Alcohol Abuse, Research Paper Example

It is a well-known fact that alcohol abuse is a serious disease associated with intense drinking of alcoholic beverages and neglecting its negative consequences. Very often alcohol abuse is described as something like an alcoholic dependence, but there is a definite difference between these two forms of addiction. The difference is that alcohol abuse doesn’t have such symptoms as withdrawal (getting physical symptoms after not drinking for a short period of time) and tolerance (having to drink increasing amounts to achieve previous effect). Although it is much easier to treat alcohol abuse than alcohol dependence, it is still a huge problem. In this paper I want to argue that the seriousness of alcohol abuse and its consequences mustn’t be overlooked in any case. Many people may claim that alcohol can have a lot of positive effects on one’s health and mental well-being, but what I want to underline is that there is a very thin crossing border between drinking to one’s good and over consuming alcohol. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Analysis states that each year more than 100,000 deaths in the United States of America are caused by the excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol is also a cause of thousands of innocent deaths each years, it is one of the major reasons for domestic violence and violent crimes.

There are a lot of different causes of alcohol abuse, but the most common among them are: 1) peers pressure – it is considered to be somewhat fashionable and common to drink alcohol, especially among teenagers and college students; 2) biological predisposition – those people who had alcoholics in their families are at the higher risk for abusing alcohol than those who don’t have a family history of such an addiction; 3) stressful situations or great life challenges – many people start drinking alcohol in excess in order to cope with all the problems and to get through all the challenges that they’re facing in their lives.  As Saisan reports very often people start drinking to mask their depression, grief, anxiety or loneliness, or drinking may become the only way for them to feel comfortable and relaxed, and to feel themselves connected to other people.  Another negative aspect of drinking alcohol is that many societies and cultures dictate it in one way or another. For example, in many countries it is natural to drink beer or wine during meals, different kinds of celebrations can’t be seen without alcohol beverages and cocktails, and in many businesses entertaining clients with alcohol after a working day is considered to be a norm.

The most dangerous thing is that people continue to consume alcohol in excess despite knowing all the social, personal and legal problems that alcohol abuse is causing them. Many people argue that a flute of champagne or glass of a red wine can make one’s heart stronger and may boost one’s memory, so there is nothing wrong in drinking alcohol time after time. But the problem is that such ‘time after time’ may turn into every night or everyday alcohol consumption. Another for-alcohol aspect is that some experts and doctors state that alcohol consumption may help to burn calories. Whatever food items a person eats alcohol will break it down. Moderate drinking also raises HDL (good) cholesterol and lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol, decreases blood pressure, improves body’s sensitivity to insulin, which cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, what people should remember is such a case is that drinking must be moderate in order to have positive effects on one’s health. Moderate drinking is defined as one or two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women and those over 65. A drink is a 12-ounce bottle or can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

But what people do forget is that eventually untreated alcohol abuse leads to alcohol dependence which is much more difficult to cure. According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies, a person is considered to be dependent on alcohol when one have experienced three or more of the following symptoms during a year.

• A strong urge to drink, difficulty controlling how much they drink, or difficulty stopping.
• Physical withdrawal symptoms, such as sweating, shaking, agitation and nausea when they try to reduce drinking.
• A growing tolerance to alcohol – needing larger quantities to get the same effect.
• Gradual neglect of other activities.
• Persistent drinking even though it is obviously causing harm.

During different periods of their lifecycles all people can be in the risk zone of starting abusing alcohol, but still there are several groups of people who are more likely than others to have problems with alcohol. 1) Teenagers and young adults – approximately one-half of all high school seniors in the USA admit to having used alcohol. 2) Adults older than 65 – many people of this age use alcohol as a way of self-medication in order to cope with sleep problems and depression. 3) Low-income population – alcohol abuse is a problem for many minorities, homeless and disabled adults.  According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism one in three people will become hooked on alcohol at some point in their lives, and only one-quarter of people with a problem will get treated. So what’s the point to get yourself in the risk of abusing alcohol by saying to oneself that it will happen to somebody else, but not me?

Another point that people, especially women, like to use in order to justify their sometimes excessive consumption of alcohol is that it lowers cancer risks. For example, it is stated by doctors that women who don’t drink at all have higher risks for certain diseases, for example breast cancer. But Rimm (2007) says that if one wants to lower risks of getting cancer one should better ditch cigarettes, eat more fruits and vegetables, avoid too much sun exposure, keep weight under control, get regular exercises, than simply add an extra bottle of wine to one’s everyday menu.

Alcohol abuse has negative consequences for single individuals as well as for the society in general. The main negative aspect of alcohol abuse is first of all health problems that it causes. There is a number of both long-term and short-term effects of alcohol on the organism of a person. Short-term problems are easier to treat, but eventually they may turn into much more serious diseases. As alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system its excessive consumption may lead to a loss of inhibition. It also results in the loss of balance, blurred vision, vomiting, slurred speech and nausea. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also provides information that drinking too much alcohol at one time may result in unconsciousness, coma and even death. Long-term effects include:

• high blood pressure that can lead to stroke;
• hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver;
• heart failure;
• damage to the brain;
• neurological problems such as epilepsy;
• other neurological problems, such as confusion, numbness and problems with memory;
• birth defects;
• gastritis (inflammation to the stomach lining) and pancreatitis (inflammation to the pancreas);
• different types of cancer, including mouth, lung and throat.

