short essay about alcohol

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Essays on Alcohol

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Essay samples on Alcohol\r\nWhen we take on an alcohol essay, understandably, we usually speak about its influence on human health. In the modern world, no topics are more studied than health and nutrition. \&quot;Thief of the mind\&quot; – this is how some people called alcohol back in the day. Even then, people knew that alcohol should not be abused. When people forget about or disregard the dangers of alcohol, it can take away the most precious thing a person has – their health or even their life. In alcohol essays, people usually study alcohol's effect on both physical and mental health, behavior, and longevity. Our alcohol essay samples will outline the main angles that essays on alcohol can take. You can find the best samples of essays below and refer to them when doing research for your own essay on alcohol.\r&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:769,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0}">When we take on an alcohol essay, understandably, we usually speak about its influence on human health. In the modern world, no topics are more studied than health and nutrition. "Thief of the mind" – this is how some people called alcohol back in the day. Even then, people knew that alcohol should not be abused. When people forget about or disregard the dangers of alcohol, it can take away the most precious thing a person has – their health or even their life. In alcohol essays, people usually study alcohol's effect on both physical and mental health, behavior, and longevity. Our alcohol essay samples will outline the main angles that essays on alcohol can take. You can find the best samples of essays below and refer to them when doing research for your own essay on alcohol. </span>

Alcoholic Drinks and Social Interactions Alcoholic drinks are growing in fame and their use has become increasingly important in all social settings. They have been used to grace occasions that are casual to even the most formal social events. With the increase in the use of alcoholic drinks so has the...

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Many states and countries have varied age limits for individuals who should be drinking.  My position on this issue is that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it is hypocritical to deny a legal adult the privilege of drinking yet they have the rights to vote,...

According to Bowser et al., (2014), there has been increased prevalence in drug and substance abuse especially among young people. In the research titled, “Get drunk. Smoke weed. Have fun.” A Content Analysis of Tweets about Marijuana and Alcohol,” the authors’ general question was, “What themes of the most influential...

Words: 1219

About 1% of the population over a lifetime will be afflicted with schizophrenic illness. Alcohol is a depressant drug that can slow down the messages to and from the brain and body. This exploration proposition has investigated the difficulties looked by people who are dependent on alcohol and have schizotypy...

Words: 1966

Alcohol is one of the most frequently abused legalized drugs the world over is alcohol with Belarus having the highest level of alcohol consumption with an average of 17.5 Litres per capita annually.  For this reason, it is vital to examine the drug to determine its classification, origin and the...

Words: 1316

Katie Roiphe and Nicholas Dixon are individuals who have written articles concerning social matters in society. It is of importance to take a keen interest of these social aspects since they involve every person in the society in one way or the either, i.e. either directly. Katie Roiphe gives a...

Words: 1839

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In most cases, the teenager will tend to rebel and repel any measure that has been put to restrict their behaviors.  Restricting them from taking a staff like the alcohol at the age of sixteen years is one of the areas that will express resistance in.  Additionally, there are some...

Words: 2075

The legal drinking age can be defined as the age at which someone can buy and consume alcoholic beverages. The age limit set is widely different across the World, while some countries set a different age limit of when a person can purchase and when someone can drink alcoholic beverages....

Words: 1018

The Legal Drinking Age The legal drinking age is the age legalized by the law at which an individual can lawfully buy and drink alcoholic beverages. The law for minimal legal drinking age differ in various countries. Also, most laws apply only to drinking of alcoholic beverages in unrestricted locations while...

Drinking of alcohol by persons who are below 21 years is identified as underage drinking. In the United States of America, underage drinking is common given that around 11% of the alcohol consumed nationally is associated with people aged between 12 and 20 years (Patrick " McElrath 78). However, over...

Words: 1557

Can Alcohol Beverages Completely Destroy the Human Brain? The rates of consumption of alcohol across the globe have increased over the years. Research identifies that nations around the world are recording increased numbers of citizens that are admitted to rehabilitation centers. One of the major factors that promote increased consumption rates...

Words: 1505

Wallace, A.E, A Wallace, and W.B Weeks. "The U.s. Military As a Natural Experiment: Changes in Drinking Age, Military Environment, and Later Alcohol Treatment Episodes Among Veterans." Military Medicine. 173.7 (2008): 619-625. Print. The United States military bases before 1982 allowed alcohol drinking to all ages. However, in 1988, there were...

Words: 1154

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Effects of Alcohol Consumption Essay

Introduction, nursing intervention.

Alcohol consumption can have various effects on the people who consume it. The effects may be social, psychological, physiological and medical. Some alcoholic brands (like wine) may have positive effects on our health while others (like spirits) may have negative effects. The duration in which a person consumes alcohol determines the intensity of the negative effects of alcohol on the person. One negative effect of alcohol is the damage of body organs like the liver and the colon, when consumed for a long period of time (Cooper, 2000).

Alcohol is categorized as a depressant due to its ability to slow down the nervous system thereby reducing sensitivity to pain through inducement of sleep like feeling. Some of the immediate impacts of alcohol misuse include lack or loss of one’s awareness, distortion of reality, loss of coordination of the brain activities and one’s motor skills (Toppness, 2011). When used for a long time, it leads to addiction, as well as social and economic irresponsibilities by the addicted individuals (Toppness, 2011).

Research has shown that alcohol consumption is a risk factor to colon cancer. However, the type of alcohol brand matters. While wine may have positive impacts in preventing colon cancer, hard liquor like spirits have been found to increase the chances of alcoholics developing colon cancer. Prolonged alcohol consumption also leads to colon irritation, which in turn leads to diarrhoea and constipation (Toppness, 2011). This can make the individuals lose their appetite and become malnourished. Such individuals may end up being socially and economically irresponsible, which may further lead to depression. The depressed individuals become prone to suicide because their thinking and reasoning becomes impaired, and to them, life loses meaning.

