Alcohol Awareness is over
Kelsey Taylor
Alcohol is becoming a growing problem in our society. Indifferent attitudes towards drinking are helping to contribute to this problem. Many people don’t realize just how harmful alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse can be. The three most dangerous affects of alcohol are change in behavior, destructiveness to the body, and apathetic attitudes of those purchasing and providing alcohol to minors. Even more dangerous is that a majority of students don’t know how to say no to excessive drinking.
The most obvious danger of alcohol is the way that it causes the consumer to behave. There is reduced coordination and mental alertness along with poor decision making, staggering, slurred speech, double vision, mood swings, and possibly unconsciousness. Many drinkers are forced to confront embarrassing or shameful experiences in the morning. On school campuses, alcohol consumption accounts for two-thirds of violent behaviors, half of physical injuries, one-third of emotional difficulties, and thirty percent of academic problems. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment. Studies show that alcohol use contributes to an increase in unsafe and unwanted sex, driving accidents, assaults on women, and domestic violence.
Alcohol not only inhibits your judgment but it is bad for your body as well. It is a nervous system depressant that affects almost every organ of the body because of its movement through the bloodstream. Alcohol makes us less able to break down and absorb important nutrients from our food resulting in loss of electrolytes and vitamin deficiency. Scientifically, it breaks down into a substance that is poisonous to the body which irritates brain cells. Long term alcohol abuse can result in sexual impotence, heart and central nervous system damage, depression, anxiety, irreversible brain damage, memory black outs, peptic ulcers, cirrhosis, cancer of the liver, andnumerous other stomach aliments. More than 150 medications interact negatively with alcohol which can also put your body in danger.
The worst part is that alcohol can be addictive. It starts out as social drinking at parties with your friends on the weekends. It creates a relief for the drinker but at the same time they are building up their tolerance. Drinking becomes heavier to make up for their tolerance level and before they realize it, dependency sets in. The drinker then consumes alcohol before they go out to social situations and then drinks more when they are out. This can lead to going to school or work intoxicated. By this point, the drinker is an alcoholic and needs to seek the help of doctors or organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous.
The most dangerous affect of alcohol is the lax attitude that most of the adult population regards it with. Because it is found in many homes and restaurants, people tend to not think of it as an unsafe substance. It is underestimated as a judgment inhibitor. Children and teens are more likely to adopt the attitude of experimentation from their peers and many adults are willing to oblige. Alcohol is also known as a gateway drug. Once it ceases to provide that same feeling of unrestraint, children may become interested in other drugs, like pot.
If forty percent of sixth graders feel pressure to drink, then how many college age adults feel the same pressure when alcohol is so freely available? Getting drunk is seen as a rite of passage that is fueled by curiosity, a need to fit in and new, untested freedom. Marketers of alcohol target college age adults by spending billions of dollars putting ads in movies and magazines, on billboards and television programs, and at sporting events. These ads promote self confidence, sexiness, energy, and success but they don’t convey the harmfulness and the dangers of drinking.
The healthiest choice that a student can make when offered a drink is to say no. The above evidence shows that abstaining from alcohol is much better in the long run. Many students feel that they can not make that decision though, due to peer pressure and certain situations. If that is the case, they should follow the following guide lines. Men should not consumer more that 28 standard drinks a week or more than 4 a day and there should be at least 2 alcohol free days a week. For women, it is 2 standard drinks a day or 14 drinks a week. The same rule follows of at least 2 alcohol free days a week. A standard drink is 100mL of wine, 285mL of beer, or 30mL of spirits. The liver can only metabolize one drink an hour, with women and children absorbing alcohol faster.
Vomiting does not help because it only removes the alcohol in the stomach, which has not been already absorbed into the bloodstream. The consumer needs to eat before and during drinking while alternating alcoholic beverages with water. Drinking slowly, putting the glass down between sips, and avoiding drinking contests where the drinkers match shot for shot or compete to see who can drink the most are all ways to avoid drinking more than the drinker wants and keeping it at a level they can handle. Dancing or playing pool are also ways to keep the drinker from getting bored and consuming more alcoholic beverages.
glad that that is done.