Introduction
Many people revere alcohol for the recreational value gained through its consumption. Nonetheless, the use of alcohol is often associated with many ill effects, leading to the questioning of the wisdom of the continued use of alcohol. Complete prohibition of alcohol has proven to be ineffectual in remedying alcohol-related challenges, where people resort to consumption of illicit, unregulated brews, exposing them to increased harm. It is critical, nonetheless, that the ill effects resulting from alcohol use are understood, in facilitating matters of policy, treatment, rehabilitation, and safe use of alcoholic beverages. While alcohol remains a favorite recreational product, the literature reviewed shows the exceptions that make alcohol a unique commodity by its effects on users. Alcohol is unlike other legally available commodities, and its use should be regulated.
Babor, Thomas et al. "Alcohol, No Ordinary Commodity: Research and Public Policy." Presentation. 2010. Text. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/30536494/babor_thomas_alcohol_no_ordinary_commodity.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1456989827&Signature=YEu%2B2qyetGl5S%2Blkrc6boaO0A60%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D>.
The presentation evaluates the advances in alcohol research directly affecting alcohol policy on the national, local, and international platforms. The authors agree that the rewards associated with the manufactures and sale of alcohol come at a great cost to the society. Further, the presentation explains how alcohol has the potential for psychological, social, and physical harm on its users owing to it intoxicating properties, dependence, and toxicity. A concerted effort is always necessary for tackling challenges affecting a significant proportion of the population. Sharing of best practices, as well as recommendations on policy initiatives, should be a primary factor in tackling alcohol use in society, which must align with the complex image of its harms, leading to improved ways of responding to products that could cause mass harm. This work will be useful in showing the social, physical, and sociological effects of alcohol use, as well as proposing measures for control of its use.
Donovan, John E. "Adolescent alcohol initiation: A review of psychosocial risk factors." Journal of Adolescent Health (2004): 35(6) 529.e7-529.e8. Web. http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(04)00066-7/fulltext?mobileUi=0.
Marc N. Potenza, and Harriet de Wit. "Control Yourself: Alcohol and Impulsivity." Alcohol Clin Exp Res (2013). web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3822522/>.
Montalto, Michael. "Alcoholics Anonymous: One Treatment Program to Rule Them All?" Journal of Alcoholism and drug dependency (2015): 3(228) do. web. <http://www.esciencecentral.org/journals/alcoholics-anonymous-one-treatment-program-to-rule-them-all-23296488-1000228.php?aid=65466>.
Sustained use of alcohol over a period often leads to dependence on alcohol by the affected individual. Dependency has led to the need for treatment programs for recovering addicts such as the Alcoholics Anonymous. The ineffectiveness of these programs, however, prompted the author to assess factors for success and failure among the various users of such programs, establishing factors such as personality and social capacities can negatively influence a section of the population who seek redress from such programs (Montalto, 2015). The author goes on to suggest alternate ways for rehabilitation for persons unable to complete the standard programs. This work will be critical in showing the prevalence of alcohol use among the population, as well as following their progress during the rehabilitation process. Understanding of the rehabilitation process will be invaluable in explaining why it fails to return results in some sections of the population while excelling in others.
Stevens, Jessie et al. "A Prospective Cohort Study on Overweight, Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Risk of Barrett's Esophagus." Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prevention (2011): 345. <http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/20/2/345.full>.
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a lesion occurring in the esophagus and is often a precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma. The condition is manifested by the replacement of normal stratified epithelium by a thin, single layer of columnar epithelium, with several risk factors for the condition existing, including overweightedness, smoking, as well as alcohol consumption. The authors of this study sought to understand these associations using prospective data raised from the Netherlands prospective study, beginning in 1986, and incorporating 120852 people who generated the data used in making the study’s conclusions (Steevens, Schouten, and Driessen, 2011). Body mass index was found to influence the incidence of Barret’s esophagus in women while people who had previously smoked in their lives were also at a higher risk of the disease. While no causal indicators were found for alcohol to Barret’s esophagus disease, its inclusion as a possible risk factor is indicative of the anxiety surrounding alcohol as a causative agent to many human ailments. This work will be crucial in demonstrating the deep relationship carved between alcohol use and its implications for health.
World Health Organization. Global status report on alcohol and health 2014. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014. Pdf Text. <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112736/1/9789240692763_eng.pdf?ua=1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=The+King%2527s+Fund+newsletters&utm_campaign=4119178_HWBB+2014-05-26&dm_i=21A8,2GADM,FLWS7S,8X1ZN,1>.
The WHO status report on alcohol consumption reports on the state of alcohol consumption and policies within the WHO’s member states, including the progress made by the member states in the realization of alcohol control policies, especially after the endorsement of the global blueprint to reduce inappropriate use of alcohol. Further, the report tracks progress towards alignment to frameworks intended for the minimization and avoidance of non-communicable diseases, including a 10% willful reduction of destructive alcohol use by the year 2025 (World Health Organization, 2014). The authors explain the challenges in initiatives towards reducing the destructive use of alcohol while presenting data to show how this use is a continued challenge to our health systems, dividing the report into three main sections on alcohol’s impact on public health, a global breakdown of alcohol consumption, and finally health consequences and policy interventions. Harm occasioned by alcohol consumption is influenced by the amount of alcohol consumed, the pattern of drinking and in negligible cases, the quality of alcohol consumed, where consumption also emerges as most prevalent in the highest income nations, where the prevalence of heavy drinkers among the drinking population is high. This report will be paramount in showing the central role of policy in the regulation of alcohol consumption, with the WHO serving a coordinating role in tracking the progress made in each region of the world. Continued progress made by the member states concerning their alcohol policies will prove the centrality of alcohol use as a pertinent challenge facing many societies the world over.
References
Babor, Thomas et al. "Alcohol, No Ordinary Commodity: Research and Public Policy." Presentation. 2010. Text. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/30536494/babor_thomas_alcohol_no_ordinary_commodity.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1456989827&Signature=YEu%2B2qyetGl5S%2Blkrc6boaO0A60%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D>.
Donovan, John E. "Adolescent alcohol initiation: A review of psychosocial risk factors." Journal of Adolescent Health (2004): 35(6) 529.e7-529.e8. Web. <http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(04)00066-7/fulltext?mobileUi=0>.
Marc N. Potenza, and Harriet de Wit. "Control Yourself: Alcohol and Impulsivity." Alcohol Clin Exp Res (2013). web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3822522/>.
Montalto, Michael. "Alcoholics Anonymous: One Treatment Program to Rule Them All?" Journal of Alcoholism and drug dependency (2015): 3(228) do. web. <http://www.esciencecentral.org/journals/alcoholics-anonymous-one-treatment-program-to-rule-them-all-23296488-1000228.php?aid=65466>.
Stevens, Jessie et al. "A Prospective Cohort Study on Overweight, Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Risk of Barrett's Esophagus." Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prevention (2011): 345. <http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/20/2/345.full>.
World Health Organization. Global status report on alcohol and health 2014. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014. Pdf Text. <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112736/1/9789240692763_eng.pdf?ua=1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=The+King%2527s+Fund+newsletters&utm_campaign=4119178_HWBB+2014-05-26&dm_i=21A8,2GADM,FLWS7S,8X1ZN,1>.
