Effects of alcohol usage

This is a matter of increasing concern to many governments, non-governmental organisations and physicians around the world, not to mention people in the law enforcement community. In many of such nations, the sale and use of alcohol is strictly enforced. In many pubs in the United Kingdom, there are usually clear warnings that the sale of even the mildest kinds of alcohol must not be to those who are less than 18 years of age. It is somewhat more liberal in Scandinavia but such regulations are more or less the same in the United States and Canada.

That is not to say that breaches do not occur, but these occur more in default than being the norm. In major Muslim nations, there are sometimes specific elements of law enforcement that are charged with the regulation of this requirement. In our country, unfortunately, regulations often exist on paper. Beer and other alcoholic beverages are sold freely to all those who have the ability to pay for such drinks. No questions are asked and no answers are given. It is a largely silent market between the buyer and the shop owner; the buyer offers money after stating what he wants and the request is fulfilled with no fuss.

We do ourselves enormous harm though. Alcohol is, without question, not altogether bad. It is even beneficial when it is taken moderately on a regular basis. Just one wine-glass full of the fluid is regarded as a safe amount. It is harmful in a wide variety of ways when taken in large amounts over time. Our business today is to explore what these injuries entail and how they come about. It is important to note that the use of and the abuse of alcohol has been with mankind for ages. Alcohol has also undergone progressive refinement over the ages and there are now many distinct types of this beverage.

Where legal limits have been imposed on the strength and availability of various forms of alcohol, ingenious people have formulated their own local brew. As a result, many have often died from alcohol poisoning. Incidents such as this have happened around the world, including India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. In Nigeria, there are strong local brews known as Burukutu, Pinto, Sapele Water, Akpeteshi andOgogoro. None of these enjoys any form of regulated production so that in addition to their toxic nature, the unhygienic mode of production confers on them some inherent dangers. These strong drinks, rich in ethanol concentration, often lead to tragedy. They cause breathing problems, when taken in large amounts, unconsciousness and death. Very often, death results especially when young men decide to compete with the aim of determining who would be the last person standing. Some end up in the hospital but those are the lucky ones. Many others die from ethanol poisoning.

There are some adverse short-term effects of consuming this liquid. These include slurred speech and concentration problems. Slurring of the speech is an important initial assessment used by law enforcement officials to determine if a driver or someone causing some public disturbance is acting under the influence of alcohol. That suspicion is often confirmed using a breath analyser to determine the level of alcohol in the system. Such people are also not able to walk in a straight line, another common test used to determine sobriety. It is also popular in dormitories with strict laws and effective supervision from the teaching staff. Other easily detectable problems include motor problems which relates to the inability of an influenced person to properly coordinate their movements. Such individuals are often not able to perform routine tasks such as lacing their shoes properly or accurately placing common house utensils in their normal positions.

Individuals under the influence of alcohol also lose their ability to retain normal social inhibitions. Ordinary conversation soon degenerates into a shouting match in an effort to be heard. Past, forgotten or inconvenient events are brought into vivid reality in an appalling lack of etiquette, and sexual misconduct is all too likely to occur. Such a person could pass urine in the open in full view of whosoever cares to have a look. He could sleep also in the open or do worse things. The irony is that the male acting under the influence of alcohol often assumes he is macho and immensely powerful because of the euphoric effect that alcohol brings about. The reality is often disappointing with such men suffering from a poor erection and a quick ejaculation. It does not deter them nevertheless from being unduly aggressive and in making their sexual preferences clear. He is also prone to seeking undue attention from the opposite sex and in pursuit of this may take dangerous risks which he believes he is well able to handle because of a new sense of invincibility.

People under the influence of alcohol are also prone to suffer from memory problems. Events which happened a long time ago are recalled without effort and with clarity. More recent events including those that occurred within the preceding hour are blissfully forgotten, often with absolutely no recollection. Efforts to refer to such episodes are often rebuffed or dismissed as non-events by the person under the influence of such alcoholic beverages. It is often spectacular to watch. In the meantime, even long repressed secrets in his personal life may be shared with no sense of embarrassment or shame. There occurs a loss of social inhibitions. Some of these drinks that have found their way into the markets apart from beer are wines and spirits such as Vodka; Gin; Whisky; Tequila; Rum; Irish Cream; various Red wines and White wines. Whatever the type of drink consumed, the long term effects are the same once the use exceeds what is determined by propriety and by social etiquette. Some of these effects are found in the medium term, while others are in the long term.

Medium term problems with heavy alcohol use include alcohol dependence, which is an especially dangerous phase in the downward spiral. People in this category are unable to function properly as long as they are not able to get their usual dose of alcohol. They cannot face a difficult assignment without drinking a large volume of alcohol. They cannot face a crowd without this aid, and in the worst cases, they are not even able to write an examination or attend an interview unless they have taken a fair amount of alcohol. Following this pathetic state is an almost permanent alcohol odour which accompanies them. Added to this is the dissolution of the calm individual. There is a gradual disorganisation of his personality with consequences for his personal life, his family and his work. He becomes forgetful and slothful and may take to violence to retain relevance at home. Sometimes, someone gets killed.

A permanent state of confusion seems to complete this picture, which is really pathetic. It is always something disconcerting to see an individual who is usually well appointed begin to disintegrate slowly in a bizarre fashion that negatively affects his personality. Another long-term health effect of this affliction is a progressive liver injury that can lead to an entity called alcoholic liver cirrhosis in which that organ becomes shrunken and hard with an irregular surface. Unless such persons have the wherewithal to undertake a liver transplant, progressive jaundice, liver failure and death will be the inexorable consequences. That kind of liver damage also makes them prone to developing certain kinds of liver cancer. Cancer of the pancreas is also a risk particularly if the person has had repeated bouts of acute pancreatitis. Sometimes, this repeated inflammation of the pancreas can become quite persistent and therefore chronic. Either of those cancers is virtually impossible to treat, and thus certain to lead to premature death.