Ottawa is a city with a lot of people who are addicted to alcohol or drink too much alcohol. That is why the population needs a lot of alcohol treatments available to the public so that the alcoholics can get the help they need. There are 131 facilities which provide drug and alcohol treatments for people. Out of those, there are 101 locations which host Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and so can be beneficial for those who like group meetings. One can find the alcoholism treatment in Ontario which suits their needs. There are also many alcohol  treatment programs in Canada of all kinds which can be found also  in Ottawa.

Ottawa Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol is a problem all over Canada, and Ottawa is no exception. It sometimes starts as something harmless but in the long run, frequent or excessive drinking can lead to serious problems and so bring about addiction and physical tolerance. Both of those things can seriously damage someone’s body and also his mind. It can also destroy his relationship with his a family and friends. It is very important that alcohol addiction be taken seriously and handled as fast as possible once it is recognized. That way, we can avoid having to deal with injuries, or even overdose, which can lead to death.

Most of the time, drinking alcohol starts in school. It is very disturbing to see the figures of some of the surveys done on Ontario students that show just how much alcohol is used and abused and how early on it starts. For example, there was a study done in 2009 which showed that 58 percent of the student in Ontario had admitted to drinking alcohol during the year prior to the survey. This was for all of Ontario but the figures in Ontario are practically the same, only a little lower. The percentage was higher for the males than the females. As far as actually getting drunk with alcohol, it seems to occur more and more as the people get older. For example, 4 percent of the 7th grader admitted to getting drunk at least once four weeks prior to this survey and for the 12th grader it was 43 percent.

Another phenomenon which is very alarming is the binge drinking done by students. There were 25 percent of the students who reported having taken part in binge drinking at least once within four weeks prior to being surveyed. There are also 21 percent who had taken part in hazardous drinking. Again there is a major different between the younger and older students. The rate for 7th graders was 3 percent and for the 12th graders it was 42 percent.

Now the following numbers will give you an idea of where Ontario (including Ottawa) stands with alcohol compared to the nation. Nationally, 54,5 percent of the 7th to 9th graders drink alcohol, while only 46,5 percent of Ontario’s 7th to 9th graders drink. And as far as binge drinking goes, the national rate is 41 percent and the Ontario rate is 32,3 percent.

There is a lot of work still left to be done on the people in Ontario who are struggling with alcohol problems. They need help and younger people need to be made more aware of the actual dangers linked to drinking alcohol.

Drunk Driving in Ottawa

Drunk driving is an inevitable consequence of alcohol abuse and addiction. People who are under the influence will often have their judgement altered which can sometimes lead to irrational decisions. One of the most common irrational decisions is to drive while one is under the influence of alcohol. It has caused great many problems for a lot of people. There are a lot of reasons why somebody is dangerous when intoxicated. Their reflexes are slowed, their body coordination is altered.

There were 1,500 instance of either drunk driving or speeding in the month of December 2009 alone. There were 110 criminal charges related to alcohol in that same in month. There were 59 people who were stopped because they were driving under the influence of alcohol.

Those numbers are only for one month, and they are catastrophic.

^{Resources
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/charges+drunk+driving+speeding/2443672/story.html
http://www.camh.net/Research/Areas_of_research/Population_Life_Course_Studies/eBulletins/ebv7n5_Canada_Ont_2002YSS.pdf
http://www.camh.net/Research/Areas_of_research/Population_Life_Course_Studies/OSDUS/Highlights_DrugReport_2009OSDUHS_Final_Web.pdf}