Patients who are addicted to alcohol consumption need to be shown love and care not rebuke and contempt. This is one aspect of the nursing profession and other professions like social work. We should show them love and care through talking to them in a courteous manner, and showing them that they are able to come out of their situation.

Many alcohol addicts have their symptoms as adaptive. This means that they develop or acquire some behaviour which helps them cope with the problems they are facing; one such behaviour is alcohol consumption, which later develops into alcohol misuse or abuse. For example, some may assume or think that other people hate them because they are poor or are of low social status. This is an external pressure to them, and in order for them to safeguard their ego, they engage in alcohol consumption in order to cope in staying with the people who hate them. Our intervention should therefore be centred on behaviour and attitude change.

We should show them that alcohol consumption is not the solution to their problems and help them gain the courage to face life the way it is. We should help them acquire new behaviours which are not depended on alcohol. For instance, they could be helped to boost their people’s skills, their confidence as well as improve on their hygiene, which would boost their self-esteem. These interventions could be done in a community setting or at their homes. In severe cases of addiction, they should be taken to rehabilitation, where they could be helped to recover from withdrawal symptoms.

Even though alcohol can have many negative effects on our bodies, it is a good component of our diet when used properly in the right quantities and frequencies. For instance, it makes our meals complete apart from being used as a social drink. Alcohol consumption therefore becomes dangerous to us and our bodies when we misuse it. Alcohol consumption is regarded as a risk factor in causing colon cancer because it causes diarrhoea and inflammation of the colon. The link is however not clearly established and therefore the need for more research to establish the relationship between alcohol consumption and colon cancer (Hales, 2008).

Cooper, D.B. (2000). Alcohol Use. Abingdon OX14 1AA: Radcliffe Publishing.

Hales, D. (2008). An Invitation to Health. New York: Cengage Learning.

Toppness, H. (2011). Alcohol Effects on the Colon. Web.

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Alcohol and Your Brain: The Latest Scientific Insights

Want to protect your brain here's what you need to know about alcohol consumption..

Posted March 18, 2024 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• What Is Alcoholism?
• Find a therapist to overcome addiction
• Transient memory loss, “blackouts,” and hangovers related to alcohol consumption are brain health risks.
• Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
• Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
• The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear.

Depending on who you ask, you might be told to drink a few glasses of red wine a day or to avoid alcohol altogether. The reasons for such recommendations are many, but, by and large, they tend to stem from a study someone read about or saw reported in the news.

So why is it so hard to know whether alcohol is good or bad for us—especially for our brains? In this post, we’ll explore the current science and some practical ideas on how to approach the topic.

What Is Alcohol Anyway?

When people talk about drinking “alcohol,” they’re almost always referring to the consumption of ethanol. Ethanol is a natural product that is formed from the fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. It’s found in a wide range of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin.

Evidence for human consumption of alcohol dates back over 10,000 years. Consumption of alcohol has and continues to serve major roles in religious and cultural ceremonies around the world. But unlike most food products, in the last century, alcohol has been wrapped up in nearly perpetual controversy over its moral effects and health implications.

How Does Alcohol Impact the Brain?

As anyone who’s consumed alcohol knows, ethanol can directly influence brain function. Ethanol is classified as a “depressant” because it has a generally slowing effect on brain activity through activation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathways.

In an acute sense, consumption of alcohol can lead to uninhibited behavior, sedation, lapses in judgment, and impairments in motor function. At higher levels, the effects can progress to coma and even death.

The Known Brain-Damaging Effects of Excess Alcohol

There is no debate here: Excessively high levels of alcohol consumption over short periods of time are toxic and potentially deadly, specifically because of its effects on the brain.

One critical fact to understand about the overall and brain-specific effects of alcohol is that the entirety of the debate around the risk/benefit ratio concerns mild to moderate alcohol consumption. As it relates to the effects of high amounts of alcohol on the body and brain, the research is consistent: It’s a very bad choice.

High amounts of alcohol use are causal risk factors in the development of disease in the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain (including the brains of children in utero). In fact, 1 in 8 deaths in Americans aged 20-64 is attributable to alcohol use. When it comes to adults, excessive alcohol use can cause multiple well-defined brain issues ranging from short-term confusion to dementia .

What Is “Excessive” or “High” Alcohol Use?

Key to the nuance in the conversation about alcohol use are definitions. Across the board, “excessive” or “high” alcohol use is linked to worse overall and brain health outcomes. So what does that mean?

While definitions can be variable, one way to look at this is the consumption of 4 or more drinks on an occasion (for women) and 5 or more for men. Additionally, excess alcohol is defined as drinking more than 8 drinks a week (women) and 15 a week (men), or consuming alcohol if you are pregnant or younger than age 21.

Beyond this, by definition, consuming enough alcohol to cause a “brownout,” “blackout,” hangover, or other overt brain symptomatology is evidence that the alcohol you’ve consumed is creating problems in your brain. Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism ) is also a clear issue for the brain. It has been linked to a higher risk for dementia, especially early-onset dementia in a study of 262,000 adults, as well as to smaller brain size .

Is There a “Safe” Amount of Alcohol for the Brain?

In a highly publicized article from Nature Communications , researchers looked at brain imaging data from nearly 37,000 middle-aged to older adults and cross-referenced their brain scans with their reported alcohol consumption. The findings were profound: People who drank more alcohol had smaller brains, even in people drinking only one or two alcoholic beverages a day.

Conversely, other recent data suggest a lower risk for dementia in people consuming a few alcoholic beverages a day. This includes a 2022 study showing that in around 27,000 people, consuming up to 40 grams of alcohol (around 2.5 drinks) a day was linked to a lower risk for dementia versus abstinence in adults over age 60. A much larger study of almost 4 million people in Korea noted that mild to moderate alcohol consumption was linked to a lower risk for dementia compared to non-drinking.

