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Kelly Eckard

Professor Paul Roberts

Health 1050

03 August 2019

Research Paper: Alcohol

Alcohol legal for consumption at the legal age of 21 in the United States is a legalized

addictive solution that can be easily accessed by going to your local grocer or liquor store. When

you drink it makes you feel good, have courage, let loose, and often like you can conquer the

world’s problems.

People drink for many reasons, a lot of the time it’s a group of friends or family getting

together and having a drink together, stress can lead to drinking, the accessibility of getting

alcohol is easy and it’s not overly expensive. What are the reasons people begin drinking? When

does it begin for most people? Alcohol is glamorized by the media and Hollywood. Almost every

Superbowl commercial is revolved around alcohol commercials. These images we see on TV

send us messages that make us have a desire to drink. It’s more than the product the brand wants

us to buy, it’s also the lifestyle that wants us to become attached to that has us coming back for

more.

The images you see are people with perfect bodies, hair, and teeth, that look like they

have gobs of money and are with their friends partying and having a good time. The marketing

team doesn’t show you the fall-down drunk, the sappy annoying drunk, or the emotional crying
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drunk, they only show you what they want you to see, and that is people having a good time

while enjoying their brand.

“Research found alcohol use depicted in 92 percent of the films in a sample of 601

contemporary movies… Alcohol was used in 52 percent of G-rated films, 89 percent for PG, 93

percent for PG-13 and 95 percent for R. The stone-cold-sober fact? Alcohol is everywhere in

films and it shapes the consumption of alcohol by viewers. A 2008 study concluded that each

year the average US adolescent (ages 10-14) was exposed to “5.6 hours of movie alcohol use and

243.8 alcohol brand appearances in the top 100 US box office films from 1998-2002. Hollywood

cinema can be magical, with scenes that seduce the viewer and tattoo memory to mind. These

mystical moments generally glamorize alcohol. Drinkers are frequently depicted in films as more

attractive, more aggressive, more romantically/sexually active, and as having a higher

socioeconomic status than nondrinkers” (Dlende).

Alcohol has been consumed for years, since the dawn of time. Mead, fermented honey is

the oldest alcoholic drink known in history was produced in Greece. Also known as honey wine

it is made from honey and water and fermented with yeast, it can also be flavored with fruits,

spices, grains or hops. The Egyptians were the first to produce beer around 3700 B.C. During

2700 B.C. Babylonians worshiped a wine goddess. During the sixteenth century, alcohol, called

spirits were used for medical purposes. Two centuries later the British Parliament passed laws

that would support the use of grains and hops for distilling alcohol. Different alcohols in

different forms were used with medicine as disinfectants, antiseptic, and remedy. When applied

to the skin it was used to help clean the skin and wound.

Gin also used as a medical healer grew to become a tyrant on the streets of London. It’s

other name Jenever originated as an herbal-based medicine and later on, the Dutch liquor was
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wreaking havoc in England causing an epidemic. It was causing social destruction having

increased consumption twenty-two times over a 65 years and it caused infant mortality during

this period. “In the sixteenth century, alcohol (called “spirits”) was used largely for medicinal

purposes. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the British parliament passed a law

encouraging the use of grain for distilling spirits. Cheap spirits flooded the market and reached a

peak in the mid-eighteenth century. In Britain, gin consumption reached 18 million gallons and

alcoholism became widespread” (Foundation for a Drug-Free World).

“In 1920 the US passed a law prohibiting the manufacture, sale, import, and export of

intoxicating liquors. The illegal alcohol trade boomed and by 1933, the prohibition of alcohol

was canceled. Today, an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from alcoholism and 40% of all

car accident deaths in the US involve alcohol” (Foundation for a Drug-Free World).

As we see that alcohol has been proponent through history and has played a social and

medical part of it. Wine was frequently drunk in the Bible, God gave us wine to settle our

stomachs. Paul counsels his son in the faith, Timothy, “No longer drink only water, but use a

little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23).

Another verse where wine is drunk in the Bible is when the Book of Solomon. The bride

who sings in the Song of Solomon says, “He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner

over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4). In Hebrew tradition, wine was very popular at

weddings. We see this in the wedding feast Jesus attends in Cana. There, for His first miracle,

Jesus miraculously produced more than one hundred and twenty gallons of fine wine for the

wedding feast (John 2:6-11).

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The consumption of alcohol in moderation can provide some health benefits. Moderation

and self-control with alcohol are considered one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for

men. Examples of a drink are a can of beer, a glass of wine and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. When

drank in moderation studies have shown that there is a decrease in diabetes, the reduction in the

risk of heart disease and reducing the possibility of a stroke.

As always when there are pros to something there are also risks that are to be considered,

too much of good thing can be a bad thing. Alcohol in excess can cause cancer throughout your

body. It can cause liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular problems, suicide,

alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and accidental death or serious injury to yourself or someone else.

Even in moderation, there is a time and place for alcohol. You should avoid alcohol if

you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, if you take prescriptions that may interfere with

alcohol, if you are not in a position to drive, if you are at work or school, if you have a weak

heart, and if you have a history of alcoholism or a family history of alcohol abuse.

Excessive drinking can lead to alcohol addiction and alcoholism. Alcoholism is when

alcohol takes control of your life and you become debilitated by it’s enticing craves. Symptoms

are when you do not know when or how to stop drinking. When you drink in excess regularly.

When you spend a lot of time thinking about when you are going to be able to drink again. The

inability to control how much alcohol you consume even if it causes problems with your

personal, professional life and finances.

The dependence of alcohol affects more than 3 million US cases per year. “Alcoholism is

the inability to control drinking due to both a physical and emotional dependence on alcohol.
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Symptoms include repeated alcohol consumption despite related legal and health issues.

Those with alcoholism may begin each day with a drink, feel guilty about their drinking, and

have the desire to cut down on the amount of drinking. Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of

alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol,

continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same

effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking” (Staff).

When alcohol is flowing through your veins and you have a glow, your body feels some

immediate cognitive changes, your body temperature rises, your speech will become slurred,

your balance is affected causing difficulty walking, blurred vision, there is slower reaction time

and memory can be fogged. This is because alcohol suppresses the communication from the

brain and nervous system. Immediate negative effects can be seen on the brain from alcohol, but

permanent damage can be caused by excessively drinking for years. Heavy drinking and binge

drinking can impact the brain and cause brain damage. Heavy drinking has been linked to

memory problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Drinking excessively permanently

damages the brain and impairs memory function over time. Drinking vast amounts of alcohol

over long periods can also cause poor health and affect your liver.

Red flags and indications that you made to get help or help someone battling alcohol are

being unable to stop drinking once you start. As the saying goes, one drink is too little and one

more is never enough. Have a desire to cut back but unsuccessfully being able to. Needing more

and more to feel that good feeling that alcohol used to give you. Failing to follow-through with

prior engagements or obligations. If you see yourself or another going through these symptoms,

seek help.
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Works Cited
Dlende. Neuroanthropology. 08 2019. <https://neuroanthropology.net/2009/05/29/lights-camera-
alcohol/>.
Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Foundation for a Drug-Free World. 08 2019.
<https://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/a-short-history.html>.
Staff, Mayo Clinic. Alcohol Use Disorder. 08 2019. <https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-
conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20369243>.