Understanding alcohol: acceptance and dangers

As the acceptance and use of alcohol greatly increases throughout our country and specifically in Huron County, The Huron County Board of Mental Health & Addiction Services (MHAS) finds it incredibly important to highlight some facts regarding alcohol use. Alcohol can be a difficult topic to address due to the fact that it is a legal substance. However, although legal, it also can be very dangerous. Over the next couple of weeks, we will address multiple subjects surrounding the use of alcohol. The topics covered will be "Acceptance and Dangers," "Types of Drinking," "Parenting & Alcohol Use," and "Seeking Recovery from Alcohol Addiction." The Acceptance of Alcohol In the United States, the majority of people drink alcoholic beverages at some point or another through the course of a year. Due to the prevalence and acceptance of the substance, alcohol abuse and dependence has become the number one drug problem in this country. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, men are more likely to drink alcoholic beverages than women. In the past year, the percentages of those who consumed alcohol based on gender are as follows: • 71.8 percent of men.• 59.6 percent of women. Even though it's widely available and socially acceptable to drink, alcohol is still responsible for thousands of deaths and countless injuries every year. Moreover, despite the fact that it's addictive and dangerous, people continue to normalize alcohol consumption in a way that would never be tolerated with other drugs. In fact, alcoholic beverages are advertised on all major media outlets, and alcohol is available anywhere from the supermarket, the gas station, your favorite restaurants, or the arena where you go to watch sports games. Everywhere you look you can find alcohol: it is in advertisements, movies and television shows, bars and restaurants, at parties, concerts, work meetings, and even in some movie theaters these days. People drink at home, on weekends, in the evenings after work, at barbecues and celebrations, and for a variety of other reasons. In short, alcohol is extremely accessible, and drinking alcohol has become just as socially acceptable as drinking tea or water. However, unlike other beverages, alcohol is in fact a drug, and it's dangerous, it's addictive, and consuming it in excess can have extremely negative and at times deadly consequences. Dangers of Alcohol According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. Each year, excessive alcohol consumption is linked to approximately 4 million emergency room and doctors visits and almost 90,000 deaths around the country annually. These instances stem from situations involving alcohol poisoning, accidents, reckless driving and vehicular fatalities, domestic violence, and drug interactions for example. In addition, one-third of suicides in the United States are alcohol related deaths. Moreover, alcohol also has severe long-term side effects, including liver disease, cancer, heart disease, nerve damage, gastrointestinal problems, and more. In fact, whereas most drugs are only detrimental to a single system, alcohol abuse can impact just about every part of your body. The fact that alcohol affects a significant portion of the human body, alcohol withdrawal can be severe and life-threatening even causing death. Why Is Alcohol So Socially Acceptable When Other Drugs Aren't Despite the proven damage that alcohol can cause, it remains a drug that can be legally purchased by anybody over the age of 21. In fact, alcohol laws are becoming even more permissive, and you can now purchase alcoholic beverages in more locations, at later and earlier hours, and can expect to be served in a growing number of places. There are many reasons why alcohol doesn't have the same legal classification as other substances, such as marijuana, and they include: Strength in numbers: nearly half the population admits to drinking alcohol • History: alcohol is as old as recorded history and has probably been around even longer than that. • The Economy: Economics play a role as well, because the alcohol industry employs nearly 4 million people, and brought in more than $253.8 billion in 2018. But as long as drinking remains the social norm, and as long as people don't recognize the signs of dependence and addiction, then alcoholism and the problems it causes for individuals, families, and communities will continue to be ignored and dismissed. One of the most important aspects in the fight against alcoholism is altering the way alcohol is perceived, dvertised, and talked about in society. At the moment, alcohol isn't thought of as a drug by many people, and alcoholism is treated as a rare exception to an otherwise unproblematic behavior. PART 2: Understanding Alcohol as we discuss types of drinking and what standard alcohol consumption looks like. Kristen W. Cardone, LPCC-S, LICDC. is executive director of the Huron County Board of Mental Health & Addiction Services.