The alcohol is industry is big business. In Britain a figure of more than £100 million per year is spent on advertising alcohol to the public. Consumers` expenditure tops £7,645 million, and the Government`s revenue from this consumption is at least £2,927 million. The yearly consumption of wine by the British public is a rising 92 million gallons, and spirits 36 million gallons. These figures are increasing rapidly each year.
WHAT IS ALCOHOL?
The word ‘ alcohol’ probably has its origin in Arabic , meaning ‘ a fine dust’ or essence’.
There are four main types of alcohol:
METHYL ALCOHOL CH3 OH; ETHYL ALCOHOL C2 H5 OH; PROPYL ALCOHOL C3 H7 OH and
BUTYL ALCOHOL C4 H9 OH
Ethyl alcohol is the one that is the spirit in intoxicating drinks, and its concentration ranges from 4 to 59 percent. Alcohol has very valuable antiseptic properties, and when used outside the body is a very useful chemical. Alcohol beverages are produced either by fermentation to the opinion of alcohol is not the gift of God. God , by His direct act, does not make alcohol. The laws of nature ripen grapes. If they are not eaten, they rot and decompose. The manufacture of alcohol is wholly man`s device. Dr. Henry Munros, lecturer in medical jurisprudence, says: ‘Alcohol is nowhere to be found in any product of nature, was never created by God, but essentially an artificial thing prepared by man through the destructive process of fermentation’.
If we believe the advertisements, then of course we would accept that alcohol refreshes the parts that other drinks fail to reach and look good, taste good and does the body good. All this may lead us to assume that alcohol is stimulant. This is totally incorrect, as it actually a narcotic, a depressive drugs of habituation. Of all the effects produced by alcohol, those upon the nervous system are by far the most important because the master function of co-coordinative movement, perception, judgement and emotional control are affected.
ALCOHOL `S EFFECT UPON THE BODY
Alcohol differs from other beverages in that it does remain in the stomach for any length of time. Some is absorbed, through the walls of the stomach, into the blood stream- and as soon as that happens the drinker feels the effects. Alcohol which has not been absorbed passes into the small intestine; this, is circulated throughout the body and into the blood stream. Thus, when alcohol enters the body, it is soon carried to the brain.
The brain controls all bodily functions right from the moment of birth. More intricate than any complicated computer centre, man`s brain is the most amazing of nature`s many works. In this three- and-a- half pounds of grey matter are concentrated ten to twelve billion nerve cells which serve as the control centre of the whole body. Because alcohol is a narcotic drug it has the same effect upon the central nervous system as morphine and anaesthetics.
The first areas of the brain to be affected are the frontal lobes, or ’ upper brain’ – the site of man`s higher faculties, judgement, self control, reason and reaction time. Thus, because of this alcohol is a very dangerous drink for drivers. Alcohol accounts for at least one in ten of all deaths of the road. Seventy or eighty per cent of all crimes in Britain are considered to be influence of alcohol. Because alcohol acts on the brain as an anaesthetic, there is interference with normal brain activity, even though the drinker may not be aware of it. Under this condition, the best features of man are lost first, and his worst features brought out.
BREATH - OXYGEN
The origin of man according to the Bible (Genesis 2-7) is that the Lord God formed man and breathed in his nostrils the breath of life – and man became a living soul. The mentioned of nostrils suggests the intake of oxygen. Every cell in the body needs oxygen. The human brain uses about one fifth of the all oxygen needed by a person when he is at rest. If there is a lack of oxygen, the first organ to be seriously affected is the brain. When a person takes a drink of alcohol, the red cells
LIVER, HEART AND OTHER ORGANS
Alcohol, when taken orally, does not remain in the stomach, but is distributed to all parts of the body, and because it is a poison the body soon begins to eliminate it. Up to ten per cent is excreted through the urine, breath, saliva and sweat. The rest must be disposed of inside the body and is oxidized or burned. The liver has the major job of disposal, and to make this possible alcohol must be chemically broken down into suitable substances which the body can then eliminate in the normal way. Three pints of beer would need about six hours for disposal. When a person continues to drink, the liver becomes damaged and the cellular tissue of the liver is replaced by fibrous type tissue, this results in a condition known as cirrhosis.
