On Alcohol
Contemporary Thoughts of Alcohol
"Alcohol is a drug. Unlike other drugs, it is available to anyone of legal age and easily acquired. Two out of three Americans over age 18 use some alcoholic beverage" (Wilcox, Introduction). Seeing how alcohol has some to be one of the mainstream accepted lifestyles in contemporary America, we need to question many aspects of it. "The NIAAA estimates that more than 11 million adults in the US are alcohol dependent and another 7 million regularly abuse alcohol" (Wilcox, Introduction). Seeing that this is such a big problem we need to seek solutions for those who already have problems with alcohol and prevention so other do not join these people.
First of all, what is alcohol? The chemical composition of it is that "to a spine of two carbon atoms are attached five hydrogen atoms and a hydroxyl (oxygen-hydrogen) group (Edwards, p.1):
"The source of all beverage alcohol is the breakdown of naturally occurring carbohydrate (starch or glucose)... When swallowed, he alcohol is absorbed from the stomach and the small intestine" (Edwards, p. 4-6). When the alcohol reaches the brain most people feel a sort of "euphoria... but every drinker will react differently in terms of talkativeness, happiness, enthusiasm, stimulation, sedation, loosening of thought association, and feelings of power or sexuality... alcohol affects brain functioning by its capacity to interfere with the biological system of chemical messengers" (Edwards, p.6-7) When asked why anyone began or not began to drink, one will want to answer that it is because of society and not because one is intrinsically inclined to drink for the mere fact of it. "An individual's decision to use alcohol and the frequency, quantity, and situation of such use are the result of a combination of biological and social factors. Drinking is not only a personal choice, but also a matter of custom and...
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