How Do We Make Sense of This Data?

When it comes to the bottom line as it relates to alcohol consumption and brain health, the data are rather solid on some fronts, and a bit less so on others. There’s also the potential for confounding variables, including the fact that many people like to drink alcohol to enjoy and enhance social bonds (which we know are beneficial for the brain). Here’s a summary of what the most recent research is telling us.

• Experiencing transient memory loss, “blackouts,” or hangovers related to alcohol consumption is overt evidence of threats to brain health.
• The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear, but it seems unreasonable to start alcohol use for brain health.

Austin Perlmutter, M.D. , is a board-certified internal medicine physician and the co-author of Brain Wash .

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11 Incredible Recovery and Sobriety Memoirs I Want Everyone to Read

By Claire Gillespie

When I stopped drinking alcohol , I was desperate to know the stories of other people who’d also taken this road less traveled. During the most unsettling time of my life, I craved all the messy, tragic, complex, wonderful stories that could show me what was on the other side. Nobody in my real life could meet that need, so I turned—as I always do when I need comfort, encouragement, or inspiration—to books .

Maybe you’ve been leaning on alcohol too much to try to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic . Maybe you enjoyed a successful Dry January , so you’re questioning alcohol’s role in your life. Maybe you’re in Alcoholics Anonymous. Maybe you’re a pretty moderate drinker, but you feel like booze just isn’t your friend anymore. Maybe none of these things apply to you when it comes to alcohol, but there’s something else in your life that’s not a positive force. Or maybe you just love a moving memoir.

Whatever’s behind your desire to dip into the genre, these 11 books deliver (and then some):

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction by Elizabeth Vargas

Former ABC television journalist Elizabeth Vargas hid her addiction and anxiety from the world for years, until she said the words “I am an alcoholic” to interviewer George Stephanopoulos in 2014. At this point, Vargas started writing her memoir, and the result is this heartfelt book.

“As someone who has generalized anxiety disorder that led to my substance abuse, I very much saw myself in Vargas’ tale,” writer Irina Gonzalez tells SELF. “She’s a high-powered woman who used alcohol to cope with her panic and anxiety—something that I think a lot of us can relate to. For those that have a co-occurring disorder and struggle with both mental health and alcoholism, this is an absolute must-read. For me personally, it felt like I was reading the story of my past and my future, and I found a lot of healing in that.”

Buy it: $11, amazon.com

We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen

Having just been published in January of this year, McKowen’s account of her years of drinking too much and subsequent struggle to get sober is one of the newest additions to the genre. This book is for anyone who feels like booze has taken over their entire life, but it also speaks to other aspects of life that can feel compulsive: relationships, sex , love, food , shopping. Whatever your “thing” is, McKowen and her incredibly poignant prose make a stellar case for replacing it with a commitment to self-awareness, self-love, and embracing the fact that we’re all “magnificent monsters.”

But it: $18, amazon.com

Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed With Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

You don’t have to be sober to get a great deal from Quit Like a Woman , the first book from Holly Whitaker, founder of the digital recovery platform Tempest . ( Whitaker has previously written for SELF .) In fact, I want to gift it to everyone I know who drinks even a little bit, because it’s completely relevant and fascinating and might just encourage more people to challenge the colossal power Big Alcohol has over many of our lives. Backed up by plenty of science and stats, Quit Like a Woman breaks down the lies we’ve been fed about drinking, explores why the dominant recovery path doesn’t work for everyone, and weaves in Whitaker’s own story of alcohol misuse and recovery.

Buy it: $25, amazon.com

I’m Black and I’m Sober: The Timeless Story of a Woman’s Journey Back to Sanity by Chaney Allen

There’s still a huge amount of stigma around being a black woman in recovery, which makes Chaney Allen’s voice crucial in the recovery sphere. In fact, she was reportedly the first African American woman to publish an autobiography about the impact of discrimination in recovery and the various hurdles black people have to overcome when they get sober.

Allen’s powerful, uplifting tale was first published in 1978, and while the slang may belong to another era, the message is timeless. The road to recovery is different for everyone, but with a little courage and faith (wherever you find it), it’s possible for many of us to walk it.

Buy it: $15, amazon.com

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Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

The first book I read when I stopped drinking was this brilliant memoir by Caroline Knapp. Knapp, a former columnist for the Boston Phoenix, dealt with what she described as “high-functioning alcoholism” for more than 20 years. Her brave, authentic words helped me stay sober while everyone around me was embracing happy hour and declaring, “It’s always 5 p.m. somewhere!”

“This will always be the addiction memoir I think of first, and not just because it was the first one I read back in the late ’90s,” McKowen tells SELF. “Caroline Knapp articulated the emotional complexity and devastation of alcohol addiction as a woman more powerfully and eloquently than anyone before or since. She sparked a knowing in me long before I stopped myself, and [I] still think about her words all the time.”

But it: $13, amazon.com

Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola

Former Salon editor Sarah Hepola doesn’t hold back in this book. Her account of what she remembers is savage; her fear over what she won’t ever remember is terrifying. This is a book that digs deep, exploring some of the deeper issues of why people—and women in particular—drink.

“When men are in a blackout, they do things to the world. When women are in a blackout, things are done to them,” Hepola writes.

“Sarah’s brutal honesty about her drinking made me feel comfortable to admit to myself and then to others around me how my own relationship with alcohol was affecting my life,” Laurie McCallister, who blogs about sobriety at Girl and Tonic , tells SELF. “This book made me feel less alone when I was considering sobriety and showed me just how great sobriety can be!”

But it: $11, amazon.com

A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown

When Cupcake Brown was 11, her mother choked to death during a seizure. The young girl ended up in the foster care system, where she was physically and sexually abused. She soon became involved in alcohol and drugs and was being sexually exploited in order to get money to survive.