Doctors report that they are seeing cirrhosis increasingly in a younger age group. In two studies conducted in Birmingham (UK) the proportion of alcohol cirrhosis rose from thirty – three per cent to fifty- one per cent of total cirrhosis in just ten years. A statement from the report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists is very enlightening on the subject of cirrhosis:
Emphasis must also be placed on the fact that, if the patient stops drinking, the liver disease will often cease to progress. There are few circumstances in which abstinence can be so life saving.
The ‘beer drinker`s heart’ is the name often given to a degeneration of heart muscle tissue- a condition caused by alcohol. The heart muscle, as a result, becomes weakened, the heart muscle cells fill with fluid and a fatty heart develops. All manner of vitamin deficiencies can result from heavy drinking, and such illnesses as renal failure, pancreatitis, anaemia, gout, and a host of other bodily ailments put the person at risk.
Diabetics know that alcohol can put their diabetes out of control, and creates difficulties in re-establishment and control of blood sugar levels.
ALCOHOL AND FOOD VALUE
Alcoholic drinks contain no significant amounts of protein or fat, and can therefore not make good the bodily requirements lost through wear and tear nor build tissue a new, so in that sense cannot be classed as food. Food, by definition, must build and restore cells and be store able as reserves against future use. A drug, by definition, is any substance which brings about a chemical change in the functioning organs of the body, and on the basis of this definition alcohol should be classed as a drug. It is true that since alcohol is oxidized in the body, thereby supplying energy and perhaps, to a very small extent, allowing the organism to save its fat and protein, it can be regarded as a ‘fuel’ food- but it toxic and tissue destroying properties by exceed its slight fuel.
ALCOHOLISM
Alcohol dependent persons are not born. They are made by the pattern of habits which they adopt and the forces which play upon them from their environment.
Frequent drinking can lead to a power habituation which is beyond the control of the person. There are those who sincerely believe that this could never happen to them. They believe that it is only people with several mental problems who become alcohol- dependant; people who have good character, education and health and general will power can they think, drink without danger.
This is not true.
Alcohol dependence strikes people in all walks of life. One in twelve people who drink will have an alcohol-dependence problem before their life terminates. The estimated number of alcoholics in Britain today is approximately 800,000, all of who at one time were social drinkers, believing that were others had a drinking problem it could never affect them.
A craving for alcohol is an early sign of dependence. The only one hundred per cent safe course by which this danger can be avoided is never to use alcohol.
HARM TO THE UNBORN
Medical experts have known for a long time that smoking in all forms by expectant mothers will affect and damage the foetus.The damaging effect of alcohol has not until recently been admitted. Now, researchers state positively that alcohol if taken during pregnancy, can definitely damage the unborn child. Dr. David Smith , professor of peadiatrics at the University of Washington, who was one of the first to identify the ‘ Foetal Alcohol Syndrome,’ says that one in very 350 to 500 infant is born with some type of mental or physical defect caused by the mother`s drinking pattern during pregnancy. More recently it has been claimed that alcohol can harm male sperm, so men expecting to father a child should consider their responsibility in the light of this danger.
CONCLUSION
Alcohol-dependence can be treated and sobriety can be maintained. Most alcohol- dependence persons can be rehabilitated so that they can live rewarding and productive lives, just so long as they abstain from all forms of alcohol. In some cases, where the illness has progressed to a very late stage, physical and brain damage is irreversible. However, in most instances, the social and psychological damage incurred may still be reserved with proper treatment, care and support.
Man is made up of four parts – physical, social, intellectual and moral spiritual- and the balanced man must needs pay equal attention to all four if he wishes to lead a normal happy life. Many there are who, while developing the social, physical and intellectual aspects of their life, pay little or no attention to the moral or spiritual. These, may be are those who need the enabling power of religious faith to carry them through- this is where the message of the Christian Gospel comes in.
Remember, there is no such thing as responsible drinking- only degrees of irresponsibility. So think before you drink.
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