Jürgen Rehm Analysis

While alcohol may have damaging effects to one’s body, many benefits exist if one drinks responsibly. Many studies and cases do show alcohol can damage the liver and other parts of the body; however, when one drinks in a moderate manner many health benefits may exist. Alcohol helps to fight against various health conditions and risks common among many people,

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.

Alcoholism is a problem experienced in many societies and covers issues associated with intake of alcohol (Schneider, 1978). In most cases, it is used to refer to addictive and uncontrolled use or abuse of alcohol such that the health, relationships and social status of a person is eroded. Due to its negative effects on users, it is considered as a bad practice in the society. Alcoholism is contributed by many social issues concerning users as well as society and is largely accepted as a social deviance behavior. However, according to Schneider (1992), deviant drinking has been

Over 2.5million people die every year to excessive alcohol use. Furthermore, alcohol is responsible for one in ten deaths of working age adults aged twenty to sixty four. Excessive drinking by the CDC is more than one glass a day for a woman and more than two glasses a day for a man. Also, drinking any while under the age or pregnant is classified as excessive drinking(“Alcohol Use and Your Health”). On top of the benefits becoming negative effects quickly, excessive drinking also comes with many more side effects. Excessive drinking damages the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and the immune system. Brain cells are lost along with loss of thinking and coordination. Heart beat, heart muscles, and blood pressure can be effected. A variety of liver problems and inflammations. The Pancreas produces unwanted toxins eventually leading to pancreatitis. Lastly the immune system is weakened, making the body a much easier target for disease and slowing the body’s ability to ward off infections – even up to 24 hours after getting drunk(“Alcohol's Effects on the

At the beginning of the 21st century, it was estimated that the annual number of deaths related to excessive drinking exceeded 100,000 in the United States alone (“Alcoholism”). In fact, in 1995, 140 million Americans were using alcohol is an abusing way (Ammerman, Ott, and Tarter). “It is a chronic and progressive illness that involves the excessive inappropriate ingestion of ethyl alcohol” (“Alcoholism”). Equally, it can be characterized as an emotional and many times, physical dependence on alcohol. It is thought to come from a combination of a wide range of physiological, social, and genetic factors (“Alcoholism”). Even

Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological consequences, but it can be treated through detoxification and anti-anxiety drugs. What will be explained in this essay is basically the history of alcohol, signs of one possibly being an alcoholic, possibilities to why one becomes an alcoholic, and treatments for it.

Alcoholism has raised many debates over the truth of its nature. Many scholars argue that alcoholism can be treated as a disease. Such approach to defining alcoholism means denying that alcohol abusers own a choice. In consequence, the treatment related differs and may or may not actually help alcoholics recover. A wrong diagnostic of this addiction can lead to serious health issues; therefore, it is vital to answer the following question: Is alcoholism a disease? Most experts in this field criticises this view of alcoholism as a disease due to the fact that this theory simply lacks a cure. It also victimises alcohol abuser, hence, completely negating the power of will. Finally, the disease theory comes from a history of misinformation that has now resulted in the very source of confusion within our society. Alcoholism is extremely complex and affects all part of the abuser, the brain, the body, the genes, and the psychic; hence, it is hard to classify alcoholism as a whole Instead, it should be regarded in a case-by-case fashion.

The Public Health issue being discussed in this study is binge drinking as well as underage drinking. Binge drinking can be defined as the excess consumption of alcoholic beverages which is considered more than five drinks for men and more than four drinks for women. Several public health issues also arise from binge drinking itself such as, drunk driving and violence. Binge drinking especially while underage can affect health because it can affect the cognitive brain development which may have life long effects. Aside from affecting development binge drinking can put youth at risk for physical/ and or sexual assault and makes youth more vulnerable to engage in unprotected sex which can lead to the transmission of STDs or unwanted pregnancy. Binge drinking can also lead to death due to alcohol poisoning and

certain periods of time. It goes into depth about how binge drinking can be linked biologically and culturally to vulnerability and can cause the stated outcomes, such as academics, social life, and even death. It further analyzes the historical changes in society involving drinking and how with sexual maturity peaking

Alcoholism today is not considered as a moral failure, majority of the people view it as a disease. Alcoholism is a chronic primary and progressive disease and it can also be fatal in some instances. It is termed as a chemical disease as it breaks down in the stomach as well as bringing a different effect on the brain of the alcoholic as compared to a non-alcoholic. Alcoholism can be classified as a biological disease since the chemical predisposition of alcohol consumption is inheritable. Therefore, alcoholism should not be punished instead it should be treated. The reason behind classifying alcoholism as a disease is because the progression of alcohol dependence occurs through stages in a natural sequence .This progression is similar to that of the development of physical illnesses. In recent interpretations of alcoholism as a disease the focus is on the biological factors which differentiate alcoholics from nonalcoholics. This disease concept has led to development of the idea that those who abuse alcohol are often out of control and abstinence is the only method for treating this disease.

Daily consumption of alcohol has changed over the years. In the past over use of alcohol was not known as a disorder, but, over time, society have entitled the misuse of alcohol as alcohol abuse, alcoholic, alcohol dependence and alcoholism. Additionally, society has categorized the misuse of alcohol as a human illness. Researches continue to define the causes and learn of preventative measure to stop alcoholism. But, how has alcoholism become an illness in the United States? Understanding how alcoholism developed into an illness in the United States, first step is to learn about the socially construction of illness.

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

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.

Sadly, prolonged or excessive use can lead to alcoholism. In fact, of the 175 million drinkers in America, 10 to 13 million are alcoholics. Additionally, the majority of all hospital emergencies involve accidents or illnesses related to alcohol use. The production, distribution, and marketing of alcoholic beverages are employers of many people and generate large sums of money. As a whole, drinking is as much of a part of American society as apple pie and the Fourth of July. Because drinking is such a big part of our lives, the problems which arise from its use are not to be easily diminished (Snyder 19).

The speech is aimed at highlighting the negative effects that excessive intake of alcohol and habitual alcoholism can have on the social aspects of a person and the health repercussions of the aforementioned behavior. The content of the speech is largely informative and in very small part persuasive for people to reconsider their drinking habits.