Alcohol Is A Dangerous Substance

Alcoholics who suddenly stop drinking experience nausea, anxiety, nervousness and tremors. Alcohol can weaken the digestive system, starting from your mouth down to your colon. Constant drinking has a bigger risk of mouth, throat and esophagus cancer. Alcohol in the circulatory system can lead to poisoning of the heart muscles, arrhythmia, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Women who drink can experience miscarriages, premature delivery, and stillbirth. A baby can be born with physical abnormalities, learning difficulties and emotional problems that could last forever. Everlasting drinking makes it hard for the body to grow a new bone. Constant drinking can cause different types of cancer. Alcohol injures DNA which leads to cancer. It reacts to reactive oxygen species that creates our cells. When consuming alcohol in the body, it is changed in to a deadly chemical called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde causes the liver cells become larger very fast which leads to cancer. Cancers that are connected to alcohol contain mouth, pharyngeal, oesophageal, laryngeal, breast, bower, and liver cancer. A limit of drinking reduce the risk of getting

“Every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries” ( “11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse”). That is 5,000 more teens or young adults that could be saved from this plague in this society (11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse). Underage drinking and alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States, and as a society need to make a change with how everyone sees this problem. Adults and young teens take this topic too lightly, and it should not be taken lightly because of how many deaths there have been from poor decision making. There are many programs or events that could help this problem by fundraising, however people think this is not a very important problem. Underage Drinking and Alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States because it causes major health issues that can be very costly, personal life problems that can lead to more problems later in life, and major risks that have no benefit, but can put someone else’s life in danger.

Alcohol consumption affects every aspect of the human body, specifically the brain, liver, central nervous system, pancreas, stomach, and increased cancer risks.

Alcohol has been around for many centuries, involving tradition, religion, and social gatherings. For many using alcohol is not a problem because they fall into the categories listed above. In some churches, the use of wine is used to represent the blood of Christ, although many have turned to grape juice now. Others use alcohol as a custom for watching football or perhaps traditionally within some cultures like the Irish, who drink daily for continued health. And lastly, social gatherings are also an excuse to ‘drink up’ and celebrate any event in one’s life. What most people fail to realize is that drinking can lead to health issues and dependence.

“Alcohol is a drug that has been passed down from generation to generation.” The alcohol industry makes people believe that with out the drinks there would be no holidays, no parties, no family gatherings. They tell you that you are cool if you drink. They have ads with amazing places, beautiful woman, and fun parties to promote drinking. What they don't tell you are all the casualties that are caused from the alcohol. 88,000 people in the United States alone pass away from alcohol related causes every year and 31% of car crashes are due to being impaired from alcohol. The War on Alcohol by Anna Quindalen was written to provide information about the negative effects of alcohol for not only the person drinking but the people around them. She

This can lead to injury from overconfidence in the drinker’s ability to assess a situation, which might lead them to do something they would normally find inappropriate or not safe. Drinking impairs judgment and can cause the abuser to lose some sense of awareness in situations which might cause an inappropriate response. Someone who has drank in excess might have trouble reciprocating other people’s social cues and may react violently or with aggression since drinking alcohol impairs judgment. Most dangerously of all is the drinker’s loss of control, specifically when they get in a car. A drinker’s motors skills may be at a complete loss after an excess in drinking, this can lead to an automobile accident which could be

The effects of ethanol on humans starts when the alcohol enters the bloodstream, and the more alcohol that enters the bloodstream, there’s a higher risk for effects. Some of the effects include, “reduced inhibitions, slurred speech, motor impairment, confusion, memory problems, concentration problems, coma, breathing problems, and even death. Additionally, alcohol can cause car crashes and accidents, risky behavior, violent behavior, and suicide or homicide.” Alcohol can also take effect on the brain, heart (cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, stoke, HBP), liver (alcoholic hepatitis), pancreas, can cause cancer, and can cause damage to one’s immune system.

Alcohol can cause dehydration, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure and long term affects include stokes, cirrhosis, cardiomyopathy, fatty liver disease, and a weakened immune system.

