The Negative Effects of Alcohol Abuse

Many people, including alcoholics, are not fully aware of the devastation caused by alcohol abuse. Not only does alcohol have an impact on physical health, it causes a host of problems from a mental and emotional standpoint. This addiction is not only harmful to the body, it tears families apart, leads to job loss, and often causes isolation for the person who drinks.

In Whiting S. Albert’s article “Alcohol Use Is Harmful” he stated that alcohol is a chemical that contains hydrogen and carbon. Whiting stated further that the active ingredient of alcohol is ethyl alcohol, which is also known as ethanol. Alcohol is one of the few things that human being consume that do not need digestion. Alcohol appears the bloodstream immediately, thus, its intoxicating effects are felt instantly (1). “High levels of mortality, morbidity, and social malaise are associated with abuse of alcohol, and increasing numbers of women and youth are abusing alcohol” (Ferreira and Darryn 1). “Alcohol slows down the function of all living cells, especially those in the brain” (Whiting 1), which causes thinking to be impaired. Alcohol is probably the most used drug worldwide. “Three in ten adults 18 years of age and over have had alcoholism and/or engaged in alcohol abuse at some point in their lives …” (“Impact of Alcoholism” 1). According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Alcohol abuse can also cause short-term effects to the body. Although there are many different short-term effects, the most common happens to be a hangover which is a “group of symptoms experienced by a person after a heavy consumption of alcohol” (Alcoholic 1). Symptoms of a hangover often consist of nausea, fatigue, thirst, headache, diarrhea, and sensitivity to light and noise. The severity of a hangover depends on several factors; these factors include the amount of alcohol consumed, the level of hydration in the body at the time of alcohol consumption, and disease. Although hangovers are the most common short-term effect, blackouts are also a short-term result of alcohol abuse. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lead to temporary amnesia where the person is unable to recall events that occurred after he or she began drinking. Unfortunately, blackouts can lead to serious repercussions, especially if the person is engaged in sexual activity during that time. Blackouts are much more common among social drinkers than previously assumed and should be viewed as a potential consequence of acute intoxication regardless of age (National 1). Drinkers who experience blackouts typically drink too much and too quickly, which causes their blood alcohol levels to rise very rapidly. Typically, college students are at risk for experiencing a blackout, as an alarming number of college students engage in binge drinking. Even though these short-term effects do not seem as bad as the

Commonly referred to as alcohol use disorder, alcoholism is the most severe form of alcohol abuse. It involves the inability to manage drinking habits (Galbicsek, 2016). Individuals who suffer from alcoholism feel as if they cannot live without consuming alcohol. Signs of alcoholism may include craving alcohol whenever you are not consuming, feeling the need to keep drinking more, and putting alcohol above responsibilities. Alcoholism comes with short term and long term effects. Short-term effects may include reduced brain activity and slow reaction time. Long term effects may include liver disease and bone loss (Galbicsek, 2016).

Three short-term effects of alcohol abuse include disinhibited behavior, decreased perception and coordination, and slow reflexes. In terms of disinhibited behavior, someone who is consuming a low to moderate dose of alcohol may begin to have a lack of restraint when it comes to interaction. This type of behavior can come off as rude or even offensive. In addition, decreased perception and coordination also become an issue when someone has had a few drinks, since coordination and balance may become difficult. Lastly, slow reflexes are also one of the short-term effects for alcohol abuse. The consumer may have a delayed reaction since they are not in the right state of mind. More then often, this impairment is not apparent to the affected person

Everyday around the world people fail to realize the effects alcohol abuse can have on themselves as well as their loved ones. Alcohol can be highly addictive, and plague an individual 's life. Individuals who suffer from alcohol abuse go through various withdrawal symptoms when attempting to cease from drinking alcohol. There are various methods alcohol abusers to quit using alcohol. For adults who abuse alcohol, achieving abstinence can be an arduous process that can be overcome with the perseverance of the individual as well as the support of family and peers.

