Alcohol Dependence Drink example essay topic

Stage I Chemistry Alcohol and Society Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is a clear, colourless liquid, with a burning taste and an agreeable odour. Ethanol is an organic compound and is the most important of the alcohols, the chemical formula being CH 3 CH 2 OH. Produced by fermentation, it is the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. Besides the part ethanol plays in the fermentation of alcohol, ethanol also has many other uses, making it the most widely used and popular organic compound. Ethanol for industrial purposes is made by chemical synthesis, purified by distillation, and then denatured.

Most industrial ethanol is denatured to prevent its use as a beverage. Denaturing involves mixing ethanol with small amounts of poisonous or unpleasant substances to make the ethanol undrinkable. Ethanol has many uses as a solvent, raw material, extraction medium, antifreeze, antiseptic, and gasoline additive and substitute. Ethanol can be oxidized to first form acetaldehyde and then acetic acid. It can be dehydrated to form ether.

Other products made from ethanol include butadiene, used in making synthetic rubber; ethyl chloride, used as a local anaesthetic; and many other organic chemicals. Ethanol can also be mixed with gasoline to make the automobile fuel called gasohol. Ethanol is mixable in all proportions with water and with most organic solvents. It is an excellent solvent for many substances and is used in making such products as perfumes, lacquer, celluloid, and explosives. Because of its low freezing point, ethanol is also used as the fluid in thermometers for temperatures below -40^0 C, the freezing point of mercury, and for other special low-temperature purposes, such as for antifreeze in automobile radiators. Ethanol is normally concentrated by distillation of dilute solutions.

Commercial ethanol contains 95% by volume of ethanol and 5 percent of water. Dehydrating agents remove the remaining water and produce absolute ethanol. Ethanol melts at -114.1^0 C, boils at 78.5^0 C, and has a gravity of 0.789 at 20^0 C. Ethanol has been made since ancient times by the fermentation of sugars and all beverage ethanol and more than half of industrial ethanol is still made by this process. Starch from potatoes, corn, or other cereals can be the raw material. The yeast enzyme changes the simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The fermented liquid, containing from 7 to 12% ethanol, is concentrated to 95% by a series of distillations.

The liquid is then stabilised, filtrated and then stored for up to 5 years to allow the wine to mature. After a second filtration process, alcohol is then produced ready for bottled and worldwide consumption. Ethanol is present in varying amounts in beers and wines, and in distilled liquors such as whiskey, gin, and rum. When a person consumes alcohol, the stomach and intestines rapidly absorb it. From there alcohol travels in the blood throughout the entire body, affecting nearly every tissue. Moderate and high doses of alcohol depress the functions of the central nervous system, including the brain.

The higher the alcohol level is in the blood, the greater the harm. As blood passes through the liver, enzymes break down alcohol into harmless by-products, which are eliminated from the body six to eight hours later. But the rate at which alcohol accumulates in the body may be faster than the rate at which the body eliminates it, resulting in rising alcohol levels in the blood. As a result, alcohol remains in the body, producing intoxicating effects hours after the last drink was swallowed.

Small amounts of alcohol may relieve tension or fatigue, increase appetite, or produce an anaesthetic affect that numbs pain. Larger quantities inhibit or depress higher thought processes, bolstering self-confidence and reducing inhibition, anxiety, and guilt. As a person becomes intoxicated, painful or embarrassing situations appear less threatening and as drinking progresses, speech may become loud and slurred. Impaired decisions may lead to reckless behaviour, and physical reflexes and muscular coordination may become clearly affected. If drinking continues, a complete loss of physical control follows, ending in coma, and possibly death. Ethanol is also very addictive and is therefore the main cause of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a chronic disease marked by a craving for alcohol. People who suffer from this illness are known as alcoholics. They cannot control their drinking even when it becomes the primary cause of serious harm, including medical disorders, marriage and relationship difficulties, job loss, or car crashes. Medical science has yet to identify the exact cause of alcoholism, but research suggests that genetic, psychological, and social factors influence the disease.

Alcoholism cannot be cured yet, but various treatment options can help an alcoholic avoid drinking and regain a healthy life. There are certain symptoms that characterize the illness. Alcoholics develop a craving, or a strong urge to drink despite the knowledge that drinking is creating problems in their lives. Alcoholics also become physically dependent on alcohol.

When they stop drinking after a time of heavy alcohol use, they suffer unpleasant physical ailments, known as withdrawal symptoms that include nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety. Alcoholics develop a greater tolerance for alcohol -- that is, they need to drink increasing amounts of alcohol to reach intoxication. The disease of alcoholism develops in a predictable pattern. Health professionals use three stages to describe this progression.

