It is addiction to alcoholic beverages which a person with this addiction usually drinks till they can't function . Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing. It is medically considered a disease, specifically an addictive illness, and in psychiatry several other terms are used, specifically "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence," which have slightly different definitions (Wikipedia. (2012, March 12). Alcoholism is not a problem that only the Native American's have but other ethnic groups as well.
American Government 14 October 2011 Table of Contents 1 - Introduction 2 - Influence of environment on Alcohol consumption by minors 3 - Disadvantages of alcohol 4 - Measuring the alcohol consumption by minors may be helpful 5 - The health risks 6 – Reasons why some adolescents drink 7 – Conclusion 8 – Bibliography 1 – Introduction As we all know, alcohol plays a major role in the lives of many people who take it to relax, to celebrate, to socialize, have fun, etc. Unfortunately, the excessive use of alcohol is also responsible for many problems such as traffic accidents, health problems, family problems and unemployment. Many Americans believe that should lower the drinking at 18 years old, for many reasons mentioned below. This law of the United States was created to keep teenagers safer and reduce the accidents that cause deaths due to the influence of alcohol. The age limit for alcohol is based on research showing that young people respond differently to alcohol.
This class of drugs, which includes Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil — the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — increases levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. The authors report that some exposed infants experience frequent crying, irritability, sleep disturbances and seizures, but the problem usually resolves itself within two weeks. The authors also note that the evidence does not suggest long-term harm from maternal use of antidepressants during pregnancy. They write: Several recent reviews have not identified adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes among infants born to women treated with SSRI’s during pregnancy. SSRI treatment should be continued at the lowest effective dose because withdrawal of medication may have harmful effects on the mother infant [bond].
Domestic Abuse and Substance Abuse Alcohol use is often linked with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially when chronic traumatic experiences are being faced. There has not been an evaluation in reference to the relationship between alcohol use and symptoms associated with chronic trauma. Recently the battered women were examined for their use of alcohol. The traumatic differences found in symptoms of abstainers, moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers rely heavily on the heavy drinkers who reported more severe symptoms. Drinking to cope is suggested to be the relationship between drinking and trauma symptoms but has not been previously demonstrated in a battered population.
It needs to be acknowledged that substance use is both fundamental and normative to the human condition; it has always been and continues to be part of ordinary human behaviour (APS 2005). On the one hand, alcohol and other drugs can be “prestige commodities”, while on the other, their use seems to permit almost “universal stigma and marginalization” (Room 2005:143). “Psychoactive substance use occurs in a highly charged field of moral forces” (Room 2005:152) and this permeates approaches to treatment. The Disease Model Traditionally treatment approaches have centred upon the disease model of addiction. This approach perceives the substance user to have a biological predisposition to addiction and the inability to control their behaviour (APS 2005).
The article goes on to say that several studies show that the lowered MLDA in the 29 states had an immediate impact on motor vehicles crashes increased among teens. This shows that the decrease in the MLDA affected the teenagers in a negative way by allowing them to drink at a younger less mature age. Another concern with lowering the drinking age is negative on teen’s health. Under the age of 21 your brain is still developing. During this development alcohol negatively affects all parts of the brain, including coordination, motional control, thinking, decision making, hand-eye movement, speech, and memory (Pg.2 Par.6).
Consuming alcohol at a young age could damage a teenager’s body badly. Research proves that lowering the legal drinking age is not a smart idea. Although lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18 (MLDA) will decrease the amount of unsupervised drinking, the MLDA shouldn't be lowered to 18 because it will produce many negative results. Lowering the MLDA could increase the amount of teenage drunk driving. Between 1970 and 1975, “there was an increase in teenage car accidents because 29 states in the United States had a MLDA lower than 21” ("Drinking Age ProCon.org”).
(Brody, 2008). By 2006 that figure had dropped to 25%. (Brody, 2008). MADD also brought about the point that consuming alcohol impairs the development of the brain. (Jolley, 2008).
Health Promotion The purpose of this essay is to give a brief summary of a health promotion on young adults and alcohol. Further describing key concepts of health and well-being and how this affects individuals (WHO, 2005) and those around them. How alcohol can be a devastating factor on people and society, and the costs to the National Health Service (NHS). Also how the government has responded with health campaigns and new laws to stop teenagers drinking alcohol. The harmful use of alcohol generally originates from young people who binge drink (WHO, 2011).
Statistics state that there is an estimated 10 million alcoholics in the U.S. and alcoholism is the 2nd leading cause of death behind cancer. In addition, the statistics also state that there are some who suggest that “alcoholism is actually ranked 1st because alcoholism is often misdiagnosed.” (Milam & Ketcham, 1983)The cause of death for the alcoholic can range from dying in a car accident; to deterioration of his or her organs from years of alcohol abuse. The alcoholic can look forward to a life in which they will have heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, organ failure, loss of family, and loss f job. In addition, the ethnic group most likely to become an alcoholic is Native Americans while the least likely ethnic group is Orientals. Most people view alcoholism as a controllable disease and a “personal emotional weakness”.