Disorders caused by Drinking Alcohol

Disorders caused by Drinking Alcohol:

Alcohol is a slow poison that in a man’s body is destructive to both physical and mental processes. Alcohol in any form: wine, whisky, beer, brandy, gin or toddy, is harmful to health. Beginning with small quantities of alcohol for pleasure and adventure, people become addicted to it and take to heavy drinking. Alcohol is quickly absorbed into the body without being changed in the process of digestion. When alcohol goes into the bloodstream, it circulates swiftly and exerts a rapid stimulating effect on all the organs with which it comes into contact. Though alcohol produces quite a lot of energy in the body cells, through respiration, alcohol is not considered food because of its harmful effects.

Thus, alcohol is not a food. Do not drink any type of alcohol because the initial stimulating effect is succeeded by one of depression and if too much alcohol is taken, this depression of bodily activities may result in coma and death. Alcohol reduces alertness of mind and in extreme cases, cause liver damage. Alcohol is an intoxicant, so under the influence of alcohol, a person loses his sense of discrimination. He then cannot distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong. This increases crime in society. Alcohol drinking also affects the family and community life. The time which we take to respond to an emergency situation is called reaction time. The normal reaction time of human beings is about two -thirds of a second. Now, drinking of alcohol increases our reaction time. Due to this a drunk person driving a vehicle takes a longer time to apply brakes and hence causes more accidents. Thus, alcohol drinking leads to increased road accidents, social crimes, and other illegal activities. To end this discussion, the various harmful effects (or disorders) caused by addiction to alcohol are given below-

• Alcohol may cause serious damage to the nervous system. It also damages stomach, blood vessels and kidneys.
• Excessive alcohol causes damage to the liver by storage of fat in it.
• Alcohol lowers the resistance of the body to diseases, especially diseases affecting the lungs such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
• Alcohol drinking impairs judgement and reduces mental restrain and self-control. Many criminals drinking liquor before doing their wicked deeds. Alcohol dulls their sense of right and wrong. Many youths are led to sin under the influence of alcohol.
• Drinking of large quantities of alcohol affects the control and coordination mechanisms of the body, and the person may become unconscious and may even die.
• Alcohol drinking by a person worsens the economic condition of the family. Because once addicted, a person would want to have a ‘drink’ even if there is no ‘ration’ at home for his wife and children. In fact, many well-to-do homes have been ruined by alcohol drinking.
• Alcohol increases the number of road accidents by increasing the reaction time of the drunk driver. A drunk driver is a danger for himself as well as for other road users.