Each stage is defined by a set of symptoms that are used in early diagnosis and treatment. Most people who drink alcohol never progress beyond stage one and are commonly known as social drinkers. In this stage, people drink alcohol primarily as an accompaniment to social situations. Drinking at this stage is not the central focus of a person's life and does therefore not affect them much. Unfortunately, many people cannot stay social drinkers and then therefore progress to stage two. In this early stage of a drinking problem many people do not show any signs of illness.

But with time and continued heavy drinking more severe problems will arise. You will know if a person is at stage two if activities that focus on drinking take up more and more time in their life and if after a few drinks, the person's behaviour becomes disagreeable and antisocial. Resorting to drinking to relieve physical and emotional pain is also a symptom that suggests that they may need help. As drinking continues, drinkers cannot admit that drinking is making them sick and is a problem that needs to be fixed. Drinking may become a mechanism for coping with problems, most of which have been brought about by alcohol use. Drinkers may neglect responsibilities to their family, seriously damaging relationships with their partners and children.

Their productivity at work declines, often resulting in job loss. But despite harmful consequences experienced as a result of drinking, they still remain in denial about their problem. They continue to reassure friends or family that they can stop drinking any time they want to. But in reality, giving up alcohol is a frightening prospect. This is known as stage three, a stage where professional help is greatly needed. Alcohol dependence affects a broad cross section of society around the world.

Statistics show that alcohol dependence touches successful business executives, skilled mechanics, labourers, homemakers, and even priests and doctors. The alcohol use varies depending on the person's social, cultural and religious background. Some people do not drink at all and others just have casual drinks as part of social customs. The rest of the population, an astonishing 62 million people worldwide, drink frequently and in substantial amounts. Those suffering from alcohol dependence drink to calm down an uncontrolled craving for alcohol or to avoid experiencing the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. Not only does alcohol have devastating effects on your health, it can also ruin your life.

Alcoholics find it hard to hold down jobs for long, as they find it hard to get up in the morning as they might have been drinking all night, and therefore feel nausea's and have a hangover. This constant feeling of being sick can destroy your concentration at work and can even lead to being fired. Alcoholics also find it very hard to hold onto money, which can damage and even split families apart. Because the alcoholic is constantly drinking, they have to find the money somewhere to obtain all of the alcohol, which, by the way, is not cheap.

The money that gets spent is the hard earned job money, leaving nothing for the family or partners. Another very concerning problem amongst alcoholics is the rising number of abuse victims, usually within the family. When you are drunk you have virtually no control over your body, brain or over any of your decisions. When a person is drunk they can get quite violent, thus leading to wives and children being hit or beaten, especially if they do not obey the orders given to them by the alcoholic. Later, when they are again sober, the alcoholic can be very apologetic and concerned, promised that they will never get drunk and violent again. Unfortunately, this is one promise that never quite goes through.

Along with the other devastating effects that alcoholics bring upon themselves and their family, alcohol dependence can be inherited down the family tree if the alcoholic has children. Children with parents who are alcoholics are 65% more likely to follow in their parent's footsteps and get sucked in by alcohol then children whose parents are clean. As well as this, people who start to drink at an early age are also at risk for developing alcohol dependence. Studies indicate that 40% of people who begin to drink before age 15 will become alcohol dependent at some point in their lives. These individuals are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who delay drinking until age 21.

Unfortunately, avoiding alcohol can be very tricky, especially if you are a businessperson and tend to negotiate many business deals in a bar over a drink. In many countries, alcohol abuse has become a social concern over the last decade. In various offices and companies around the world, drinking almost is required when conducting business. Bars are an extension of offices, places where key decisions are made. A person who declines an invitation to a drink after work risks being passed over for promotion within the company. Thus in this sense, trying to avoid the deadly drink is not really a possibility.

Alcoholics not only ruin their lives but also the lives of the people who around them. Intoxication threatens not only the individual who drinks but also the surrounding community. Therefore, societies around the world have attempted to control excessive use of alcohol. Temperance societies in the 19th and 20th centuries pushed for laws ranging from arrest and jail sentences for public drunkenness to prohibition of the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately none of these plans and ideas actually went anywhere and selling alcohol is still a growing business. When a person is under the influence they have no control over their actions or behaviour either within the body or the brain.

They often hurt themselves and can also hurt and sometimes kill others around them. Drink driving is a major topic for concern that has been growing out of control in the part few decades. In the year 2001 alone, there were 44,818 crashes on our roads resulting in 10,138 injuries and 153 fatalities. But even more amazing and shocking is the fact that 53% of these crashes and fatalities were caused by drink driving, That means that 76 of those fatalities were caused by drunk drivers. And there's no excuse for their actions either. The message is clear: either get off our roads or just don't drink at all.

It's as easy as that. Just don't drink, as you may find yourself stuck in a never-ending hole that you can't find your way out of, causing you to destroy your life and the lives of others around you.