Alcohol Is The Most Abused Licit Psychoactive Drugs

Alcoholism is one of the most intractable and pervasive psychological disorders known. Though the negative health consequences of alcohol are widely understood, and, if anything, the social consequences of alcoholism are even more widely acknowledged, it seems that no matter what steps are taken by public health officials or private organizations, no strategy can ever be fully developed for eradicating alcoholism. There are a number of reasons why this is true. This paper will explore some of the social and medical problems created by alcohol, but in it I will also consider the role of alcohol in my personal life and the way I have seen the disease play out in the lives of people around me. The paper will also examine the social and political responses to the problem of alcoholism and attempt to determine where productive approaches have been taken and areas where mistakes have been made. Before discussing such wide-ranging questions, it is important to understand what alcoholism is and how it is manifested.

Alcohol use has spanned history. In fact, there is speculation that alcohol use actually preceded the formation of societies (Doweiko, 2015, p. 30). Thus, alcohol has long been a part of mankind’s life. The function of alcohol has unarguably changed throughout the course of history, as it was first used for nutritional purposes and then later on for religious purposes (Doweiko, 2015, p. 32). Today, alcohol serves a social purpose. In the United States, the prevalence of use is quite high, with just over 50% of the population partaking monthly (Doweiko, 2015, p. 34). This statistic is somewhat alarming considering alcohol use comes with a number of potential adverse consequences. Case in point, even

Recent studies show that approximately fifty-three percent of adults in the United States have one or more close relatives that have drinking problems. Alcohol Abuse has cost the United States more than 220 billion dollars in 2005 alone. Problem drinkers are most often found in young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, and the fewest in adults who are 65 years of age or older. Alcohol Abuse is one of the major risk factors for violence, and research shows that fifty percent of all homicides and forty percent of all assaults in the United States are alcohol related. In the United States, more than forty percent of the people who start drinking when they are fourteen years old or younger are more likely to become alcoholics than those who don’t. One in ten Americans, currently have alcohol problems.

According to the Dual Diagnosis website, “In 2012, as many as 87.6 percent of American adults over age 18 were reported in a SAHMSA…study to have consumed alcohol at some point in their lives…The National Institutes of Health…estimated that 17 million adults in the United States in 2012 had an alcohol use disorder” (“Disease…”). Approximately one in every 12 people either are abusing alcohol, or they are becoming, if not are, victims of alcoholism (National…). Alcohol consumption is especially known in our society’s culture. There are numerous people who like to drink every now and again in moderation; however, there are far too many people who abuse the alcohol and may even be completely dependent on it. Several

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

In 2013, the cost for treating alcohol dependent cases not only rose but also doubled from 1.51 million to 3.13 million. Of these, 6,490 resulted in death. On a minute scale, excluding those who depended on alcohol; 1,008,850 adults here who are categorised between the age of 16 and over were administered into hospitals for alcohol related illnesses. It was estimated that in 2008, the total harm that alcohol caused to society was 21 billion a year, (National statistics, 2014). The issue of alcohol has and still is one of a political importance, given that the taxpayer funded this. Tackling the issue by raising prices to dismay the population from drinking has failed. In fact, it has increased; in 1992, 527 millilitres (ml) were consumed per person per week, it then peaked to 700 (ml) per week in 2012, (National statistics, 2014).

This essay will provide an outline of the effects of alcohol consumption on the health of the nation as well as investigate a range of health promotion strategies aimed to reduce the burden of this issue. Furthermore, this paper will explore two alcohol reductions measures. The first is the behavior change model of the Australian Government’s National Binge Drinking Strategy (NBDS) which has stimulated the reduction of alcohol consumption. It will also look at two rolled out campaigns launched by governments to reduce the high trends of alcohol consumption; ‘Danny Green’s Coward Punch’ and Don’t Turn a Night out into a Nightmare’. Alcohol is an issue because habitual and excessive alcohol consumption has countless damaging health outcomes

