lies.
Just one binge too many can be fatal and it is that message the various drink aware campaigns are not getting across.
But perhaps the untimely death of Jacek Lipowski will act as a warning and then his passing won’t have been entirely in vain.
Article posted on 4th July, 2008 - 3.38pm