Alcohol abuse can also cause muscle disease, infertility, sexual and skin problems; erectile dysfunction. Excessive drinking also leads to a number of psychological problems. Although in short-term alcohol may help people to relax, in a long run it can lead to increase of anxiety and eventually to depression. It also causes sleeping problems, mood-swings and may lead to suicides.

But even more disastrous are the ways in which alcohol abuse affects families and family lives. It is stated by psychologists and sociologists that very often alcohol abuse results in the child abuse and neglect. “The abuser may neglect a child’s basic needs due to drinking.  Lack of impulse control can lead to increased physical and emotional abuse” (Saisan). Alcohol abuse of one of the family members causes huge emotional and psychological stress to other members of the family. Especially sensitive in this case are children, who may not understand what is happening with their parents, or who may come to the conclusion that drinking too much is a norm of living. Drinking in excess also leads to the increased domestic violence, greater number of injuries and deaths at homes.  Another major issue is alcohol and pregnancy. Women who drink heavily during pregnancy are at risk of having babies with a condition called fetal alcohol syndrome. This can result in growth deficiencies, nervous system problems, lowered intelligence, and facial abnormalities in the child (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).

Another important aspect of alcohol abuse is that it can eventually lead to the loss of one’s job. Person who suffers from alcohol addiction may not only have problems with meeting job requirements and deadlines, but one may cause serious hazards for others, especially if one’s job is connected with servicing people. For example, Leigh found in his research that heavy beer use is strongly correlated with the fatality rates within occupations and industries (20). But drinking among workers not only threatens public safety, it also results in costly medical, social and other problems both for the employees and for the employers. Problems with jobs cause even greater stress for the family. Other family members may find themselves in the situation when they have to work more in order to make financial ends meet.

The most frightening thing is that alcohol abuse doesn’t only affect single individuals and families, but it is a major threat for the American nation and society as a whole. Problems with alcohol in the USA start from drinking alcohol as a way of entertainment among teenagers and college students, it leads to the increase of deaths from the impaired drivers, and the ultimate result is the general degradation of the American nation. Studies showed that many male college students drink in order to feel themselves “macho” and female college students drink in order to feel equal to men. The consequences of drinking among college students include missing classes, not studying for the test, failing courses, altercations with other people. But the most serious issue in this case is that many college students drive cars while being under the influence of alcohol.  It was found that alcohol kills 6 ½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that about 45% of all the traffic crashes are due to the excess alcohol consumption. And all this leads to the general degradation of our population. For many people (especially for youth) to go to the party or club and get drunk is more interesting and exiting than to go to some kind of a gallery, performance, or simply to watch a movie or read a book. Eventually alcohol abuse leads to the increased dropout rates, to the inability of students to find a job after college or school graduation, or to poor job performance if they will manage to obtain a job. Another aspect is that students who abuse alcohol are in the great risk of being involved in all sorts of crimes and high risk sexual behaviors. In such a way the amount of single mothers and abandoned children increases as well.

Many people in the USA and all over the world fight for the general prohibition of alcohol consumption but I don’t think that it is a good solution to the problem of alcohol abuse. First of all, because many people do drink reasonably and good alcohol adds certain level of pleasure to their lives, and therefore it is not right to punish the majority for the actions of minority. And secondly, total prohibition of alcohol consumption will lead to the increased desire to drink as it was observed in the USA in the 1920s – 1930s. Plus alcohol prohibition may encourage people to experiment with other drugs that may be much more dangerous than alcohol. The solution that I can propose in such a situation is to increase the awareness of the population not only about the negative consequences of alcoholism, but of alcohol abuse as well. People should come to the understanding of the true meaning of moderate drinking. Another way to decrease alcohol consumption rates is to punish people more severely for all the illegal actions done under the influence of alcohol.

So once again the point that I wanted to make in this argumentative essay is that alcohol abuse is indeed a serious problem and it mustn’t be underestimated in any case, because it can lead to even a greater problem – alcohol dependence. Many people find a lot of for-drinking arguments, covering excessive alcohol consumption by such reasons as improving health, relaxing and lowering risks of getting certain types of diseases, but in any case people should remember that eventually alcohol abuse may turn into an alcoholism, which is a chronic and progressive disease, and it may become fatal in not treated in time. The main issue of excessive drinking is that in doesn’t only cause problems to individuals, but it as well affects their families, friends, colleagues, employers, and it threatens the well-being of those people who simply surround them. Eventually alcohol abuse affects the American nation as a whole, making it weaker, less productive and culturally degraded.

References

Leigh, Paul J. “Alcohol Abuse and Job Hazards.” Journal of Safety Research 27.1 (1996): 17-32.

Saisan, Joanna, & Cutter, Deborah, & Segal, Jeanne. “Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.” Helpguide. Jan. 2009. 5 Apr. 2009.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). “Alcohol Alert: Underage Drinking – A Major Public Health Challenge”, Alcohol Alert #59. Apr. 2003.

Heath, Dwight B., and Hanson, David J. “The misguided prohibition that governs U.S. colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 47.48 (2001): B14.

Formichelli, L. “The Health Pros and Cons of Drinking”. CNN Health. 4 Dec. 2007. 18 Apr. 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/04/healthmag.alcohol/index.html