ALCOHOL

ABUSE
 ALCOHOL
 Ethyl alcohol or ethanol, flammable, colorless
liquid having a penetrating odour and burning
taste.
 It is one of the products of the distillation of
fermented grains, fruit juices and starches with
the help of yeast enzymes.
 It is the principle constituent and the intoxicating
principle of wines.
 Addiction to alcohol is called alcoholism.
 Alcohol cause intoxication and thus acts
as a poison.
 The drinkers begin with small doses, but
many of them soon start consuming large
doses and become addicts.
 By the time they realize that drinking in
adversely affecting them, it is too late to
give it up.
 Why People start Drinking
• There can be many reasons :-
I. Social pressure
II. Desire for excitement, that is very common in
youngsters
III. Feeling of Independence
IV. Desire to escape from realities of life such as
disappointments, failures etc.
V. The desire to offset the hardships and dullness
of daily life.
 Addiction and Dependence
 With repeated use of drugs, the tolerance level of
the receptors present in our body increases.
Consequently the receptors respond only to high
doses of alcohol leading to greater intake
 Thus, the addictive potential of alcohol, pull the
user into a vicious circle leading to their use, and
getting out from which is difficult
 In the absence of any guidance or counselling,
person gets addicted and become dependent on
their use.
 Dependence is the tendency of the body to
manifest a characteristic and unpleasant
withdrawal syndrome if regular dose of alcohol
is suddenly discontinued.
 This may lead to anxiety, shakiness, nausea and
sweating, which may be relieved when the use of
alcohol is resumed again.
 In some cases withdrawal symptoms may be
severe and even life threatening.
 Dependence leads the patient to ignore all social
norms in order to get funds to satisfy his/her
need.
 Effects of alcohol abuse
 The immediate adverse effect of alcohol are in
form of reckless behaviour , vandalism and
violence.
 The Excessive doses may lead to death due to heart
attack, strokes or can lead to organ damages like
brain, nervous system, heart, liver and pancreas.
 Affect of alcohol on youngsters include drop in
academic performance, lack of interest in personal
hygiene, depression , aggressive and rebellious
behaviour against family and friends.
 There may be far- reaching implication of alcohol
abuse.
 If the abuser is unable to get money to buy alcohol
he/she may turn to stealing.
 Effect of the alcohol abuse is not only restricted to
the abuser. At times, It becomes the cause of
mental and financial distress to his / her family.
 Drinking during young age can have long- term
effects. It could lead to heavy drinking in
adulthood. And damages nervous system and liver.
 The use of alcohol during pregnancy is also
known to adversely affect the foetus .
 Prevention and Control
 The habits of alcohol are more likely to be taken
up at young age. In this regards parents and
teachers have a special responsibility.
 Educating and Counselling him/her to face
problems and stresses and to accept
disappointments and failures as a part of life.
 Seeking professional and medical help – A lot of
help is available in the form of highly qualified
psychologists de- addiction and rehabilitation
programmes to individual who have
unfortunately got into alcohol abuse.
 Thank you

Noman Irfan Ahmad

12-B