In one scene in the book, Brown describes losing her apartment and going on a four-day crack binge.

“I happened to pass a window and saw my reflection,” Brown told O, The Oprah Magazine , in 2001. “My eyes were sunk in my head. My lips were burned and scabbed from the crack pipe. You could see my ribs. I had seen death before on other people. But I’d never seen it on me.”

Today, she’s a lawyer and motivational speaker who wants to show others that change is possible.

The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: Discovering a Happy, Healthy, Wealthy Alcohol-Free Life by Catherine Gray

A lot of recovery memoirs end when the writer gets sober , leading us to wonder, “What happened next?” British writer Catherine Gray tells us, and the good news is that what happened next for her was pretty amazing.

“I found myself with dozens more hours in the week, heaps more energy, £20K more money over three and a half years, deepened friendships, revived family relationships, better skin,” she writes. Also on the list: “the ability to sleep for eight uninterrupted hours, a bone-deep sense of well-being, a totally turned-around positive outlook, and an infinitely more successful career.”

Engaging, readable, and honest, this book is like getting a hug from your best sober buddy.

Nothing Good Can Come From This: Essays by Kristi Coulter

A little different than the typical recovery memoir, Coulter tells her story through a series of short, engaging essays that are at times heartbreaking, at others hilarious.

“It captures a side of alcoholism that I hadn’t read as much about, the kind where everything seems fine,” author Erin Khar tells SELF. “There are no big, dramatic consequences, yet she writes about the internal turmoil in a way that is funny and relatable.”

Buy it: $10, amazon.com

Sick: A Memoir by Porochista Khakpour

Iranian American novelist Porochista Khakpour’s elegant, vibrant memoir is primarily about being sick and trying to find answers. But it also details her journey with addiction to the pills prescribed to treat her insomnia and her struggles with mental health. Is it ever possible to be in full recovery? Khakpour’s book doesn’t provide the answer, but it might help us accept that, for some of us, sickness is a permanent part of our condition—“with you as long as life is with you,” as she writes in the epilogue—and that it doesn’t mean our lives don’t have value.

Strung Out by Erin Khar

Advice columnist Erin Khar’s memoir about her 15-year experience with heroin is an emotional read and a vital contribution to the conversation about addiction in general and the opioid crisis in particular. ( Khar has previously written for SELF .)

“This is a deeply personal story of resilience,” author Jennifer Pastiloff tells SELF. “As much as it’s a recovery memoir, it’s a love story. Through Erin Khar’s resilience, she bows out of a life of addiction and self-hate into a softer life. In this book, you’ll recognize yourself, even if you don’t struggle with addiction. She bravely gives voice to so many of the things humans experience but are afraid to say. Essentially, she’s turned shame on its heels and refused its reentry, and that is something we all could learn from.”

Buy it: $17, amazon.com

SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

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How To Write Your Best Alcoholism Essay?

Table of Contents

To start off, alcoholism is a physical and psychological disease characterized by regular consumption of high qualities of alcohol and troubles with giving up drinking.

It is a well-known fact that alcoholism is quite an issue nowadays. It breaks the lives of people, their families, and the whole society. According to WHO (World Health Organization), excessive use of alcohol causes 5.3% of deaths yearly, which makes a total of 3 million deaths.

The topic is quite vast, so it won’t be hard to find a thrilling aspect to cover in your essay.

6 facts for your alcoholism essay

The main goal of writing an essay on alcoholism is to highlight the problem, it’s causes, reasons, and outcomes.

Keep things simple, precise and informative. Use only credible sources in references. Try visiting official websites of WHO, Medical News Today (website specialized on medical information), ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine, on different addictions), etc.

Also, here are several facts for you to start off somewhere.

• Alcoholism is not only a disease but also an addiction. This may seem obvious. Therapists state that it can be as dangerous as drug addiction since a person gets used to it not only on a mental level but also on a physical. As a result, there are loads of difficulties when giving up.
• Alcoholism shouldn’t be regarded as a personal choice. Like any other addiction, it differs from person to person. Usually, people can’t notice that something is wrong before they actually try to stop drinking.
• Except for being a disease itself, alcoholism leads to health and social issues. Doctors claim that alcoholism results in liver disease, pancreatitis, cancers, brain damages, and others. Moreover, it leads to socialization problems as alcoholics can be depressed, aggressive and struggle from a negative attitude of society.
• Alcoholism has a genetic complex. It is stated that children of alcoholics are 4 times more predisposed to alcoholism. Scientists claim that alcohol and drug addiction usually starts with families.
• There are more men alcoholics than women. The research shows that men are more likely to become alcoholics than women. Investigation can’t actually explain this fact, but the main reason is considered to be the fact that men drink more alcohol overall.
• Alcohol makes people feel worse. Some may say that they drink to “drown sorrows,” but it doesn’t work in a long-term perspective. Actually, alcohol is a depressant.

How to structure the essay on alcoholism?

A good structure is essential for any writing. As a rule, the essay is divided into three parts: introduction, main body, and conclusion.

You might also want to write an outline for your work. Here are some easy instructions to follow:

Outline. Basically, it is a table of contents. You briefly plan your essay and organize your thoughts. Write down the statement you are about to use in the introduction, note several arguments supporting your statement and think of how to summarize these thoughts in conclusion .

Introduction. Here you need to provide the reader with some basic information on the topic. It may include the definition of alcoholism, statistics, and rates of how many alcoholics are out there, the yearly amount of deaths, age statistics, and so on. Include a thesis explaining the main idea of your essay and your standpoint. It shouldn’t be longer than 1 sentence.

The Main Body. Explain your standpoint step by step. Add arguments gradually. Each supporting statement takes 1 paragraph and is accompanied by a brief explanation . Put them in a logical order.

