Effects of Alcohol
Alcoholic drinks have been with us for thousands of years. Despite that, it doesn’t seem that Man has grasped that excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous, damaging and even deadly.
Alcohol creates damage in every corner of our current culture. The damages mount up so heavily that one could even say it impedes and corrupts our very civilization. The evidence is provided in the annual report from the World Health Organization, the Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health.
The World Health Organization clearly described the extensive and pervasive damaging effects of alcohol. According to their report: The harmful use of alcohol is one of the world’s leading health risks. The WHO determines that alcohol consumption has a causal relationship to more than 60 major types of diseases and injuries. Approximately 2.5 million deaths each year are alcohol-related. In all, 4 percent of worldwide deaths and 4.5 percent of disease and injury can be attributed to alcohol.
Ref: WHO Global Alcohol Report
Specific Illnesses or Problems Caused by Alcohol Abuse:
- From 20 percent to 50 percent of cirrhosis of the liver cases
- Alcohol poisoning
- Traffic accidents
- Violence, assaults and murders
- Fetal alcohol syndrome disorder resulting in learning disabilities, social disabilities or at its worst, severe mental disabilities
- Unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases due to risky sexual activity
- Serious withdrawal symptoms including hallucinations and seizures that can be fatal
- Epilepsy
- Pancreatitis
- Cancers of the colorectum, breast, larynx, liver, esophagus, oral cavity and pharynx
- Suicide
- Trauma and injury from falls, burns and assaults
- Drownings
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
Negative results from heavy alcohol use are routinely higher for men than for women. For example, in 2004, 6.2 percent of men’s deaths were attributable to alcohol but only 1.1 percent of women’s deaths. Young men are particularly prone to accidental death related to alcohol abuse.
The U.S. is No Stranger to Problems Created by Alcohol
The problems created by alcohol extend equally into the United States. In this country, 75,000 deaths are related to excessive alcohol consumption. Four out of ten auto accident deaths stem from alcohol consumption.
In schools and colleges, alcohol consumption is related to academic problems, assaults, risky sexual activities and even deaths on a frequent basis. As of 2015 58% of high school students who drink are binge drinkers.
European Countries Follow a Similar Pattern to Those in the U.S.
In European countries, nearly all 15 – 16 year olds have consumed alcohol at some point in their lifetime. The average age of their first drink was 12.5 years and they first got drunk at 14. Thirteen percent of 15 – 16 year olds in Europe have been drunk more than 20 times. In addition, 18 percent have sat down and consumed five or more drinks at one sitting on three or more occasions in the past month.
- Ref: Alcohol Use in EU
In Europe, fewer southern Europeans drink to drunkenness than other Europeans. But Sweden also has the lowest rate of binge drinking among the 15 most prominent European countries, referred to as the EU15. Surveys across Europe show that 40 million citizens in the EU15 “drink too much” monthly and 100 million binge-drink at least once a month. The European Commission estimates that 23 million Europeans are dependent on alcohol. This statistic includes five times as many men as women.
The More Alcohol Consumed, the More Harm is Done
The European Commission also notes that harm is done in ratio to the dose of alcohol. In other words, the higher the alcohol consumption, the more damage is done to health, relationships and personal life. When consumption is heavy, everyone around the drinker suffers. The family, friends, employers and communities all suffer along with the heavy drinker. When that person can’t quit drinking on their own, they need the help of an effective drug rehabilitation program.
For almost 50 years, Narconon centers have been helping alcoholics and drug addicts come back to life and sobriety.
The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program is helping people in all corners of the world, from Egypt to South America and Mexico, from Canada to England, from Russia to Taiwan and Australia.
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