Facts About Alcoholism

About Alcoholism Info is an internet-based informational and educational resource about alcoholism, including alcohol withdrawal symptoms, alcohol addiction warning signs, teenage alcoholism, and other facts about alcoholism.

Make sure you look at all of the topics and info that can be found in the left-hand navigation area because you will be able not only to learn more about alcoholism but you will be more able to understand how alcoholism impacts your health and practically every aspect of your life.  In short, you will get the scoop on alcoholism as you learn some alcoholism facts and alcoholism information.

Due to the fact that small amounts of alcohol from the mother can get into breast milk and passed on to the baby, and since excessive amounts of alcohol may impede the flow of milk from the breast, the March of Dimes strongly urges women to refrain from drinking alcohol while they are nursing.

Information About Alcoholism 

Learning about alcoholism addiction is especially important concerning teen alcoholism.  Stated differently, if you as a teenager or a parent of a teenager can read about and understand some of the statistics and information regarding teen alcoholism, you or your teenage son or daughter may be able to avoid the negative consequences that are associated with teenage alcoholism in school, college, or in the workplace.  It is "alcohol awareness" such as this that goes a long way towards alcoholism prevention in our youth.

Drinking Alcohol

For most people who drink, alcohol is a pleasant experience, especially when engaged in social activities. Moderate alcohol use can be defined as having up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.  In most instances, drinking in moderation is not harmful for most adults.

 

Studies have shown that inpatient detoxification programs are more effective and longer lasting than outpatient detox programs. The important issue here, however, is the following: the more severe the alcohol-related withdrawal symptoms, the more likely that inpatient detox programs should be used.

A large number of people, however, simply cannot have any alcoholic drinks because of the problems they encounter when drinking.  In fact, approximately 14 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. According to recent studies, it has been discovered that approximately 53% of adults in the United States have reported that one or more of their close relatives has a drinking problem.

Factors that affect your blood alcohol level include the following: how quickly your body metabolizes alcohol, how quickly you consume the alcoholic drink, how much food is in your stomach at the time you drink, and how strong the alcoholic drink is.

Facts About Alcoholism: Damaging Consequences

The consequences of alcoholism are not only serious, but in many cases, fatal.  Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, such as cancer of the throat, larynx, liver, and of the esophagus.  Excessive drinking can also lead to cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, harm to the fetus while the mother is pregnant, problems with the immune system, and chronic alcoholism.

Additionally, drinking increases the risk of death from motor vehicle accidents as well as recreational and work-related injuries.  Not only this, but suicides and homicides are more likely to committed by people who have been drinking.  In simple economic terms, alcohol-related issues and problems in the United States cost society almost $200 billion per year.  In human terms, the cost of the following alcohol-related issues cannot be calculated: fatalities, broken homes, illnesses, wife battering, child abuse, injuries, failed health, and destroyed lives.

A number of family-oriented interventions have been used to help prevent alcohol abuse. These interventions include the following: family preservation programs, family services, family therapy, family skills training programs, in-home family crisis services, and family education programs.

Facts About Alcoholism: Some Statistics

Unfortunately, the full extent of the damaging effects of alcoholism are not usually comprehended until some statistics on alcoholism are discussed.  According to a study undertaken by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University in 2005, the following statistics about alcohol abuse and alcoholism were discovered:

• Alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse cost the United States an estimated $220 billion in 2005.  This dollar amount was more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) and obesity ($133 billion).
• Every day in the U.S. more than 13,000 children and teens take their first drink.
• The 25.9% of underage drinkers who are alcohol abusers and alcohol dependent drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is consumed by all underage drinkers.
• Every year in the U.S. more than 150,000 college students develop health problem that are alcohol-related.
• The 9.6% of adult alcoholics drink 25% of the alcohol that is consumed by all adult drinkers.
• American youth who drinking before the of age 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than young people who do not drink before the age of 21.
• Every year, 1,400 American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related inadvertent injuries, including motor vehicle accidents.
• In the United States during 2004, 16,694 deaths occurred as a result of alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes.  This amount was approximately 39% of all traffic fatalities.  This amounts to one alcohol-related death every 31 minutes.