Conclusion. Sum up everything you said before and confirm the thesis. Do not add new ideas , statements, or facts. Here, in the alcoholism essay conclusion, you may express your own vision of the problem.

Causes and effects of alcoholism essay: what to cover?

Each case of alcoholism is unique and has its own set of reasons and consequences. Thus, you may need to know some general statistics and information on the causes and effects of alcoholism. Here are several prompts.

Causes of alcoholism essay:

• A stressful environment that enforces the person to seek consolation.
• Drinking at an early age.
• Mental issues (like depression, apathy, etc.).
• Genetics and family history.
• Mixing alcohol with medicine: possible outcomes.
• The experience of trauma.
• Bad influence of the company.
• Lack of family care.
• Power of the mass media.
• No awareness of the possible psychological problems.

Effects of alcoholism essay:

• Health problems, like heart and liver diseases, brain damage, low immunity, cancer, etc.
• Depression, apathy, suicidal thoughts.
• Slurred speech, confusion, trouble remembering things.
• Concentration issues.
• Bad academic performance.
• Increased chance of committing a crime.
• Domestic violence.
• Adverse effect on children.
• Loss of job and financial troubles.
• Mood swings.

Alcoholism is quite an issue in modern society. Essays, exploring this topic, are needed to spread the awareness of the risks we all encounter.

No time to write your essay on alcoholism? We have some! Order your perfect essay from one of our professionals and save the evening to yourself. Pssst, it’s completely confidential…

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10 facts about americans and alcohol as ‘dry january’ begins.

As Americans hang fresh calendars and debut New Year’s resolutions, some will swear off alcohol, whether as part of a “Dry January” challenge or a longer-term goal . Here are 10 key facts about Americans’ behaviors and attitudes when it comes to drinking alcohol and how these have changed over time, drawn from surveys and sales data.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand Americans’ experiences with alcohol and how they have changed over time. Survey data comes from Gallup and the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey . Data on Americans’ drinking habits comes from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) , and alcohol sales data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly retail sales survey .

Overall, 62% of U.S. adults say they ever drink alcohol, while 38% abstain completely, according to a July 2023 Gallup survey . Gallup has asked Americans for more than eight decades whether they have “had occasion to use alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer.” During that span, majorities have consistently said they consume alcohol. This share peaked in the late 1970s, when 71% of adults said they drank alcohol.

Adults ages 35 to 54, those with a college degree, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, and those who attend church less than once a week are all more likely than other Americans to drink alcohol.

Most adults who consume alcohol have done so recently, according to the July Gallup survey. Among adults who drink, 69% say they last had a drink within the past week. This includes 32% whose most recent drink was in the last 24 hours, and 37% who most recently had one within the last two to seven days. Another 32% say they last consumed alcohol more than a week ago. 

About one-in-five adults who drink alcohol (19%) say they sometimes drink more than they think they should, the Gallup survey shows. Some demographic groups are more likely than others to say this:

• Men: Men are more likely than women to say they sometimes overindulge (21% vs. 16%).
• Younger adults: About two-in-ten adults younger than 35 (22%) and ages 35 to 54 (20%) say this, compared with 14% of those 55 and older.
• Upper-income adults: 24% of adults with annual household incomes of at least $100,000 say they occasionally drink too much, compared with 10% of those with household incomes of less than $40,000.

Among adults who don’t drink, the most common reason given is that they just don’t want to, the Gallup survey found. About a quarter of nondrinkers (24%) say in an open-ended question that they have no desire to drink or do not want to.

Other common answers include that they do not like drinking (16%); it is unhealthy (14%); they are afraid of the consequences (13%); and they had a bad past experience with alcohol (13%).

On average, Americans have been consuming more alcohol in recent years, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) , which has data going back to 1970. In 2021, the most recent year with data, the average American age 21 or older consumed 2.83 gallons of pure alcohol – the equivalent of about 603 “standard drinks.” (A standard drink, per the NIAAA , contains 0.6 ounces of alcohol.)

Per-capita alcohol consumption peaked in the early 1980s at 3.28 gallons, or almost 700 drinks. It bottomed out in the late 1990s at 2.45 gallons per person, or about 523 drinks.

Americans drink less beer and more wine than they used to, according to the NIAAA. Since 1970, the peak year for beer consumption was 1981, when the typical American age 21 or older drank 36.7 gallons. By 2021, beer consumption had fallen to 26.5 gallons per person. Over those four decades, the amount of wine the average American drank annually rose from 3.2 gallons to 3.8 gallons. Meanwhile, consumption of distilled spirits dropped slightly, from 3.0 to 2.8 gallons. Looked at another way, 17.4% of all alcohol consumed by Americans in 2021 came from wine, up from 12.0% in 1971. The share coming from beer fell from 44.6% to 42.3% during the same period, while the share coming from spirits fell from 43.5% to 40.3%.

Per-capita alcohol consumption appears to be highest in the West and lowest in the South, based on the NIAAA data. On the state level, it appears to be highest in New Hampshire and Delaware, and lowest in Utah. However, state-level consumption estimates can be affected by such factors as sales to people from neighboring states (especially when there are significant differences in alcohol tax rates) and alcohol consumption by tourists (think Nevada, Florida, and Washington, D.C.).

Young adults today are less likely to drink than young adults two decades ago – but older adults are more likely to do so, according to Gallup . The share of adults ages 18 to 34 who say they  ever drink dropped from 72% in 2001-03 to 62% in 2021-23. (Gallup looked at the data in three-year time periods to allow for reliable age-group analysis.)

Young adults who drink, meanwhile, are less likely than those two decades ago to have had a drink recently : 61% say they had a drink in the week before the survey, compared with 67% in the early 2000s. And the share who say they sometimes drink more than they think they should has declined from 28% in the early 2000s to 22% now.