Plenty of people always seem to ask “what are the causes of alcohol abuse?” As a matter of fact, there are many origins that come to mind when actually thinking of why people drink alcohol excessively. Alcohol abuse can run in a person’s family, or sometimes it may be caused by the environment a person is in or if someone is taking on stress (WebMD). When people are frazzled or feel as though they are facing a serious issue within their life, they tend to feel the need to turn towards drinking alcohol so that they can get rid of all the pain they are feeling. Some people treat alcohol as an escape from the grief they are

People drink in many ways, for many different reasons. We drink socially, to gain acceptance into a group. We drink alone to ease stress, to cope with our problems, or we “drink because we like the taste or how it makes us feel”#. Often drinking is a learned behavior, starting out as a social drinker; you quickly become psychologically and physically dependent. When someone reaches this stage they are often classified as an alcoholic. To an alcoholic, drinking becomes a compulsion; they cannot stop themselves from having another drink, like a social drinker can. In many cases alcoholics don’t even have to drink continuously in order to be an alcoholic. One the problems of alcohol addiction is that it’s something that doesn’t just effect the individual but it effects, friends and family as well. Spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can all be influenced by alcohol abuse.

The negative effect of alcohol have been well documented and scientifically proven. The United States National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that “1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries.” furthermore “599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.” These statistics show just how easy it is for young drinkers to abuse alcohol. Many young drinkers are aware of such statistics. Despite that they continue to consume alcohol. Perhaps we’ll never be able to completely eliminate drinking from our society, historically there have been attempts to ban alcohol in many countries, none of them ended successfully. In Lesson for a young drinker written by Tom Chiarella and in proper credentials are needed to join a poem written by Charles Bukowski, both authors choose to focus on those individuals who will drink no matter what studies or the law say. Both writings have some things in common but they also have a lot in contrast. Both writers claimed to know how alcohol is mastered. However Chiarella claims that alcohol is mastered through observation and experimentation. Bukowski on the other hand claims to have mastered alcohol over many years and by making countless of mistakes. When we take a closer look at the authors backgrounds we can easily determine that Bukowski was never able to master alcohol therefore his poem is not

My topic that I research is Alcoholism. This is the number one addiction for people is the US. Most people start drinking because of peer pressure from friends and family. When your drink alcohol there’s a lot of long term effects to your body. You will get liver diseases, Cardiovascular diseases. Your brain cells will die and you will have reproductive problems. You have risk of getting different type of cancers such as mouth,throat and esophageal. If you get esophageal cancer it will make it very difficult to eat because this cancer affect your tube that allows food to go to stomach.

The term alcohol abuse in this case encompasses harmful use of alcohol and misuse of alcohol resulting from dependence. The experience of alcohol abuse can have far-reaching consequences on the family, the community, and the nation. According to NIDA, drug and substance abuse costs the nation $600 Billion every year. This cost factors in crime, healthcare, and lost productivity. Alcohol accounts for 40% of this cost. It is, therefore, necessary, within the context of the family, to delve into the treatment and support of people who abuse alcohol

INTRODUCTION: Alcoholism can affect anyone. It has enormous costs as it pertains to societies, families, and individuals. It is not prejudicial towards any race, color, sex, religion, or economic level. Although we do have ideas as to what alcoholism is, what we do not know is the exact cause(s) of this problem. Researchers are continually seeking answers to the long-standing nature versus nurture debate. Different views are split between a biological paradigm and a physchological paradigm. No one explanation seems to be better than another is. I will present views of the effects alcoholism has on society and an insight to the factors that serve to fuel the

Section 1: I have chosen to focus on drinking for my health campaign. As alcohol is a powerful chemical that can have a wide range of adverse effects on almost every part of the human body, including your brain, bones and heart. Many people don’t see alcohol as a drug, that it is associated with risks that can have serious effects both long term and short term on the body just like any other drug and if too much is consumed it could lead to addictions and overdoses.

Wed MD defines alcoholism as, “having unhealthy or dangerous drinking habits, such as drinking every day or drinking too much at a time.” Basically, is someone who is very dependent to alcohol. Alcohol is ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor (https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm). Abusing alcohol can have harmful and negative consequences affecting yourself, friends, family, work, and can become deadly. A given person's risk of becoming an alcoholic is three to four times greater if a parent is alcoholic. (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/understanding-alcohol-abuse-basics#1)

Alcoholism has been a major problem in society for a number of years. In fact, alcoholism should be compared to a virus. This is because a person can never be completely cured from alcoholism; they can only fight the battle, day to day, hoping not to relapse. When it comes to the etiologies, or causes, of alcoholism, there seems to be three distinct origins of alcoholism. These causes are genetic factors, dependency caused by brain chemical imbalances after long-term use, and social and emotional factors.