Indirect Effects Of Alcohol Use example essay topic

Alcohol is a drug that is classified as a central nervous system depressant. There are three forms of alcohol, beer, wine and distilled spirits. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States and has more adverse effects that most other drugs combined. There are many aspects to consider when thinking about alcohol as a drug. There are many myths surrounding alcohol, including who uses it, what its effects are on users, social and sexual situations and the amounts people drink.

The vast majority of the American population uses alcohol and in many various ways and this also causes different effects. Alcohol is also has a great causation in crimes committed by users, social, medical, and educational problems as a result of use as well. There are various levels of use including, moderate and binge drinking, which all show different effects as a result of the amount used. The demographics of users play a significant role in the effects that are caused.

The lives of users are quite different from those of non-users, including the crimes that are committed by users. There are also other effects that are not derived directly from alcohol use, including negative effects on motivation and mood swings. When you use alcohol you increase your chances of seeing negative consequences from the use, significantly more than non-users have of seeing these consequences. We also learn myths that are created by the media and extreme drug abstainers. Perhaps the most important thing we must learn when researching alcohol and its effects are the real life experiences that we go through as a result of this drug. It is important that we learn all the dimensions of the reality of this drug before we pass judgment on it.

Many myths are created involving the use of alcohol, some of which based on truth, but the most wide heard myths are ones that are created to make alcohol look like a socially accepted and healthy drug with no side effects. The first of these myths is one that claims alcohol to be a stimulant. These complete opposite is true, alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant. The way this applies to users is that alcohol slows the heart rate and breathing and also lowers the blood pressure. One of the most commonly accepted myths is that alcohol is a sure way to relax and reduce stress.

However, as we drink the adrenaline levels in our bodies increase. A feeling a relaxation may initially occur when we drink but as we continue to consume alcohol, there is an increased level of stress put on our bodies. A myth that many college age users like to believe is that there are numerous ways we can speed up the process of becoming sober. These commonly believed methods include, drinking coffee, taking a cold shower or exercising.

There is only one way that a drinker can sober up and that is to let the liver breakdown the alcohol. This process can differ in people depending on their individual rate of metabolism, but overall this is a slow process that requires a significant amount of time and cannot be sped up by outside means. Another commonly accepted myth and one that is often encouraged is that drinking hard liquor will get you drunk faster than drinking beer. In fact, the amount of alcohol in one beer is equal to the amount of alcohol in one shot of hard liquor, (U.S. Department of Health, 1977).

Although many of these myths would be beneficial to our drinking experiences, they are all in fact false and users of alcohol must be aware of them. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States today. Sixty-three percent of Americans over the age of 18 said they have consumed alcohol at least once in the past year, (National, 2001). A survey, conducted by the Core Institute, of 55,026 college students, ranging from freshmen to seniors to non-seeking degree students, from across the United States showed that 84.1% of students consumed alcohol at least once a year and that 72.1% of students consumed alcohol at least once every thirty days, (Statistics on Alcohol, 2000). Because these people used alcohol they automatically put themselves at a higher risk, than non-drinkers, for alcohol-related injuries, problems with the law and many different negative health effects, including liver dysfunction, (MU Health, 2004).

Users of alcohol also put others around them at a higher risk for negative consequences including disruption of events and studying, (Statistics on Alcohol, 2000). Although all types of drinking can have adverse effects, there are different levels of use that result in different effects. Moderate drinking is defined as drinking that generally does not cause problems in the drinker or society, typically one drink per day. This low level of alcohol consumption has been shown in studies to, reduce stress, decrease tension and anxiety, (NI, 2000). Social drinking generally does not cause problems with the individual as long as the amount consumed does not increase over time, but this level of drinking has not been known to have any positive effects. Binge drinking is classified as having five or more drinks in one sitting.

This is the level of use that college students engage in on the weekends. Some social effects that have been noted by students are the increased ability to "break the ice" in conversation, allowing people to have more fun, and facilitating sexual opportunities, (Statistics on Alcohol, 2000). However the Core Institute survey showed that of the students who had engaged in binge drinking at least once every thirty days, 33.1% of them missed a class, 31.7% experienced memory loss and 11.7% were taken advantage of sexually, as a result of their drinking experience, (Statistics on Alcohol, 2000). A more serious level of alcohol use is called chronic alcohol use.

The effects that result from an extended period of heavy alcohol use are much more drastic and many times they are not reversible. Serious health effects can result from a lifestyle of constant heavy drinking, including liver dysfunction, cancer, and sexual dysfunction. When chronic alcohol users experience sudden withdrawals, they go through what is called delirium tremens. These symptoms include tremors, heavy sweating, insomnia, and under extreme conditions, life-threatening seizures can occur, (Faupel, Horowitz, Weaver, 2004). There are different levels of alcohol consumption that we see in our society, and with those varying levels we see their effects that vary in degree. These effects range from being beneficial to our body and mind, to enhancing our social skills, to causing us to become violent or angry, to negative health effects that are not reversible such as cancer.

These levels of use and their effects are very important for us to observe when engaging in alcohol use. Different demographics have different percentages or users and abusers. Groups that are differentiated by age, sex and ethnic background all different amounts of users. People of different age groups show wide-ranging amounts of consumption.

