Alcoholism Data And History Essay Research

Alcoholism : Data And History Essay, Research Paper Social Issues Oral Presentation Intro: For my social issues project I picked teen alcoholism. I picked teen alcoholism because almost all my friends and people I know drink and because drinking is a major growing issue in the world today since it causes 43% of all car cashes in the US at this time and rising. In this presentation I will be covering what alcohol is and where it all began? What it does to your body and eye site. How alcohol is popular among teens and why they do it. How it can have an effect on your children later in life. How advertisement effects the young. And I will be showing a brief segment of a video and showing some graphs, and data. Where did alcohol come from? Alcoholic beverages have been used since

the dawn of civilization and is the most widely used psychoactive drug known to man. Chemically known as ethanol or ethyl alcohol, it can be produced synthetically or naturally by fermenting fruit, grains or vegetables. When the Arabs introduced the process of distillation into Europe in the middle ages, the alchemists believed that alcohol was thought to be the long-sought elixir of life, as indicated in the term whiskey (which in Gaelic is usqubaugh, meaning water of life. ) Obviously today the social value of alcohol is much lower. (Now, what is alcohol?) Alcohol is classified in one of three categories of stimulants, depressants, or psychedelics. Alcohol is classified as a depressant. Alcohol produces some of its effects by depressing various brain functions and is also a

local anesthetic, chemical solvent, and an irritant. Many of alcohol s side effects are due to these actions rather than the sedative effect of the agent. Alcohol is found in many different alcoholic beverages and in many non-prescription and prescription medicines. Alcohol in low doses causes suppression of inhibitory centers and produces apparent stimulation while impairment of abstract thinking lessens anxiety. At moderate doses, alcohol can cause drowsiness, slowed reflexes and incoordination. In large amounts, alcohol decreases vital brain functions, produces sedation, slows the breathing rate, and can cause death. Alcohol is absorbed from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Most of the alcohol enters the bloodstream from the stomach and small intestine. The peak Blood

Alcohol Level (BAL) occurs 60 to 90 minutes after ingestion when the stomach is empty. It readily passes from the blood into nearly every tissue in the body, including the brain. The presence of food in the stomach slows the rate of absorption. However the amount of alcohol absorbed remains unchanged. While no one would get drunk from the alcohol in one or two teaspoons of cough syrup, liver and stomach enzymes cannot deactivate large amounts of alcohol consumed at one time. Alcoholic drinks, including beer cause the amount of alcohol in the blood to rise. Excessive drinking may lead to vomiting and other unpleasant toxic effects. These symptoms are part of the automatic defense systems of the body, which are activated to prevent more alcohol from being absorbed. When drinking

stops, the liver enzymes will eventually convert excess alcohol into less harmful substances. The final products of alcohol metabolism are carbon dioxide and water. According to recent news reports, Americans are at risk for a variety of sleep-related health problems. Alcohol use affects sleep in a number of ways and can exacerbate these problems. Because alcohol use is widespread, it is important to understand how this uses affects sleep to increase risk for illness. For example, it is popularly believed that a drink before bedtime can aid falling asleep. However, it also can disrupt normal sleep patterns, resulting in increased fatigue and physical stress to the body. Alcohol use can aggravate sleeping disorders, those with such disorders should be cautious about alcohol use.