Alcohol - Consequences

Consequences

People have been known to do things under the influence of alcohol that they would never consider doing when sober. Drinking too much can leave users with little or no recollection of what they did or said while drunk. NCADD statistics show that alcohol is

Groups like the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) formed to warn teens and others about the dangers of driving drunk. Members of the group are seen here at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., promoting their cause. AP/Wide World P
Groups like the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) formed to warn teens and others about the dangers of driving drunk. Members of the group are seen here at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., promoting their cause. AP/Wide World Photos.

involved in one out of every four emergency room admissions, one out of every three suicides, and one out of every two homicides and incidents of domestic violence. "A report from the British Medical Association," stated Emma Haughton in Drug Abuse? (1997), estimated that up to 70 percent of all murders in the United Kingdom were somehow "associated with alcohol abuse."

People who drink heavily develop a tolerance to alcohol. As the disease of alcoholism progresses, an alcoholic will need to drink more and more to get the desired result that lower doses of alcohol had once produced. Tolerance actually changes the alcoholic's brain impulses and the chemical makeup of cell membranes.

Alcoholics typically go through several stages, changing their patterns of use to patterns of abuse. They may begin using alcohol as an occasional stress reliever. They promise themselves and others that their drinking is just a "temporary thing." But over several years it becomes a habit. Their families struggle to hide the drinkers' growing problems with alcohol. As the disease progresses, drinkers usually experience mood changes, problems with friends and family, and trouble on the job. In the final stage, alcoholics begin to suffer physical decline as a result of drinking and may develop illnesses like liver disease or heart failure.

The personal consequences of alcoholism reach far beyond the alcoholic. An alcoholic's drinking affects many people, especially the members of his or her family. Children of alcoholics sometimes continue the cycle of alcoholic behavior when they reach adulthood. Alateen is an international organization for teens who are relatives or friends of a problem drinker. Support groups like Alateen help young people break the cycle of addiction and lead healthy lives.