Should alcohol usage be controlled?
Alcohol is a colourless liquid that is considered a drug and is proven to be highly toxic and psychoactive for humans. Alcohol is produced by a process called fermentation. When yeast ferments sugar, alcohol is produced. It flows through our blood and reaches our brain cells. It’s said that a low amount of alcohol can make a human feel relaxed, but an excess amount of alcohol creates trouble with clear thinking (Wong, n.d.).
Alcohol is being used for ages, but throughout this time the argument on its merits and demerits never reached any conclusion. Everybody knows that alcohol consumption is contagious to health. But some researchers found that average drinking can be good for the circulatory system. It was also concluded to be effective for type 2 diabetes and gallstone disease. But excess consumption of alcohol leads to death (Agarwal, 2020).
In 2018, the University of Washington in Seattle published its findings on causes of illness and death in the world, in Lancet. They are the first to suggest that global alcohol consumption should be based on geological region, sex, age and year. There should be strict guidelines for men under the age group 15-39 as they alone possess 59% risk from alcohol consumption worldwide, which include injuries related to drinking, suicide or accidents (Gregory, 2022).
The consumption of alcohol in excess causes AUD (Alcohol use disorder). It is an addictive disease where you are unable to stop alcohol consumption even if you want to. It’s estimated that 10% of men and 5% of women have AUD (Agarwal, 2020).
According to the analysis of drinking habits, it’s found that in 2022, 1.34 billion people have consumed harmful amounts of alcohol. Researchers go through the 2022 Global Burden of Disease Data and estimate the amount of alcohol consumption (Gregory, 2022).
The government and some private organisations have taken many measures for alcohol control. In the U.S. a usual drink contains 0.6 ounces or 14.0 grams of pure alcohol. The dietary guidelines of America suggest that less than two drinks for men and less than one drink for women in a day are more than sufficient. Where there are people who should avoid consuming alcohol like youngsters, pregnant women or patients taking certain prescriptions (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).
There are some important steps taken by the WHO to reduce the death rate caused by alcohol. SAFER is an initiative taken by WHO (2018) to reduce alcohol-related harm. Every 10 seconds someone dies in some corner of this world because of alcohol consumption. To reduce this loss and protect the youth there should be a minimum age limit for the purchase of alcohol. SAFER strengthens the restrictions on the commercial or public availability of alcohol.
Research worldwide has proven that excess alcohol is hazardous. It is essential to control its consumption for a better society. It not only causes harm to our health but to our community and our social and personal relations too.
Reference:
Agarwal, S. (2022). Alcohol usage should be controlled or not. International Journal of Research. Available on: https://internationaljournalofresearch.com/2020/06/28/alcohol-usage-should-be-controlled-or-not/. Accessed on [09 October 2022]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Alcohol use and your health. Available on: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm#:~:text=The%20Dietary%20Guidelines%20for%20Americans,days%20when%20alcohol%20is%20consumed.. accessed on [09 October 2022]
George, A. (2022). Alcohol is never good for people under 40, global study finds. The Guardian. Available on: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/14/alcohol-is-never-good-for-people-under-40-global-study-finds. Accessed on [09 October 2022]
Wang, S. (n.d.). Alcohol. NewScientist. Available on: https://www.newscientist.com/definition/alcohol/. accessed on [16 October 2022]
WHO. (2018). SAFER- Alcohol control initiative. Available on: https://www.who.int/initiatives/SAFER. Accessed on [09 October 2022]