...Daniel Radcliffe

I have never seen a Harry Potter movie nor have I ever read one of the books. I take pride in that and I will continue to avoid them. Today I read that Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has given up alcohol. He told GQ Magazine, "I became so reliant on (alcohol) to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me." He says he has become teetotal, something I have been for life, just because. A young man with his fame and fortune, $72 million to be exact, could have avoid this reality for years, but he decided to take a step and change his life while he was still young and able to. This is something we can all agree we wish some of our Hollywood stars would do, Lindsay Lohan anyone... He says he wishes he could be one of those people who could go out and a have a couple of drinks and stop, but he cannot, so he finds joys sitting at home and reading, or talking to somebody that makes me laugh, awwww. He then added, "There's no shame in enjoying the quiet life." Very mature Daniel. I am going to give you a Digit Up for your mature decision. I just hope he does not fall off the wagon later in life.

...Alcohol

It appears that alcohol kills more than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence around the world, says the World Health Organization (WHO). With more drinking in heavily populated area in Africa, Asia and India, the risk is growing greater every year. last year 2.5 million people died from alcohol related deaths around the world, roughly 4% of the world's total deaths, and yet alcohol control policies are always low on the list of most government priority list. Males lead the pack with most of them dying between the age of 15-59. 30% of the alcohol consumed is illegal or homemade, which can be more toxic than store bought alcohol. In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), every fifth death is due to harmful drinking, the highest rate. Binge drinking, which often leads to risky behavior, is now prevalent in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine, and rising in other places. There are about 60 illnesses linked to alcohol including cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisonings, road traffic accidents, violence, and several types of cancer, including cancers of the colorectum, breast, larynx and liver. I am not an alcohol drinking, never have been, probably never will be. This does not surprise me. Asians and Indians are not large people so I am sure it does not take a lot to get them drunk and impaired, and if they decide to binge then poisoning could happen very easily. High school kids binge drink because they just want to have a "good time" or because they do not want to stick out from the crowd and their bodies are not built to handle the large amounts of alcohol they tend to consume at house parties. You cannot really regulate alcohol, because you can always buy in advance and have it stored for a later date. We tried Prohibition in America and we lost billions, in today's dollars, in tax money, and there was also the rise of the mafia, bootleggers, and many many many deaths. So what can we do? Nothing. All we can do is hope people will learn responsibility and self control other than that, just hope you do not get hit by a drunk driver. Digit Down.