Alcohol – Term Paper

Alcohol consumption; A Personal Trouble as a Public Issue

Alcohol consumption is a personal problem that can have adverse economic and social effects on the individual drinker, the drinker’s immediate surroundings and the community as a whole (Bennett, Trevor, and Katy 25). The drugs negative effects on the along the sociological concepts and pillars such as culture, interaction, gender, socialization, race, class and global justify its consumption as a personal and a public issue. Over time, small intake of alcohol has been portrayed by international genetics what is called the Mendelian randomization study to have assuming cardiovascular benefits such as significantly reduced the risk of coronary diseases (Gifford et al. 24). Alcohol consumption is highly linked to many detrimental consequences such as interpersonal violence is considered public, workplace related problems, family, and domestic issues, social consequences of a traffic accident. In the recent, there has been growing interest in evaluating and analyzing adverse consequences not only as a personal issue but also as a public issue due to the third parties that fall into the mess such as the passengers involving in traffic casualties, the family members, and the society. 

First and foremost, alcohol consumption has a significant bearing to the adverse health effects to the drinker and the surrounding. In addition to the negative socio-economic consequences, that alcohol intake brings to the drinker and the society health consequences are predominant and severe. Many health professional agree to the fact that alcohol has a harmful effect on every organ in the human body. Among, the disease affect people, alcohol-linked and associated with more than sixty disease conditions in series meta-analyses of recent past. Notably, the correlation between drinking and its consequences depends on two primary dimensions of alcohol consumption. These mediations include the mediation mechanism, which includes intoxication, biochemical effects, and addictive effects as well as the pattern of drinking and average consumption. In a more elaborate manner, the direct biochemical effects of alcohol, for instance, may in a harmful way or a helpful manner. Beneficial to mean that in the case of a direct biochemical effect may influence chronic disease such as protection against blood clot formation in heart blood vessels hence protect the body from contracting coronary heart disease. Conversely, harmful way n the sense that by the introduction of acinar cells that are responsible for the pancreatic damage.  

Alcohol consumption essay

Primarily, intoxication is now one of the adverse dimension of alcohol consumption that mainly mediates for cute outcomes such as deaths or intentional injuries, accidents, domestic conflict and violence as some of the consequences under this category. As one could expect, alcohol dependence is a strong mechanism of sustaining alcohol consumption and caucusing unable to do away with alcohol (Bennett, Trevor, and Katy 18). The addiction perpetuates the impaction of both acute and chronic effects of alcohol. In addition, the average and the amount of alcohol intake have been in the past has been linked to the duration the drug takes before its long term effect such as death is felt in the society. In a country, in a case where alcohol is consumed in between meals the per capita consumption is low as opposed to a scenario where the majority in a country with a large intake of pure alcohol. 

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Remarkably, because of the above health problems the victim and the victim family member and society undergo a lot of mental, physical, and emotional suffering. Emotionally, in the case of the death of a drug user then suffers the loss of his or her life while the rest of the community members plus the family of the bereaved mourn in gross pain and agony of losing their loved one. Since alcohol is a drug upon consumption, it alters one body function and thoughts. In most cases, the victims become defiant and violent and in involve in the destruction of their property as well as that of the family members, which always culminate into domestic violence. The impunity of the drug user in the destruction of property may persist and broaden to the extent of causing inter-clan clash because of misbehavior from one individual from a given clan. Additionally, large intake of alcohol also culminates into gender-based violence and disparity (Larson, Calvin, and Gerald 16). As one could expect, majority men drink than women not only in large numbers but also in a significant amount. As a result, men assume their role and forget their roles due to the influence of alcohol both as fathers and as husbands in their families, this has amounted to serious domestic problems especially in third world countries with women claiming that their husbands are not husbands anymore. 