Americans 55 and older, on the other hand, are more likely than their counterparts two decades ago to say they do all of these things. Among those ages 35 to 54, the shares who do these things have remained relatively stable over time.

Underage drinking among U.S. teens has declined over the last 20 years, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey . In 2023, 46% of 12th graders said they had consumed alcohol in the 12 months prior to the survey, as did 31% of 10th graders and 15% of eighth graders. These shares are down from 2001, when 73% of 12th graders, 64% of 10th graders and 42% of eighth graders said they had drunk alcohol in the previous year.

Across all three grade levels, the shares who said they had drunk alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey and who reported binge drinking – having five or more drinks in a row during the last two weeks – also declined between 2001 and 2023.

Annual sales at beer, wine and liquor stores have been on the rise, typically peaking each year in December. Even after adjusting for inflation, sales at beer, wine and liquor stores rose gradually throughout the 2000s and 2010s, until spiking in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic . Since midsummer 2020, sales volume has gradually fallen, though it remains above pre-pandemic levels. (Not all alcoholic beverages are bought at beer, wine and liquor stores, but these figures provide insight into broader trends.)

In a typical year, sales are highest in December. In 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly retail sales survey , December sales at such retailers were 37% above the average for the other 11 months of the year. Conversely, January and February are typically the slowest months for those sellers.

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Essay on Alcohol Ban

Many times we must have spotted people fighting or lying roadside or in drains unconsciously after drinking alcohol. The condition in which they are found is a pity but at the same time is shameful. The families have to suffer as men beat their wives and children and spend their money on alcohol instead of giving it to the family. Imposing a ban on alcohol might be a great help in getting rid of these cases and saving a lot of families from destruction.

Short and Long Essay on Alcohol Ban in English

Here some essays with a detailed view on this topic for students of class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and class 12 in English in 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 500 words. I hope it might be of great help to understand the topic.

Alcohol Ban Essay 10 Lines (100 – 150 Words)

1) Alcohol is a bad addiction that is dangerous for both people and their families.

2) Alcohol ban is a step to stop the circulation of alcohol in society.

3) Alcohol leads to several lung diseases and even causes death.

4) Alcohol addiction is responsible for ruining many families.

5) Today young generation is consuming alcohol as a trend.

6) Seeing the effects of alcohol, the government has imposed an alcohol ban in many states.

7) Alcohol ban aimed to stop selling and consuming alcohol in the country.

8) Alcohol ban helped in reducing violence against women.

9) States like Bihar, Gujarat, and Nagaland have imposed an alcohol ban.

10) Other states like Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, etc repealed the alcohol ban.

Short Essay on Alcohol Ban (250 words)

‘Drinking is injurious to health’ is clearly written on the bottle of alcohol. It is a warning that is highlighted on the bottle of alcohol itself but still, people buy and consume alcohol. Alcohol is a drug and people consuming it slowly become addicted to this drug. The habit of alcohol consumption is like a sweet poison that seems to be good initially but becomes fatal in the future.

Need for Ban on Alcohol

The habit of alcohol consumption has become a crucial problem in society. The consumption of alcohol has now become a fashion trend in society. There are a number of people who die due to excessive alcohol consumption for a longer time. There are also numerous problems resulting due to excessive alcohol consumption by people. The consumption of alcohol has become a social evil in society. There are fights in many families because of alcohol addict people. This is because these people waste money on alcohol instead of giving it to fulfill the needs of the family.

The young generation of society is becoming more addicted to this drug. They drink for merrymaking and enjoyment without realizing the future side effects of alcohol. The ban on the sale of alcohol in the nation can only help in eradicating these problems from society. Alcohol Ban means there will be no availability of alcohol in the nation. The people will themselves leave the habit of consuming alcohol when they do not get the same.

The excessive drinking of alcohol results in liver cancers and other organ damages. Road accidents in drink and drive cases lead to the death of many people. Many schools and college students have destroyed their lives because of the consumption of this poison. There must be strict restrictions imposed on the sale of alcohol. The prohibition on alcohol is only the step that can be the best solution to this crucial issue.

Long Essay on Why Alcohol Should Be Banned (500 – 600 Words)

Introduction

The consumption of alcohol is a common problem in society in India as well as in other nations. The overuse of anything is harmful and is equivalent to poison. The addiction to alcohol totally ruins the life of a person. It makes a person lose health, wealth as well as respect in family and society. The people who are addicted to this drug are wasting money instead of utilizing it in a proper way. A ban is much necessary to control the adverse effects of this misuse.

Alcoholism Becoming a Common Trend

The drinking of alcohol at parties, festivals, and other occasions has become very common. Many people think drinking habits to be subject to their self-esteem. If any person is not involved in drinking, they are considered as a poor class fellow.

College students are also greatly influenced by this habit. They develop the habit of drinking for the purpose of enjoyment. This makes them suffer a lot in the future.

Alcohol Consumption Causing Detrimental Health Effects

The consumption of alcohol makes a person lose sensitivity and thinking capability. The person utters unwanted words as the body is no longer under control for a longer duration depending upon the dose taken. Alcohol is also causing several types of cancer in the people who are greatly addicted to it.