There have been negative effects found in the drinking of adolescents. Their verbal and nonverbal information recollection has shown to be heavily affected for the worse. It also affects the sleep cycle, which can result in impaired learning and memory. Their vocabulary and general knowledge had also shown deterioration due to drinking, (Seppa, 1999).

Like anything else the different categories of people show different results from the use of alcohol and these effects result in varying differences in their lives. People who engage in the use of alcohol are automatically putting themselves at a higher risk for effects in their lives than abstainers of alcohol. Among adolescents who drink they are more likely to fall behind and perform poorly in school, and they are more likely to experience depression, suicidal thoughts and violence, than non-users of the same age and background, (Seppa, 1999). These young drinkers have also shown to have a 10% decrease in verbal and nonverbal skills, compared to non-users of their same age. People with alcohol use disorders have an increased chance of physiological trauma, compared to people of similar backgrounds. They also put themselves at a higher risk to experience problems with conflict and intimacy in relationships, (Evans, 1995).

People who use alcohol are more likely to have problems with the law involving, fights, physical violence, theft involving force or threat of force, and being arrested for DWI / DUI, (Statistics on Alcohol, 2000). The individuals who use alcohol are placed in a higher risk area for all of these negative effects when compared to the likelihood of non-users being affected by the same things. There are many negative effects that come directly from an individual using alcohol. These are seen as effects on the physical health of the body and mind, increased risk of overdose, and long-term effects such as cancer and sexual dysfunction. However there are effects that are caused indirectly by the using of alcohol. These effects include things like, unplanned pregnancy, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and acquaintance rape.

Alcohol use does put you at a higher risk for experiencing these things but they do not show a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and the physical well being of the human body and mind. These effects need to be categorized as indirect effects of alcohol use. Media has a large effect on our societies perception of alcohol and how it affects us, as well as other things. When the media creates campaigns that they feed to us over and over, their attempt is to manipulate us into believing or backing the idea that they are pitching.

There is a significant amount of times when they are successful in doing so. For instance, when they portray a fantasy like lifestyle that they tell us can be achieved by drinking their beverage of choice, they are burning into our minds that we need to achieve that life through their means. Rarely, if ever are any facts conveyed to us in a matter that is totally truthful and straightforward. The media's idea of a successful advertising campaign is one that manipulates the public to buy into to whatever idea or hype that they may be selling to us at the current time. Everything we go through in life has the possibility to have a negative or positive effect on our bodies, minds, points of view and our overall experiencing of life. Alcohol is no exception.

There are endless effects that the use of this drug can have on our body, mind and well being. However, when users of alcohol approach these effects they are usually most likely to accept the negative effects in order to enjoy the pleasurable effects that drinking can have on meals, social gatherings and celebrations. There is a certain degree to which most drinkers, excluding the abusers, will go to in order to experience this pleasure. Most often they will not put themselves, their family, or their job at risk in order to enjoy the pleasure that drinking gives them. When they accept that risk is when they are defined as having a problem. In short, the negative effects of drinking are most often outweighed by the pleasure one receives.

Everyone who engages in the use of alcohol has a different experience with the drug. These different experiences are most often caused by the amount of food the individual ate the day they drank, physical health of their body and mind, and also their moods, emotions and feelings at the time when they consume. Most people will agree on the feeling of relaxation and sometimes euphoria. But as we have seen in this paper there are many other effects it can have such as alcohol induced rage and poor judgment.

Most people will have a pleasurable experience with alcohol though, only when they know their physical limits for intake. When someone goes beyond their physical limit for alcohol is when they are the most likely to experience some or all of these negative consequences. Many people that I have observed will agree that alcohol is a good way to loosen people up in social situations and for the most part that allows people to feel comfortable and to enjoy themselves more. People who do not abuse alcohol and do not associate with people who abuse alcohol will generally come away from using alcohol with a good experience. A drug is defined as a substance that, once ingested, may alter the structure or functioning of a person; sociologically, a drug is something that has been defined by society, or certain segments of society, as a drug, (Faupel, et al, 2004). Take from this definition what you will, but the real definition of alcohol is what society has come to label it through the last two hundred years.

The factors we as a society have used to label alcohol are the myths constantly surrounding alcohol. Next, the amount of people who use alcohol, and its dangers. The amount of people who have social, educational, and medical problems from the use or misuse of alcohol is an important factor in analyzing this drug. Next we must differentiate between the various levels of use and the effects that can results from those levels of use. A very important factor when analyzing any drug, especially alcohol, is its user demographics, which include, age group, sex and ethnicity. Next we must make a distinction between the lives of users and of non-users.

This is important to be able to compare people of similar backgrounds that are both users and abstainers. A common misconception is the indirect results of alcohol use; this is one that is also very important to conception of alcohol as a drug. The media hype that surrounds alcohol and the degree to which it affects us may be the most common reason for labeling alcohol as a particular drug. Simply because this is what the general public sees and hears everyday that they watch the news or read a magazine or listen to the radio which are all covered with hype about alcohol. The personal experiences we take away from the use of alcohol is one that is very important to our personal point of view on alcohol.

These experiences are what shape a user's everyday conception of alcohol. Lastly, I believe we should analyze alcohol critically as a drug and we should simply measure the negative effects against the pleasure we get from its use. Sociology: Drugs and Society Midterm PaperAlcohol

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