The Causes and Effects of Alcoholism
Term Paper
12/7/11
Biology 205
The Causes and Effects of Alcoholism
In the United States there are approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributed to excessive alcohol use (NASAIC, 2011). Alcoholism is defined as a medical disease or a neurological disorder. Alcoholism is essentially when a person continues to drink, even when health, work, or family are being harmed (NCBI et al, 2011). Alcohol is not an issue when enjoyed in moderation and responsibly, this however is not always the case. 18.3 million people in the U.S. are "heavy drinkers”; among these are 12.1 million people who have one or more symptoms of alcoholism (NCBI et al, 2011). Some of the many symptoms of alcoholism are hostility when asked about drinking, inability to stop or reduce alcohol intake, or making excuses to drink. The number of problem drinking in the U.S. has increased 8.2 percent since 1980 and with the growing acceptance of alcohol this number is at risk of rising in the near future (NCBI et al, 2011).
Problem drinking can be defined in two categories, alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is when a person “binge” drinks as way to escape from personal problems. Alcohol dependence is when a person has an addiction to alcohol and cannot control how much they drink. The person simply cannot just have one drink of alcohol without feeling the need to become intoxicated. The highest prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse is among ages 18-24. Over 80 percent of college presidents in the U.S. identify alcohol abuse as the biggest problem on campus (nd.edu et al, 2003). College students are in the ideal environment to develop a drinking disorder. Students are away from their families and are caring for themselves for often the first time in their lives. With the increase in responsibility in their lives students can find themselves stressed and confused. These factors only lead to students drinking amongst other students in efforts to fit in or as an escape from their
12/7/11
Biology 205
The Causes and Effects of Alcoholism
In the United States there are approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributed to excessive alcohol use (NASAIC, 2011). Alcoholism is defined as a medical disease or a neurological disorder. Alcoholism is essentially when a person continues to drink, even when health, work, or family are being harmed (NCBI et al, 2011). Alcohol is not an issue when enjoyed in moderation and responsibly, this however is not always the case. 18.3 million people in the U.S. are "heavy drinkers”; among these are 12.1 million people who have one or more symptoms of alcoholism (NCBI et al, 2011). Some of the many symptoms of alcoholism are hostility when asked about drinking, inability to stop or reduce alcohol intake, or making excuses to drink. The number of problem drinking in the U.S. has increased 8.2 percent since 1980 and with the growing acceptance of alcohol this number is at risk of rising in the near future (NCBI et al, 2011).
Problem drinking can be defined in two categories, alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is when a person “binge” drinks as way to escape from personal problems. Alcohol dependence is when a person has an addiction to alcohol and cannot control how much they drink. The person simply cannot just have one drink of alcohol without feeling the need to become intoxicated. The highest prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse is among ages 18-24. Over 80 percent of college presidents in the U.S. identify alcohol abuse as the biggest problem on campus (nd.edu et al, 2003). College students are in the ideal environment to develop a drinking disorder. Students are away from their families and are caring for themselves for often the first time in their lives. With the increase in responsibility in their lives students can find themselves stressed and confused. These factors only lead to students drinking amongst other students in efforts to fit in or as an escape from their
Bibliography: 1) U.S. National Library of Medicine and A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia staff, Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse and dependence; ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, March 20, 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001940/ 2) National Institutes of Health, Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism staff, Information about Alcohol; bscs.org, 2003. http://science-education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/guide/info-alcohol.htm 3) University of Notre Dame, Office of alcohol and drug education, Your Body and Alcohol; nd.edu, 2003. http://oade.nd.edu/educate-yourself-alcohol/your-body-and-alcohol/ 4) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism staff, Model 10h Ethnicity, Culture and Alcohol; NIAA.gov, March 2005. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Social/Module10HEthnicity&Culture/Module10H.html 5) National Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Information Center staff, Alcoholism; addictioncareoptions.com, 2011. http://www.addictioncareoptions.com/alcohol-help/alcoholism