The liver is the organ inside our body responsible for the detoxification of toxic materials. Therefore alcohol is also detoxified in the liver. Taking a small amount of alcohol is not causing any kind of harm. The higher dose intake and on daily basis is harmful and causes liver cirrhosis in many cases. It is mostly untreatable resulting in the painful death of the person. It also leads to several heart-related problems. Alcohol consumption is greatly responsible for the rapid death of many people due to heart attacks or incurable diseases like cancer.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Ban on Alcohol

Advantages:

• Lessening of Family Disputes and Domestic Violence – If there is no availability of alcohol, there will be fewer fights in the families. Majority of the fight is due to the money required for drinking or ill behaviour of drunken people. There are many men who are losing their temper, abusing and beating women after drinking and this comes under domestic violence. The cases of domestic violence can also be reduced as a result of the prohibition on alcohol.
• Accidents will be Reduced – There will be a decline in the accidents caused by rash driving after drinking. The loss of innocent lives can be prevented up to a large extent. The crime rate will also be reduced which is often caused by over drunk people.
• Financial Wastage can be Prevented – The unwanted money wasted in buying alcohol will be saved if there is no availability of alcohol. The families would not suffer due to the financial crisis. The peaceful atmosphere of families can also be also retained.
• Health Problems due to Alcohol Consumption will be Reduced – The heath issues caused by drinking would be controlled and no one has to suffer from serious health problems and diseases like cancer and heart problems.

Disadvantages:

• Financial Loss to the Government – The ban on alcohol will stop the revenue which is generated by manufacturing alcohol and its sale. This will incur a great loss of the economy to the government.
• Black Marketing will be a Practised – The ban on the legal availability of alcohol will create opportunities for black marketing of alcohol. The unwanted higher rates will be charged. It will also not be safe to consume those products as it is not manufactured and sold under the supervision of the government.

Alcohol Banned in the Various Indian States

There have been continuing efforts taken by the government of India to impose a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages. The states like Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram, and the union territory of Lakshadweep have a ban on the sale of alcoholics. Any kind of violation of rules will be subject to penalty and punishment.

Alcohol is a threat to families, society, and the nation. The legal supply of alcohol must be banned immediately. After prohibition on the sale, all people could not afford it easily. There will be a fear of punishment and penalty prevailing in the mind of people.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Ans . Alcohol consumption every day makes a person alcohol addict which is the root for serious health issues along with liver and heart diseases.

Ans . Alcohol cause weight gain as it contains excess calories and promotes your appetite which makes you hungrier.

Ans . Heavy consumption of alcohol reduces the alcohol detoxifying capacity of the liver. This damages the liver which leads to liver cirrhosis or Fibrosis.

Ans . Article 47 of the constitution under the Directive Principles of state policy gives directions to states to prohibit the use of alcohol and drugs which cause serious health issues.

Ans . The alcohol is not sold in states like Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland, and the union territory of Lakshadweep but is freely sold in other states.

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Speech on Alcohol

Alcohol, a liquid often enjoyed in social settings, has a rich history and diverse impacts on society. You may know it from parties, dinners, or even from the movies.

Yet, it’s not all about fun. Alcohol can affect your health and behavior. It’s important to understand these effects to make informed choices.

1-minute Speech on Alcohol

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let’s talk about alcohol today. It’s something you see in many places – parties, restaurants, and sometimes, even at home. But what is it exactly? Simply put, alcohol is a drink that can change how you think, feel, and act.

Now, some people believe that drinking alcohol makes them happy or helps them relax. It’s true, alcohol can make you feel this way at first. But, it’s important to remember that these feelings don’t last. Over time, drinking too much alcohol can make you feel sad, tired, and even sick.

It’s also essential to understand that alcohol can harm your body. Think about your liver, the organ that cleans your blood. Alcohol can damage your liver and make it hard for it to work properly. It can also hurt your heart and brain, leading to serious health problems.

Let’s not forget, alcohol can change the way you behave. You might do things you wouldn’t normally do, like argue with friends or make bad decisions. This is because alcohol affects your brain, making it hard for you to think clearly.

Lastly, let’s think about the young people in our lives. We must teach them about the effects of alcohol. We should show them that it’s possible to have fun and enjoy life without drinking.

In conclusion, alcohol is not as harmless as it seems. It’s important to understand its effects and make smart choices. Let’s protect our health, our relationships, and our future by being mindful of our alcohol consumption. Thank you.

Also check:

• Essay on Alcohol
• 10-lines on Alcohol

2-minute Speech on Alcohol

Let’s talk about alcohol. It’s something many of us know about and some of us might have even tasted it. It’s found in drinks like beer, wine, and whiskey. Many people enjoy it at parties, during holidays, or at the end of a long day. But it’s important to understand what alcohol is and how it affects us.

Alcohol is a type of drug. It changes the way our brains work. It can make us feel happy, relaxed, and more confident. But it can also make us feel dizzy, confused, and even sick. Too much alcohol can make it hard for us to think clearly, walk straight, or even remember what happened.

It’s also important to know that not everyone can drink alcohol. It’s illegal for anyone under 21 years old in many countries. This is because alcohol can be very harmful to young people. Their brains are still growing and alcohol can stop them from developing properly.

Alcohol can also be addictive. This means that some people start to need it to feel normal. They might drink more and more, and find it hard to stop. This is called alcoholism. It can lead to serious health problems, like liver disease and heart problems. It can also cause problems in relationships and at work.

But it’s not all bad news. If we drink alcohol in a safe and responsible way, it can be part of a healthy lifestyle. This means not drinking too much, and not drinking too often. It means not drinking if we’re pregnant, or if we’re planning to drive. And it means knowing when to stop.

So, ladies and gentlemen, the next time you reach for a glass of beer or wine, remember what you’ve learned today. Remember that alcohol can be fun, but it can also be dangerous. Remember to drink responsibly, and to respect the laws about who can and can’t drink. And remember, it’s okay to say no to alcohol. It’s your body, your choice.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Alcohol Abuse — The Impact of Alcohol Abuse: Causes, Effects, and Solutions

The Impact of Alcohol Abuse: Causes, Effects, and Solutions

• Categories: Alcohol Abuse Health Care Policy Social Justice

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Published: Mar 16, 2024

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Guest Essay

Ethan Crumbley’s Parents Were Just Part of a Much Bigger Problem

By Elizabeth Spiers

Ms. Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, is a journalist and digital media strategist.