Negative effects of alcohol

Alcohol consumption also perpetuates yet another macro element of social analysis, and this is class. Alcohol consumption concerning price and the content of individual brands sets precedence to the high class who because of their wealth can purchase expensive brands. Inferably, the above statement means alcohol consumption divides people into different social classes based on the size of brands they can afford. There are some unique types of alcohol mainly speculated for the able for the wealthy, these kind of drinks are safe and highly purified to remove every form or traces of any toxic substances. Conversely, the low-quality alcohols have contributed a great deal to increasing the rate of mortality and morbidity in various countries of the world. The reason being many of the low-quality alcohols have not undergone thorough distillation and processing hence has some impending traces of impending toxic substances that cause illness to low class people. 

In the context of micro levels of analysis, alcoholism has contributed to the erosion of multiple of cultural rituals believes and customs. Furthermore, alcoholism also the socialization of the drinker as well as immediate surrounding as well as the individual interaction with people. The manifestation of the thwarting of these elements of social is well demonstrated in the following statements.  

Recent researchers posit that numerous cases of violent crime and handgun annually related to and or alcohol as well as the numerous murder cases in the American society. Alongside with these criminal activities other anti-social such as rape is also perpetuated by the personal trouble of drinking alcohol, where valid scientific reports show and asserts that more than a half of the reported rapist in the American society are usually drug addicts especially alcohol (Ruth, Henry and Kevin 28). The existence of the above-discussed criminal activities always disturbs the peace of any given society. Moreover, the activities cause bad blood and hatred towards one another in the society, and this means eradication of strong pillars of community cohesion, and that is socialization and interaction. 

Alcohol consumption also propagates anti-social activities such as child abuse most especially from the mother’s side right before birth and after. Alcohol intake during pregnancy has perilous outcomes to the life of the unborn, which include conditions such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), congenital anomalies and other acute conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome. The effects of alcohol on the life of the children not only involve contraction of diseases but can also be termination of the fetus life via the teratogenic lethal effects of alcohol such as a spontaneous abortion, fetal damage, intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity and low birth weight. Additionally, the child abuse phenomena now on the side of fathers who are drunkards is even ten times more that of the mothers. Frequent domestic violence is experienced in families where fathers are drunkards. In most cases, the violence is always intense to the point of divorce between the parents living the children homeless. 

Numerous mental illnesses are closely associated or linked to the alcohol dependence or addiction, both in the general population and clinical (Hanson et al 51). This condition of mental illness as a result of heavy alcohol intake is mainly because of the severe depression the victims goes through. The mentally challenged persons are known to be violent and less productive in the society.  Therefore, mental illness also causes both physical and biological injuries to the victim as well as t the people of immediate surroundings. As if that is not enough, these addicts are also economic less productive. The majority of heavy intake drunkards are jobless, low class and less educated. 

Additionally, alcoholism is one of the major contributor and perpetrators of the spread of pandemic diseases such as AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Careless men and women engage in unprotected sex while drunk and are infected. Furthermore, the parents transmit to their children especially mothers during delivery. Newborns acquire AIDS at a faster rate than gays or IV drug users. 30-40% of children born to infected women are infected (Larson, Calvin, and Gerald 46). 

In conclusion, the adverse effects of alcohol consumption are more than its merits in the society. The society always faces challenges and consequences of alcohol consumption at the expense of an individual or a group of people. Alcoholism may be perceived to be a personal problem, but its implications make the act seize to be a personal issue but public issue too, since its consequences not only affect the individual drinker as discussed above but also the public. Therefore, alcoholism can be termed anti-social act since its implication are negative of the various sociological elements of analyses both the micro and macro levels. 

Works Cited

Bennett, Trevor, and Katy Holloway. Understanding Drugs, Alcohol, and Crime. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2005. Internet resource.

Gifford, Maria. Alcoholism. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print.

Hanson, Glen, Peter J. Venturelli, and Annette E. Fleckenstein. Drugs and Society. , 2015. Internet resource. 

Larson, Calvin J, and Gerald R. Garrett. Crime, Justice, and Society. Walnut Creek, Calif. [u.a.: Alta Mira [u.a., 2003. Print. 

Ruth, Henry S, and Kevin R. Reitz. The Challenge of Crime: Rethinking Our Response. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2003. Print.