| There are many
misconceptions surrounding the consumption of alcohol. This document presents
the essential facts surrounding its use and abuse. |
| Type of Drug |
|
Sedative-anesthetic |
| Systemic Effects |
|
Alcohol is a drug that, like
sedatives, depresses the central nervous system. |
| Creation |
|
Produced by fermenting process
involving natural ingredients (being sugar and making yeast spores) |
| Street Names |
|
Liquor, cocktails, spirits,
booze |
| Appearance |
|
Ethyl alcohol, the psychoactive
ingredient in beer, wine, and distilled liquor, is a colorless liquid with a
strong, distinctive smell. |
| Delivery Method |
|
Alcohol is typically ingested
orally, in liquid form as follows:
- Beer, which is less than ten
percent alcohol in content, is consumed orally.
- Wine, which also is less
than ten percent alcohol, is drunk, sometimes in combination with non-alcoholic
drinks.
- Distilled liquor, with an
alcohol content usually more than 40 percent, also is drunk, and often is mixed
with soft drinks, fruit juices, or water.
- Some cooking recipes include
alcohol as an ingredient.
|
| Other Forms |
|
Besides its use for drinking and
cooking, other forms of alcohol are used as ingredients in medicine, solvents,
preservatives, and cleaning agents, and for a wide range of other
purposes. |
| Psychological Effects |
|
- Appears initially to act as
a stimulant, invigorating thought and activity.
- Produces feelings of
relaxation, reduced anxiety, and mild euphoria. Induces, as consumption
increases, progressive stages of sedation, anesthesia, and in very large
quantities, coma.
- Causes intoxication,
dependence, and tolerance.
- Causes reddening of the
whites of the eyes.
- Reduces rapid eye movement
(visual range, perception and reactions). Induces sleep.
- Impedes the function of the
portions of the brain that affect self-control. Impedes memory by disrupting
transfer of recent memory to long-term storage banks.
|
| Dangers |
|
Alcohol has different effects on
people, depending on a wide range of physical, mental, and environmental
circumstances. For most people, alcohol acts as a sedative. The common physical
and mental responses to alcohol abuse are:
- Physical and psychological
dependency.
- Impaired coordination,
responses, attention, tracking, and judgment.
- Drowsiness or loss of
consciousness.
- Fatal respiratory or heart
failure caused by large quantities being consumed in a short time
period.
- Toxic or inflammatory damage
to the liver, heart, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract caused by excessive
and continuous consumption; severe damage to the brain and nervous system also
may be caused by excessive and continuous consumption. Increased susceptibility
to disease.
- Malnutrition.
- Cancer of the mouth, larynx,
esophagus, and liver. Increased likelihood of injury or death resulting from
vehicle accidents due to the detrimental effect of alcohol consumption on
driving and other skilled tasks.
- Distinct withdrawal
syndrome, including delirium tremors, the stages of which are progressively
traumatic and painful, and even fatal.
- Especially dangerous when
used in combination with other drugs, especially
barbiturates.
- Also especially dangerous
for pregnant women because of spontaneous abortions, birth defects, or physical
and mental retardation (also known as fetal alcohol
syndrome).
|
| Comments |
|
Alcohol plays an important
cultural and social role in our society. In moderation, its use can be safe and
appropriate. Used in excess, alcohol can and does destroy lives. According to
the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), approximately
17.7 million Americans have the disease of alcoholism. Nearly 150 million
Americans drink alcohol at least occasionally. |
| Workplace Impact |
|
There is a major impact on
employers because alcohol abuse is so common and so socially accepted... the
fine line that exists between social drinkers and problem drinkers may obscure
the extent of the alcohol abuse problem. As much as 11.9 percent of the work
force abuses alcohol. The NCADD also estimates that alcohol abuse costs the
nation, including employers, $85.8 billion. |
| Conclusion |
|
Alcoholism is a disease marked
by continued excessive or compulsive use of alcohol. An alcoholic is a person
who loses the ability to determine how much alcohol is "too much". If a person
lacks the self control not to drink or to stop drinking, that person is
dependent on alcohol. |
|