In simple economic terms, alcohol-related issues and problems in the United States cost society almost $200 billion per year. In human terms, the cost of the following alcohol-related issues cannot be calculated: fatalities, injuries, illnesses, broken homes, wife battering, and child abuse, failed health, and destroyed lives.

Many people think that alcohol abuse and alcoholism are the same.  This is not correct.  Alcohol abuse, unlike alcoholism, does not include physical dependence, loss of control due to drinking, or an extremely strong desire for alcohol.

Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking that results in one or more of the following circumstances in a twelve-month period of time:

• Drinking in situations that can result in physical injury.  Examples include driving a vehicle or operating machinery.  
• Failure to attend to important responsibilities at work, home, or school.
• Experiencing recurring alcohol-related legal problems.  Examples include getting arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, for damaging someone's property, or for physically hurting someone while drunk.
• Continued drinking in spite of ongoing relationship problems that are the result of drinking.

Facts About Alcoholism: A Definition

Also known as alcohol addiction or alcohol dependence, alcoholism is a disease that includes the following symptoms:

• Craving: A strong and continuing compulsion or need to drink.
• Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms when a person stops drinking after a period of excessive drinking.  Such symptoms include:  anxiety, sweating, nausea, and "the shakes."
• Loss of control: The inability to limit one's drinking over time or on any given occasion.
• Tolerance: The need to drink increasing amounts of alcohol in order to "feel the buzz" or to "get high."

Facts About Alcoholism: Treatment

The Treatment of Alcoholism.  It is important to point out that if you observe your friends or family members exhibiting any of the above symptoms or behaviors, consider them as signs of alcoholism or symptoms of alcoholism.  And if your friends or family members manifest some of these signs or symptoms, they may need alcoholism help.  More exactly, they may need alcoholism diagnosis, alcoholism treatment, or they may need to enter a treatment center or facility for alcoholism rehab if they are to attain alcoholism health or alcoholism recovery.

In the United States, beer accounts for four times as many alcohol-related traffic accident fatalities (80%) as liquor and wine (20%).

Many times, people who are not alcoholic do not understand why an alcoholic can't simply use self-control or willpower to stop drinking.  In most instances, however, alcoholism has little to do with willpower or with being strong and fighting alcoholism.  Alcoholics are caught in the compelling grip of an uncontrollable need for alcohol that takes priority over their ability to stop drinking. Indeed, this need to drink for the alcoholic can be as strong as his or her need for food or water.

An Alcoholism Cure?  While there is no known cure for alcoholism, recovery from alcoholism is, however, possible.  Indeed, even though some people are able to recover from alcoholism and alcoholism depression without clinical or personal help, many, if not most, alcoholics need assistance and treatment for their alcoholism.  The good news, however, is this: through treatment, rehab, counseling, and support, many alcoholics are able to abstain from drinking and rebuild their lives.

The following represents some of the negative consequences of drinking alcohol and the fertility and health issues of the mother and/or the baby: altered estrogen and progesterone levels; numerous ovulatory dysfunctions; increased risk for a pre-term birth, stillbirth, or a miscarriage; hypothalmic-pituitary-ovarian dysfunction resulting in the lack of ovulation, the abnormal development of the endometrial lining; the absence of menses; increased risk of fetal alcohol syndrome and possible congenital heart defects and brain anomalies; possible mental retardation in the baby; increased menstrual problems and gynecologic surgery; impaired fetal growth and development; increased risk for spontaneous abortion; and infertility.

