Alcoholism Is a Bad Habit
Problem Statement
Alcoholism is the dependence on alcohol by an addicted individual. The person has to take alcohol so as to feel at ease. It is the effect of taking alcohol that drives addicts to crave for more. Poor judgment and quick temperament of those under the influence makes them unappealing to the people around them. Therefore, alcoholism is not only a bad social habit it is also a bad habit physically, mentally and psychologically.
Literature Review
Alcoholism has been a problem since the beginning of time. Hanson (2012) examines alcohol abuse and uses the American society as his reference point. He writes about the different definitions of alcohol abuse by different groups. To college students, excessive alcohol consumption is not abuse, but simply having a good time. Different views on alcohol abuse are held by religious groups and activists. He describes how the American society came from a colonial tradition that taught that alcohol is the “good gift of God” to the period of prohibition where alcohol was considered “demon rum”. The reason for temperance and prohibition was the effects brought about by alcohol. It had been the cause of almost all poverty, crime, violence, and other social problems.
Hanson (2012) goes on to describe the adverse effects of alcohol, chief among them are health problems and drunk driving fatalities. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have dropped from 60% of all traffic deaths in 1982, down to 39% in 2005. He says that although alcohol drunk driving fatalities have reduced in recent years, we can put more effort to reduce drunken driving deaths. Moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better health and longer life, but heavy consumption leads to serious health problems and eventually death. Some of the health problems he discussed include Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Cirrhosis. On a lighter note, he gives hope that no matter how deep one has sunk, it is never too late to get help. Alcoholics can attend alcohol abstinence groups like Drink Wise, Habit Smart, and Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)
Excessive consumption of alcohol has its social implications. Most of the effect is felt by the family members because they are in constant contact with the alcoholic. Weld (2012) focuses on the social effects of alcohol, at the family level. He describes the immediate and long term effects of alcoholism. When a family member is an alcoholic, his actions affect both the spouse and children. The number of women who suffer from domestic violence due to alcoholic partners is more than that of men. Adverse effects of domestic violence includes: injuries, psychological damage and in some cases may lead to death.
He then writes about the plight of children brought up by alcoholics and its long-term effects. A child’s social development is tampered with when alcoholic parents bring him/her up. He will witness quarrels and anger bursts from the parents. This will make him/her withdraw from the social world. The child will may give all his/her time to books and will therefore excel in class. In the long-run, he/she may grow up to be like the parents, that is, alcohol dependent. He also states that patterns of violence are passed on from parent to child.
Alcoholism affects many aspects of an alcoholic’s life. He/she faces a number of problems as mentioned below. Baak (n.d) divides the effect of alcoholism into three categories. The physical effects include cancer of the stomach, liver, and kidneys. It may cause other effects like gastritis and liver cirrhosis. She states that physical effects are the most important because they can cause death. The second effect is psychological. Alcohol is a relaxant, but if taken in excess, it may lead to anxiety and depression, change in behavior, suicidal tendencies among others. The third negative effect of alcoholism is economic. She states that drug abuse and dependence costs the nation $98 billion. This money could have been used to develop other sectors of the economy.
Discussion
Young people are at a greater risk because of their lack of experience with alcohol. They have smaller body sizes which may be unable to handle large toxic doses present in alcohol. Alcohol negatively affects the normal development of adolescents. It may impair with their mental and physical growth. This is because they are at a developmental stage that requires proper diet. At this age, they bear the brunt of alcohol related harm, including an increased risk of accidents, injuries, and premature death. Moreover, alcohol interferes with their school work and social interaction with friends. In this day and age, we have a reason to discourage misleading alcohol advertisements. This is because Alcohol advertisements make alcohol-drinking seem pleasurable. This has affected the behavior of the youth, in that, when they want to have fun and hold parties, the youth always drink alcohol.
An alcoholic spouse is a setback to the development of his/her family. These are people with jobs and families to fend for. A partner who indulges in alcohol will have poor judgment. He/she may use all the family’s money to quench his/her thirst for alcohol, and the result will be quarrels and eventually divorce. Alcohol is the leading source of quarrels in families. This is because, when under the influence, the individual looses the power to reason with his/her partner. In this case, the spouses break up. Due to the lack of a better role model, children will follow in the footsteps of their parents to become future drunkards and quarrelsome partners. The individual may also lose his/her job because the tasks at the workplace depend on the individual’s ability to deliver quality work. Under the influence, the individual may not be unable to perform such duties. As a result of the loss of employment, he/she will not meet the basic needs of the family.
Excessive consumption will affect the society and individual in various ways. To the individual, alcohol has some adverse effects on his/her health and physical status. The health effects arising from overconsumption of alcohol include liver cirrhosis, cancer in the kidneys, liver and stomach. It also causes damage to the nervous system as seen in individuals with tremors. These effects may lead to death. Alcoholism may also cause psychological effects like depression, violence, and suicidal tendencies among others. Erlyn suggests that drunken people spend more money because they have little or no control over their actions. It is the excessive spending that affects the economy.
Conclusion
It is conclusive to state that alcoholism is a bad habit that has affected all aspects of our lives. The leaders of tomorrow, that is the young population, have been led astray. The future will have very few productive people because the youth is being degraded mentally and physically. Moreover, families breakup because after drinking, spouses disagree on the most fundamental issues, like, taking out the trash, making coffee and so forth. Mortality rates increase due to the susceptibility to accidents and injuries. Deaths are also brought about by the effects of alcohol on health. The articles featured above have tackled the problem of alcoholism adequately. They clearly show that alcoholism is a bad habit, after which they give the effects of alcoholism and finally the solutions to the problem.
References
Baak, Erlyn. (n.d) The Effects of Alcoholism - Advanced Composition for Non Retrieved from http://www.eslbee.com/effects_of_alcoholism.htm
Hanson, J. D. (2012). Alcohol Abuse - WWW2 Webserve. Retrieved from http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/AlcoholAbuse.html
Weld, Sage. (2010). The Social Effects Of Alcoholism At Home | LIVESTRONG.COM. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/234419-the-social-effects-of-alcoholism-at-hom