James and Jennifer Crumbley never anticipated that their then-15-year-old son, Ethan, would use the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun Mr. Crumbley had bought — ostensibly as an early Christmas present — to kill four students at a Michigan high school. At least that’s the argument their lawyers made in court before Ms. Crumbley, last month, and Mr. Crumbley, almost two weeks ago, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials. Prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys did not do enough to secure the gun and ignored warning signs that Ethan was planning to use it.

After every mass shooting by a teenager at a school, there is an instinct to look to the shooter’s parents to understand what went wrong. In the case of the Crumbleys, this seems obvious: Ethan left disturbing journal entries fantasizing about shooting up the school, and stating that he had asked his parents for help with his mental health issues but didn’t get it. His father said the family had a gun safe but the safe’s combination was the default factory setting, 0-0-0.

One factor that’s gotten less attention, however, is how the Crumbleys’ attitudes and actions reflect an increasingly insidious gun culture that treats guns as instruments of defiance and rebellion rather than as a means of last resort.

I’ve been thinking about this case a lot because I grew up in the 1980s and ’90s in a rural part of the Deep South where almost everyone I knew had guns in the house, unsecured, and mental illness was stigmatized and often went untreated. Church was considered a superior venue for counseling, and only “crazy” people sought professional help. If the evidence for criminal negligence is a failure to lock up a gun and ignoring signs of mental illness, many of the adults I grew up around would have been (and still would be) vulnerable to the same charges as the Crumbleys.

It’s convenient and comforting for many people to believe that if it had been their child, they’d have prevented this tragedy. But prison visiting rooms are full of good, diligent parents who never thought their kid would be capable of landing there.

My parents didn’t own a gun safe, but kept guns hidden away from us, which, like many gun owners at the time, they thought of as “secured.” The men in my family were all hunters and the guns they kept were hunting rifles, not AR-15s. (You can’t feed a family with deer meat that’s been blown to bits.) I knew my parents kept a handgun, too, but it was never shown to us, or treated as a shiny new toy.

Gun culture was different then. It would have never occurred to my parents to acquire an entire arsenal of guns and display them prominently around the house, as some people now do, or ludicrously suggest that Jesus Christ would have carried one . They did not, as more than a few Republican politicians have done, send out Christmas photos of their children posing with weapons designed explicitly to kill people at an age when those children likely still believed Santa existed. Open carry was legal, but if you were to walk into the local barbecue joint with a semiautomatic rifle on your back emblazoned with fake military insignia, people would think you were creepy and potentially dangerous, not an exemplar of masculinity and patriotism.

All of these things happen now with regularity, and they’re considered normal by gun owners who believe that any kind of control infringes on their Second Amendment rights. Children are introduced at a young age to guns like the Sig Sauer that Ethan Crumbley used. They’re taught to view guns as emblematic of freedom and the right to self-defense — two concepts that have been expanded to include whatever might justify unlimited accumulation of weapons.

“Freedom” is short for not being told what to do, even though the law very much dictates how and when guns should be used. “Self-defense” is often talked about as a justifiable precaution in the event of home invasion, though home invasions are as rare as four-leaf clovers and do not require an arsenal unless the invader is a small army. (It’s also worth noting that basic home security systems are far less expensive than many popular guns, which suggests that at the very least, some gun owners may be intentionally opting for the most violent potential scenario.) Most important, too many children are taught that guns confer power and can and should be used to intimidate other people. (Relatedly, any time I write about gun control, at least one gun owner emails to say he’d love to shoot me, which is not exactly evidence of responsible gun ownership.)

Mass shooters often begin with a grievance — toward certain populations, individuals they feel wronged by, society at large — and escalate their behavior from fantasizing about violence to planning actual attacks. A study from 2019 suggests that feeling inadequate may make gun owners more inclined toward violence. In the study, gun owners were given a task to perform and then told that they failed it. Later they were asked a number of questions, including whether they would be willing to kill someone who broke into their home, even if the intruder was leaving. “We found that the experience of failure increased participants’ view of guns as a means of empowerment,” wrote one researcher , “and enhanced their readiness to shoot and kill a home intruder.”

The study hypothesized that these gun owners “may be seeking a compensatory means to interact more effectively with their environment.”

Good parents model healthy interactions all the time. If their kids are struggling with a sense of inferiority or are having trouble dealing with failure, we teach them self-confidence and resilience. Parents who treat guns as a mechanism for feeling more significant and powerful are modeling an extremely dangerous way to interact with their environment.

What’s particularly hypocritical here is that the most strident defenders of this culture skew conservative and talk a lot about what isn’t appropriate for children and teenagers. What they think is inappropriate often includes educating kids about sex, about the fact that some people are gay or transsexual and about racism. It’s a perverse state of affairs: Exposing children to simple facts is dangerous, but exposing them to machines designed to kill is not. You can’t get your driver’s license until you’re a teenager, or buy cigarettes and alcohol until you’re 21, but much earlier than that, kids can, with adult supervision, legally learn how to end someone’s life.

Parents can’t ensure that their child won’t ever feel inferior or disempowered, or even in some cases become delusional or filled with rage. Teenagers do things that their parents would never anticipate every day, even if they’re close and communicative. Some develop serious drug habits or become radicalized into extremism or take their own lives.

One thing parents can ensure is that their children cannot get access to a gun in their house. The only foolproof way to do that is to ensure that there’s no gun in the house to begin with. Barring that, parents can make sure they are not reinforcing a toxic gun culture that says that displaying and threatening to use lethal machines is a reasonable way to deal with anger or adversity. That message makes the idea of killing someone seem almost ordinary.

That doesn’t prevent school shooters; it primes them.

Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, is a journalist and digital media strategist.

Source photographs by CSA-Printstock and John Storey, via Getty Images.

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