Facts About Alcoholism: Its Causes

Some Possible Causes of Alcoholism.  A question that has entered the minds of many people is the following: why can some people drink alcohol without problems or any negative consequences while but others cannot?  One answer to this question involves genetics.  More specifically, researchers have discovered that having an alcoholic family member increases the risk of developing alcoholism.  In fact, there may be a genetic predisposition for certain individuals to become dependent on alcohol.  In addition, scientists have found that various environment factors can interact with one's genetics.  Examples include peer pressure or peer influence, the relative ease of obtaining alcohol, where and how a person lives, a person's culture, and one's family and friends.

Facts About Alcoholism: Its Origins

The following quote by William Swegan in an article entitled The Psychology of Alcoholism, represents one of the best summaries for the origins alcoholism we have found.

"The excessive use of alcoholic beverages in our society becomes a trap for the person with emotional problems, as well as for those with a genetic or physical predisposition to becoming addicted to this drug. Alcohol is a socially acceptable beverage in our culture, and most individuals do not intentionally drink compulsively. For vast numbers of people, becoming trapped occurs as a gradual process of falling into greater and greater physical and psychological dependence. However, a small portion of those who drink exhibit extremely negative behavior traits from the onset, as one can see from my own case. Even then, however, the problems progress and the consequences continue to grow worse and worse as the person continues to drink. Those who become trapped in compulsive drinking ultimately become rehabilitated, or descend into a useless life of total alcohol dependence, or die."

Alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse cost the United States an estimated $220 billion in 2005. This dollar amount was more than the cost associated with obesity ($133 billion) or with cancer ($196 billion).

The above quote was made by William Swegan, the "father of military alcoholism" and spokesperson for the early Alcoholics Anonymous movement.  In 1949, William Swegan studied at the Yale School of Alcohol Studies.  In 2003 Mr. Swegan wrote a book entitled On the Military Firing Line in the Alcoholism Treatment Program: The Air Force Sergeant Who Beat Alcoholism and Taught Others to Do the Same.  Chapter 15 in this book is entitled "The Effects of Alcohol on Our Emotional Development."  The Psychology of Alcoholism was adapted from Chapter 15 of the aforementioned book.

An Issue of Mixed Messages

We believe that the first sentence in the above quote not only points to the widespread use of alcohol in American society but also to the mixed messages that exist in our society about alcohol.  Simply put, how can something as prevalent, accepted, and accessible in our society be so harmful AND illegal when consumed at or slightly above moderate levels?

In 2005, 2.1 million American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 reported driving under the influence of alcohol.

The point:  drinking alcohol is pervasively and intimately engrained in our society.  Yet in all 50 states, driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% will result in a DUI or DWI if the driver is caught by the police.  Something obviously is not right in our society and the way in which it views alcohol.  If drinking two or three alcoholic drinks per day is considered dangerous to one's health AND can result in a DUI or DWI-related fatality, perhaps it's time that the number of bars and taverns is significantly reduced.

According to a 1999 report by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 6,374 youth from the ages of 15 to 20 were killed in auto accidents. Alcohol use was documented in 2,238 (35%) of these deaths.

If drinking can lead to alcoholism by so many people in our society and result in severe health problems and alcohol-related injuries and fatalities, maybe alcohol should not be as available and as accessible in our society.

Facts About Alcoholism:  Conclusion

For most people who drink, alcohol is a pleasant experience, especially when they engage in social functions. In the majority of cases, therefore, drinking in moderation is not harmful for most adults.  A relatively large number of people, however, simply cannot consume ANY alcoholic beverages due to the negative consequences they experience when drinking.  Interestingly, the more a person reads about the facts about alcoholism, the more the consequences of this disease become apparent and the more a person becomes able to prevent this disease from happening in his or her life.  In simple economic terms, alcohol-related issues and problems in the United States cost society approximately $200 billion per year.  In human terms, unfortunately, the cost of the following alcohol-related issues and problems cannot be calculated: destroyed lives, fatalities, broken homes, injuries, wife battering, illnesses, child abuse, and failed health.

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