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News/Information/Articles
Rise in alcohol abuse by teens disturbs police YORK, Maine - Police Chief Doug Bracy said a marked increase in the abuse of ...
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Conference focuses on link between diversity and drug abuse Acting as a seeming counterbalance to the notorious debauchery of Spring Break, today's Seventh Annual ...
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Woker dies due to alcohol-related heart problems
A 42-year-old foundry worker from Dudley who died of a heart attack after a fit ...
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Teen Alcoholism More than three million teenagers are alcoholics. That's why MADD or Mothers Against Drunk Driving, ...
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Pickled Babies Drafted to Battle Alcoholism LYUBERTSY, Moscow Region -- Peter the Great would have been proud.
The schoolchildren huddled together ...
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Alcohol: A clear and present danger The three top drugs of Jefferson County are alcohol, marijuana and methamphetamine, but the No. ...
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UNDERAGE COLLEGE DRINKERS DRINK MORE Underage college drinkers have easy access to alcohol, pay less and consume more per occasion ...
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Drugs Cocaine Sat, 03/15/03
Cocaine is now top street drug
by Claire Connolly Doyle
DRUG squad members ...
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| ALCOHOL FACTS |
Adult drivers ages 35 and older who have been arrested for impaired driving are 11 to 12 times more likely than those who have never been arrested to die eventually in crashes involving alcohol.
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Alcohol is the most widely used and abused drug in America. According to the 1993 National Household Survey, 103 million people in the United States are current drinkers and 11 million are heavy drinkers.
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One half of car accidents are associated with alcohol misuse.
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| Disinhibition - particularly for adolescents, heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of unsafe sex, uncontrolled behaviour and illicit drug use. |
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Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol addiction can be influenced by a number of factors. Most people use
alcohol socially to change how they feel because they want to feel better or
different. They use alcohol for the perceived benefits, or the benefits experienced,
not for the potential harm. People use alcohol to relax, have fun, to be part
of a group, out of curiosity, and to escape from physical and/or psychological
pain. Many of the reasons young people use alcohol are the same reasons adults
use alcohol.
What causes alcohol addiction? Many factors influence a person's initial alcohol
use. Personality characteristics, peer pressure, and psychological stress can
all contribute to the early stage of alcohol abuse. These factors are less important
as alcohol use continues and the person repeatedly experiences the potent pharmacological
effects.
This chemical action, which stimulates certain brain systems, produces the
addiction, while other psychological and social factors become less and less
important in influencing the individual's behavior. When the pharmacological
action of a drug dominates the individual's behavior and the normal psychological
and social control of behavior is no longer effective, the addiction is fully
developed. This self-perceived "loss of control" is a common feature
of alcohol addiction and reflects the biological nature of the problem. People
who are physically dependent on alcohol usually develop a tolerance. This means
that they need to drink more and more to get the same effect.
School and job performance may suffer either from the aftereffects of drinking
or from actual intoxication on the job or at school; child care or household
responsibilities may be neglected; and alcohol-related absences may occur from
school or job. The person may use alcohol in physically hazardous circumstances
(e.g., driving an automobile or operating machinery while drunk).
Legal difficulties may arise because of alcohol use (e.g., arrests for intoxicated
behavior or for driving under the influence). Finally, individuals with alcohol
abuse problems may continue to consume alcohol despite the knowledge that continued
consumption poses significant social or interpersonal problems for them (e.g.,
violent arguments with spouse while intoxicated, child abuse). When these problems
are accompanied by evidence of tolerance, withdrawal, or compulsive behavior
related to alcohol use, a diagnosis of alcohol addiction, rather than alcohol
abuse, should be considered.
Alcoholics usually show symptoms of their addiction. Such symptoms include
but are not limited to:
- Evidence of withdrawal - when intake is interrupted. (The Shakes)
- Tolerance - to the effects of alcohol.
- Alcohol-associated illnesses - alcoholic liver disease, cerebellar degeneration.
- Continued drinking - despite strong medical and social contradictions, and
life disruptions.
- Impaired social and occupational functioning. (Unable to get along with
others, unable to hold a job.)
- Blackouts - unable to remember what happened while drinking, in whole or
part.
- Depression - A "down or sad mood" is common.
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