What Are the Effects of Alcohol and How Can IA Students Avoid Alcohol?
Wiki by Julia Klee, Michael Berry, Sean Soave, and Frank Wang
What is Alcohol?
Alcohol is created when grains, fruits, or vegetables are fermented. Alcohol has different forms and can be used as a cleaner, an antiseptic, or a sedative.
What is Alcoholism?
Otherwise known as alcohol dependence, alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol, characterised by cravings for alcohol, loss of control of their alcohol consumption, tolerance to alcohol, and going into withdrawl.
Why is this an Issue?
Short Term Effects
irritability or agressive behavior
mood swings/ excessive crying
oversleeping
slurred speech
dizziness
nausea or vomiting
impared judgement
Long Term Effects
liver inflamation which can lead to cirrhosis
increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, malabsorption, chronic pancreatitis and liver disease
stomach problems and poor nutrition
neurological effects such as memory loss
birth defects
anxiety
tremors
hallucinations
Impotence(men) or infertility(women)
Social Influences
The Facts
A 1995 study found that 66.7 percent of teens surveyed said they use alcohol and other drugs to help them forget their problems.
Researchers have estimated that as many as 4 million adolescents consume alcohol in any given month—and that the average age of first alcohol experimentation is 12.
In 1997. for instance, 24.5 percent of eighth graders, 40 percent of tenth graders, and almost 53 percent of high school seniors reported drinking alcohol the previous month.
In the University of Michigan survey previously cited, 8 percent of eighth graders, 22 percent of tenth graders, and 34 percent of seniors reported getting drunk over the previous month
In 1996, 17,126 Americans were killed in accidents in which alcohol played a role.
Long-term effects of consistent and heavy alcohol consumption include damage to the liver and pancreas, cancer, malnutrition, and stroke
Alcohol is also a cause of 100,000 deaths every year in the United States , according to the National Center for Health Statistics (most deaths are through alcohol-related car accidents and homicides in addition to health problems such as cirrhosis of the liver).
Beer generally contains between 3 to 6 percent alcohol, wine is usually 10 to 14 percent alcohol, and distilled or "hard liquor" such as whisky and gin ranges from 40 to 70 percent alcohol
Survey Results
The Solution
--Underage Drinking--
The solutions is multifaceted and complex. One of the main parts of the prevention programs rely heavily on parental influence. This influence over whether their children drink is the same across all nationalities. Some things that help a ton with keeping underage drinking from happening are clear rules against alcohol, consistent rule enforcement, and monitoring of behavior all assist in the stopping of underage drinking. Raising the price of alcohol also prevents much underage drinking from occurring as it simply becomes too expensive. In addition, there are school-based prevention programs that deal with getting out of social situations, as well as setting social norms against taking alcohol.
"Alcoholism." Complete Human Diseases and Conditions. Ed. Neil Izenberg and Steven Dowshen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. Gale Virtual
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. "Alcohol Use by Underage Youth Is Detrimental." At Issue: Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered? Ed. Stefan
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