In this essay, I will explore both sides of the argument to suggest that Binge drinking is either a personal concern or that it is a social problem. UK researchers commonly define binge drinking as consuming more than eight units of alcohol in a single session for men, and more than six units for women (NHS, 2014). Over the years alcohol has caused many social and political debates in regards to whether it is a “social evil” or if the individual who makes the conscious choice to drink it, is the real deviant. It’s clear to see that alcohol will always be a dominating factor in society if we think alcohol consumption is a 21st-century modern phenomenon then we are mistaken. The first organized campaign about alcohol consumption occurred in the 18th century as Gin had arrived in the United Kingdom from the Netherlands. From The 1720’s onwards Gin became the focus of moral concern amongst the rising middle classes, the society for the reformation of manners highlighted the evils of gin drinking. The “gin panics” have been described as the first modern “drug scare” amongst society and perhaps caused the first drink related “moral panics” (Blackshaw, 2013:306-307). As we can see alcohol consumption worries started well over 200 years ago and although we may think today 's societies “social evils” have well moved on from historical ones this quote from David Cameron proves they have not, “Binge drinking isn’t some fringe issue, it accounts for half of all alcohol consumed in this

Diseases like heart disease and diabetes can result from alcohol abuse. The increase of hospital visit due to alcohol consumption have increased in the adult population. Alcohol abuse is a problem in all ages and

Alcohol consumption is well entrenched in the social fabric of many adult populations across the world, virtually constituting a behavioral norm. It is cheap, legal and readily available. Regular and extensive alcohol consumption is a brain-centered addictive behavioral disorder that crosses all boundaries of gender, race, age, social class and, in many patients, might lead to alcoholic liver disease (ALD).1-3 Not only does heavy drinking significantly increases morbidity and mortality from infectious disease4, it also risks the development of brain, pancreatic, cardiovascular, oncological, cerebral and renal diseases.5

Alcohol abuse affects many people around the world. Not only does it damage the consumer, but it also hurts the people around them, such as their family and their loved ones. Many people are attempting to cease this epidemic that is scattering globally.

The social acceptance of alcohol all over the world, whether it be social or cultural, is the leading cause of why alcohol addiction is so prevalent especially in the United States. Alcohol is the second leading cause of death in the US and one of the most abused drugs worldwide. It is the “third leading preventable cause of death in the United States” with “nearly 88,000 peaople” dying from it annually (Alcohol Facts and Statistics). There are many facts and statistics that are available throughout the internet and pamphlets that are passed around in school, however, this does not seem to scare those away from binge drinking. Drinking too much has many harmful effects on many of your body’s organs and immune system and can increase the risk of many cancers such as liver, breast, and esophagus cancers. To many people, alcohol is not a serious issue especially because it is used so commonly but thousands and thousands of people are killed throughout the United States every year because of this preventable issue.

In the last 50 years the United Kingdom (UK) has gone from having one of the lowest alcohol consumption levels in Europe to being one of the few countries in Europe where alcohol consumption is actually increasing (Home Office, 2012). In response to this, in March 2012, the Government published its strategy for tackling alcohol misuse in the UK (Home Office, 2012). The WHO had, in 2010, produced a global strategy for tackling alcohol related harm and the Government’s strategy links back to several of the WHO recommendations for national action, for example, tackling pricing, advertising, and availability of alcohol (WHO, 2016). Public health interventions may be delivered at three different levels: structural level, local level, and individual level, and the Government strategy makes recommendations for each of these levels. At the structural level the Government recommends initiatives targeting pricing of alcohol, and its advertising, together with cooperative working with the alcohol industry to promote more responsible drinking. At the local level, more power is given to local authorities regarding provision of services as well as the licensing of premises, imposing restrictions on the sale of alcohol and a levy on late night trading premises; and at the individual level individuals will be encouraged to drink responsibly and provided with

Historically, public safety issues were the first concern of regulators relating to alcohol and in fact they still are one major issue. Only in the late eighteenth century the idea that alcohol causes addiction was widely accepted and only most recently “the ‘new public health movement’ […] feels comfortable looking at the full scale of ‘alcohol-related harm” (Anderson and Baumberg 2006: 41). In other words, academics and politicians adopt a comprehensive approach to tackle every known problem that derives from alcohol consumption. The key policy document in the UK dealing with alcohol related risks is a good example for such an approach: the Government’s Alcohol Strategy of 2012 (GAS).