Drinking Alcohol

Drinking Alcohol

Introduction

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol. Alcohol is a neuro-chemical inhibitor and therefore produces a depressant effect in those who drink it. Alcoholic drinks are classified into three broad classes: beer, wine, and distilled spirits. The production of fermented alcoholic beverages is over 9,000 years old, viticulture dates to 6000 B.C.E, and humans have been distilling spirits since the 6th century. Alcohol use is one of the most important public health concerns, not only in America but also all over the world. The common and frequent use of alcohol has been well recognized, as have a number of harmful effects and outcomes of its use. Likewise, the worldwide load of diseases caused due to excessive use of alcohol is also of great scope and signifies a main concern for prevention globally. Because excessive alcohol use is relatively common and associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, a number of policies and laws have been put in place that seek to prevent and reduce these harmful consequences.

Discussion

In the United States of America, alcohol, behind only caffeine, is the 2nd most frequently used drug among both adults and youth. Excessive use of alcohol is typically denoted as heavy drinking that is consuming over two drinks daily approximately for men or over one drink everyday generally for women or too much drinking also known as binge drinking that is men consuming five or more drinks throughout a single occurrence or women taking four or more drinks throughout a single event. Excessive alcohol use is associated with a range of health problems and injuries. Recent data from the United States show that more than half of the population 12 years and older drank alcohol in the past month. About 7 percent reported drinking heavily, and 23 percent reported binge drinking. ...