The Health assessment of an alcoholic is far worse as they can suffer from a number of health complications and diseases that are associated with alcoholism such as liver disease, alcohol induced pancreatitis, cancer and cardiovascular disease (Rehm136). Not to mention the many types of injuries that be sustained while intoxicated, such as alcohol poisoning, broken limbs, or blackouts (137).

Alcohol causes underagers to have risky behaviors and people need help to get a better healthier lifestyle.

While many people view consuming alcohol as charming, it is indeed detrimental to a person’s health and well-being. “[As of] 2013, 86.6 percent of people ages eighteen and older have drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime…56.4 percent reported that they drank in the past month” (NIAAA). Drinking is the cause of many accident inflicted hospital visits, increases the risk for a plethora of illness, and is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States (NIAAA).

International statistics reveal that Alcohol is attributed to 4% of total mortality and between 4- 5% of DALY’s (1, 2). Rhem et al notes that more than 25% of the global consumption is estimated to be unrecorded, due to lack of surveillance. This variance can create a higher global burden of disease attributable to Alcohol (2). According to the World Health Organisation (2014), overconsumption of Alcohol has been linked to the development of more than 200 diseases, making it the third highest risk leading to death and disability (1). Rhem et al conducted an analysis of the burden of disease attributable to Alcohol. In particular their analysis revealed that the pattern of drinking, volume and quality of alcohol consumed were causally linked to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis and injury (2). The study also elucidates the notion that even with evidence based management strategies and widespread acceptance of the harms associated with the drug, Alcohol misuse is a significant issue in society. The net harms outweigh any notable benefits of Alcohol over consumption.

The abuse of alcohol over long periods of time may also cause diseases such as cirrhosis, acute alcohol hepatitis, and the most severe liver disease. Cirrhosis is a disease in which the liver becomes so scarred that the patient lacks sufficient healthy tissue to perform the organ?s functions. Once you?ve got it, you are stuck with it. (Gross, 6) The worst thing about these diseases is that you will not know you have them unless you are medically examined on a regular basis. Alcohol consumption is a large contributor to the development of several types of cancer- mostly dealing with the neck and brain. We know that cancer kills and therefore it is safe to say that in some cases, alcohol can be deadly. It is important to realize that alcoholism is a disease. A heavy drinker will experience the effects of withdrawal syndrome (which include hypertension, anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, and seizures) if he decides to stop drinking. Being addicted to alcohol is similar to being addicted to any other drug in that once one starts using, it is tough to live without. It is also a ?gateway drug? just as marijuana and other sedatives. (Bennett, Woolf, 13-23)

Alcohol has no beneficial attributes on a person’s health. Alcohol can have several harmful effects on human organs. Some organs in the human body that are damaged by alcohol consumption are the brain, kidneys, and liver. The human liver is the one organ that suffers the most damage. As stated in an article published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “Because the liver is the chief organ responsible for metabolizing alcohol, it is especially vulnerable to alcohol – related injury” (NIAAA, 2005). Regular use of alcohol can lead to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). The severity of ALD can vary based on several different factors. Some of these factors include gender, age, the amount consumed, and how often alcohol is used. “ALD includes three conditions: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis” (Alcohol Alert, 2005).

Alcohol in large doses can be very detrimental to not only the user but to people around him/her. For example, if a man was to go to a club and drink a lot of alcohol, in which his body cannot withhold; his heavy intakes will lead to dizziness, vomiting, and impaired breathing and in extreme cases, unconsciousness and coma that can lead to death. According to Caron, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in the United States. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of drinking: 1,900 from motor vehicle accidents, 1,600 from homicides, 300 from suicides, and hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning. This shows that anyone on the road near an intoxicated driver is in grave danger as they can be killed or badly injured in an instant as the drunk driver has slight control over anything they are doing. Many reckless kills have been made by drunken drivers/people over the years resulting in many families to pay the price of losing a family member for no relevant reason at all but making alcohol increase death rates that could be provoked by intruding prohibition.