Alcoholism is characterised by compulsive swallow despite clear, deleterious social and medical consequences. Every organ/system gets affected.
First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.
— Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald.
According to the World Health Organisation, every year about 2.5 million people die from alcohol-related diseases all over the world, accounting for 3.8 per cent of total deaths. Alcohol-related heart disease, cancer, accidents and suicides contribute to these deaths.
Further, alcohol causes loss of 69.4 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) annually in the world. (One DALY is “one lost year of healthy life”) Alcohol abuse is more or less a universal problem. There is hardly any effort to discourage the consumption all over the world. Neither are there any statutory warnings.
Alcohol (ethanol) is a drug and may be classified as a sedative, tranquilliser, hypnotic or anaesthetic depending upon the quantity consumed. It is the only drug whose self-induced intoxication is socially acceptable. Consumption of alcohol is legal in many societies and its abuse is a societal problem.
Alcoholism is characterised by compulsive swallow despite clear, deleterious social and medical consequences. Every organ/system of the human body gets affected.
Daily consumption of alcohol in large amounts leads to cardiac problems, viz., arrhythmia (irregular heart beats), cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart), etc. Heavy alcohol consumption can raise the blood pressure, leading to alcohol-induced hypertension.
A progressive illness
Alcoholism is a progressive illness and damages the central nerves system (CNS), resulting in varying degrees of dysfunction — deficit cognitive functioning, dementia, etc. People given to prolonged binge drinking are prone to strokes — a condition of haemorrhage or deficient blood supply to brain.
Alcoholic abuse is also responsible for a variety of psychiatric symptoms, viz. anxiety, depression, confusion, panic disorders, bipolar disorders and narcissism. Chronic alcoholics develop polyneuropathy — a disorder of peripheral nerves.
Chronic, heavy and daily drinking alcoholics develop skeletal myopathy which is irreversible even on practising abstinence.
Alcohol ingestion causes a feeling of early warmth, then increased sweating, then lowered body temperature — hypothermia (cold damage) and, finally, death.
Alcohol is responsible for cancer of the oesophagus and chronic gastritis. Heavy consumers develop chronic pancreatitis. Due to mal-absorption of food, alcoholics develop frequent diarrhoeal episodes.
Ten to 20 per cent of alcoholics develop liver problems, viz., fatty infiltration, hepatitis and cirrhosis. They suffer from jaundice, abdominal pain, edema in different parts of the body, gynaecomastia (enlarged breast in men), and atrophy of the testes. Women with alcoholic liver disease may develop menstrual problems and signs or virilisation (male features). The prognosis in alcoholic liver disease is dismal. Long-term consumption leads to impotence in men and other sexual complications.
Children born to alcoholic women suffer from the fetal alcoholic syndrome (FAS). They suffer from a triad of abnormality — a cluster of craniofacial abnormalities, dysfunction of the central nervous system and stunting of growth. As the child ages, there is a manifestation of hearing, language and speech problems.
A sudden decrease in alcohol consumption leads to anxiety, fits, sleep problems and life threatening problems like delirium tremens (DT).
There are studies stating that moderate consumption of alcohol is beneficial to heart. This is controversial. Then should we promote alcohol consumption for cardiac protection? The answer is ‘no.' It is inappropriate for physicians to advocate alcohol ingestion solely to prevent heart diseases. The safer ways are changes in diet, exercise of mind management and positive living.
Programmes
There are de-addiction programmes run by organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous. But, unfortunately, there are no non-addiction programmes anywhere. Finally, the question that haunts is — why should anybody consume anything that causes harm? Why should several States in our country sell alcohol for revenue generation and spend the money to treat alcohol-related diseases?
(The writer is a former Additional Director of Health, Andhra Pradesh)
As confusing as it may seem, in small quantities, alcohol can be beneficial for health. But excess can produce so much damage, that any trace of a benefit is erased. Within limits, alcohol helps to reduce the possibility of any cardiovascular problem and gallbladder stone. But in excess, alcohol can lead to dangerous consequences like pancreatitits, brain atrophy, cancer, cirrhosis and even death.
"Say no to a drink,
Always use your mind to think.
Alcohol gives many woes
right from your brain to the toes."
First our government has to take steps to curb the spread of wine shops and permissions in large scale has to be abandoned from this year. The government should not think beverages as source of income in means of tax. Stringent rules should be passed so that youth are not sold beverages.
Very good article. Should pass it to people who are addicts to drink alcohol.
Alchoholism is a kind of addiction which has no medicine. People who are addicted to alchohol suffer from both physical and mental illness. Alcohol mainly affects the vital organs - heart, kidney and liver.When we consume alchol, it directly goes to our liver and to blood. Our body slowly starts to react when it is effected to our nerves and they behave like an insane person. People consume it in order to enjoy, but they never realise how will it affect our health and family later. People who are addicted to such drinks remain in the same path till their death. infact they are ruining their life as well as their family.
As we all know drinking more than the prescribed limit damages the body, but at the same time drinking to the limit is more of a pleasure. In western countries almost 99% of the population is drinking. But they are more healthier and live longer with good quality of life than our tee-totallers in India. But if one doesn't know how to limit himself than it will lead to danger.. Moderate drinking of alcohol increases the good cholesterol(HDL), Protects against furring of the blood vessels (Which is responsible for Heart attacks and stroke).I don't really think drinking alcohol is a problem for those who can afford. But for the poor where the priority is getting food and other basic ailment ,drinking has more hazard and implications fr the whole family. Even now in India people don't know how to measure the units of Alcohol. The safe drinking is upto 14 units for woman and 21 units for men per week. It's advisable to give 2 or 3 days alcohol free in a week.People should avoid binge drinking. 1 unit of alcohol is equivalent to 1 medium glass of wine, 30 mls of Spirit. 1/2 pint of beer or lager. In our society Corruption, false belief, superstitions, indifference towards fellow human beings, social taboos, discrimination based on race, colour, caste is all accepted as normal but drinking moderately is wrong. I think the above mentioned attiude is several times worse than drinking alcohol moderately.
Please do not blame western culture if our people drink. We do not copy the good things that west has to offer. We copy the bad things. West does not ask us to drink. We drink. Hence we have to suffer. Blaming somebody else is bad.
Things are almost similar in Tamil Nadu.In cities like Chennai highly paid Software professional fall into the trap of alcoholism. In both the states, liquor sales - wholesale as well as retail - is state controlled.In most of the states many distilleries are owned by politicians(albeit benami) hence it goes without saying what their intention is.
Superb Article!! especially to the youth of this generation. The writer protrayed in a very simple language which can be understood by every one. The school children , Graduate Students, Software Engineers , poor people and many more are mostly affected. The youth consider "Drinking Alcohol is a fashion". Even women started drinking these days because of the western culture being developed in a country like India. Request every one to read this article with their eyes wide open and protect the future generation.
Thanx for adding the article to todays paper.I think it may open the eyes of my frndz. I asked them to read the same.
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