A

DRUNKENNESS AND
ALCOHOLISM
AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
• PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF
ALCOHOL

• TYPES OF DRINKERS

• DRINKING AS A SOCIAL AND GROUP ACTIVITY

• ALCOHOLISM AND PROBLEM DRINKING

• GROUP AND SUBCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON

EXCESSIVE DRINKING

• SOCIETY’S RESPONSE TO ALCOHOL USE AND

ALCOHOLISM

• PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS AND

ALCOHOLISM

• THE CONTINUING CONTROVERSY: CAN “RECOVERING”

ALCOHOLISM EVER RETURN TO DRINKING
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INTRODUCTION

• Excessive use of alcohol can produce physical and

psychological harm for the drinkers but it also impacts
others.
• Problem drinking is associated with someone who drinks
too much, too often, or during inappropriate situations.
• Alcoholism, now known as alcohol use disorder, is a condition
in which a person has a desire or physical need to consume
alcohol, even though it has a negative impact on their life.
• Alcoholism, on the other hand, is a complex disease
characterized by compulsive drinking regardless of
negative consequences.
P H Y S I O L O G I C A L A N D B E H AV I O R A L A S P E C T S O F
ALCOHOL
 P H Y S I O L O G I C A L A N D B E H AV I O R A L
ASPECTS OF ALCOHOL

• Heavy drinking bears a well-documented

relationship to a number of problems including
physical and psychological dependency, various
illnesses, impaired social relationships, and poor
work performance.

• ALCOHOL does not lead to a physiological habit,

however, in the way that certain other drugs do. One
Alcohol is a chemical substance created
does not become a chronic drinker after finishing
through a process of fermentation or
the 1st, 20th, or even 100th drink. Research has not yet distillation.
convincingly demonstrated an inherited excessive
consumption of alcohol. Clearly however
consumption of alcoholic beverages produces
physical and psychological consequences.
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DRINK ALCOHOL?

• When you drink alcohol, you don’t digest alcohol. It passes quickly into your bloodstream
and travels to every part of your body. Alcohol affects your brain first, then your kidneys,
lungs, and liver. The effect on your body depends on your age, gender, weight, and type of
alcohol.

• Although the blood can never hold more than 1% alcohol of its volume,
some evidence suggests that even relatively small amounts can affect the
brain, as shown by x-rays, computerized axial tomography scans (CAT
scans), and other medical research tools.
O T H E R H E A LT H - R E L AT E D E F F E C T S A N D P S Y C H O L O G I C A L
EFFECTS

According to one estimate, alcohol contributed to nearly half of all automobile fatalities in the early
1980s but the proportion of fatal crashes involving either a drunk driver or an occupant has dropped to
about 30% ( burgess 1998).

Alcohol consumption shows a significant association with all overall emergency room cases even in
other countries.

A distinct cluster of defects in newborn infants seems connected with drinking by the mother during
pregnancy. Called fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), these problems appear more in some groups than
others.

FAS has been identified only in children born to mothers who drank heavily while pregnant and other
combined alcohol with smoking and illegal drugs
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8 PHYSIOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS
The immediate effects of alcohol depend on the rate of its absorption into the body and the
physical characteristics of the individual drinker.

The rate of absorption, in turn, depends on the kind of beverage consumed, the proportion of
alcohol it contains, how quickly one drinks it, and the amount and type of food in the stomach
at the time. In addition, certain individual physiological differences Such as Body weight,
affect absorption.
Individuals vary in their susceptibility to the physiological consequences of alcohol
independent of these variables as well, suggesting alcohol consumption can produce
different physical effects in two people. Even for the same amount and type of consumption
(secretary of health and human services, 2000)

In moderate quantities, alcohol has relatively little effect, but in large quantities disturbs the
activities in the organs controlled by the brain and causes symptoms termed drunkenness
Alcohol produces a number of psychological effects on emotional reactions and overt behavior.

• In moderate quantities, alcohol can relax tensions and worries, and it may ease the fatigue associated
with anxiety.

- The effects of alcohol may mimic those of stimulants; in fact, this depressant reduces or alters cortical
control over actions, freeing behavior from some restraint.

Alcohol has a negative effect on task performance, but the strength of the effects varies, depending on the
nature of the task and the drinker’s experience. Inexperienced drinkers tend to overact to the situation of
alcohol, sometimes fulfilling perceived socially expected behaviors in drinking situations. Such reactions
commonly induce groups of teenagers to behave as if they were quite intoxicated under the influence of
only small quantities of alcohol
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Many people may believe that alcohol releases inhibitions that restrain a
drinker’s behavior, perhaps leading the person to act out of control under the
drug’s influence.

Although consumption of the substance certainly impairs certain mental and

motor skills, considerate considerable evidence confirms that much so-called
drunken comportment actually reflects behavior learned through socialization
rather than the result of any automatic release of behavioral controls associated
with alcohol.
An anthropological survey evaluated drunken reactions in different cultural groups, showing
that among some cultures, normal inhibitions remain in effect.

In many societies, people regularly consume alcohol in very large quantities without producing appreciable changes in
behavior except for progressive impairment in their sensorimotor capabilities, such as coordination
11Alcohol is a powerful chemical that
can have a wide range of adverse
effects on almost every part of your
body, including your brain, bones,
and heart.
Alcohol and its associated risks can
have both short-term and long-term
effects.
Short-term effects of alcohol
consumption
the short-term effects of alcohol
consumption are outlined below. This
information is based on the
assumption that you have a normal
tolerance to alcohol.
Dependent drinkers with a higher
tolerance to alcohol can often drink
much more without experiencing
any noticeable effects.
Other risks some of the other
risks associated with alcohol
misuse include:
accidents and injury – more than 1
in 10 visits to accident and
emergency (A&E) departments are
because of alcohol-related illnesses
unsafe sex – this can lead to
unplanned pregnancies and sexually
transmitted infections (STIs)
loss of personal possessions –
many people lose personal
possessions, such as their wallet or
mobile phone, when they're drunk
unplanned time off work or
college – this could put your job or
education at risk
Long-term effects of alcohol misuse
Drinking large amounts of alcohol for
many years will take its toll on many
of the body's organs and may cause
organ damage. Organs known to be
damaged by long-term alcohol misuse
include the brain and nervous system,
heart, liver, and pancreas.
Heavy drinking can also increase your
blood pressure and blood cholesterol
levels, both of which are major risk
factors for heart attacks and strokes.
Long-term alcohol misuse can weaken
your immune system, making you
more vulnerable to serious infections.
It can also weaken your bones,
placing you at greater risk of
fracturing or breaking them
 PREVALENCE OF DRINKING IN THE UNITED STATES
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SUMMARY

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 THANK YOU

MIRJAM NILSSON​
MIRJAM@CONTOSO.COM | WWW.CONTOSO.COM