Alcohol - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

"Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain," according to the TeensHealth Web site. That is the primary reason it has been used for thousands of years to suppress pain, treat injuries and infections, and prepare people for surgery. In the past, alcohol has been used as an anestheticA substance used to deaden pain., a sedative, and even a treatment for a lung disease called typhus.

The facts about youth & alcohol

Alcohol use is widespread among today's teenagers

  • Nearly 70% of 8th graders perceive alcoholic beverages as "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get.
  • By the time they complete high school nearly 80% of teenagers have consumed alcohol, 30% report having been drunk in the past month, and 29% report having 5 or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks.

Alcohol use increases substantially from middle to high school

  • Approximately 20% of 8th graders report having recently (within the past 30 days) consumed alcohol compared to 35% of 10th graders and almost 50% of 12th graders.
  • A little over 20% of 8th graders report having been drunk at least once in their life compared to almost 45% of 10th graders and 60% of 12th graders.

The consequences of underage drinking

  • A person who begins drinking as a young teen is four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who waits until adulthood to use alcohol.
  • During adolescence significant changes occur in the body, including the formation of new networks in the brain. Alcohol use during this time may affect brain development.
  • Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20, and the rate of fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older. Alcohol use also is linked with youthful deaths by drowning, suicide, and homicide.
  • Alcohol use is associated with many adolescent risk behaviors, including other drug use and delinquency, weapon carrying and fighting, and perpetrating or being the victim of date rape.

SOURCE: "The Facts About Youth & Alcohol," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD [Online] http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/PSA/factsheet. pdf#search='the%20facts%20about%20youth%20&%20alcohol' [accessed May 24, 2005]

Research in the 1990s showed that moderate amounts of alcohol could help reduce the risk of heart attacks. Abuse of alcohol, however, has been connected to heart disease. "Between the extremes of heavy and light drinking lies a 'gray area' that is not completely understood," explained Cynthia Kuhn and her coauthors in their book Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. "Moreover, this gray area appears to be rather small. That is, while an average of one-half to one drink per day may be healthy for your heart, it is perfectly clear that an average of two drinks per day significantly increases your risk of dying from heart disease or cancer." As of 2005, there were no known therapeutic uses for alcohol.