Problems due to alcoholism and its interventions

This blog sheds light on problems that happen due to the consumption of alcohol to self & family. It states that an alcoholic & his/her family members both become a victim of alcohol. The blog discusses models of alcoholism. The main themes written in this blog are about alcoholism, the process of alcoholism, models of alcoholism, negative effects of alcohol on body, consumption of alcohol in India. Some interventions like motivational enhancement therapy, CBT, behavioural techniques & other techniques like residential treatment, group therapy, relaxation techniques & family therapy.

Alcohol: -

Before we understand alcoholism it’s important to know about alcohol. The word alcohol comes from the Arabic word “Al Kohl” which means “an essence” Alcohol is an important ingredient in all alcoholic beverages. Scientifically it’s known as ethyl alcohol. It’s clear tasteless liquid formed by fermenting sugars by yeast spores. It’s a drug & just like other drugs it has an effect on a person’s body & mind & it’s potentially addictive.

The quantity of alcohol produced depends on the quantity of sugar in the original mixture, the type of yeast used, the temperature maintained during the fermentation process, etc. The final product is made by fermenting plant products or fruits or cereals or grains with alcohol. It then becomes hard liquor the hard liquor is then distilled. It has empty calories & hardly any nutrition.

Having alcoholic beverages for their enjoyable effects has been a custom for thousands of years. Alcohol continues to be a popular drug as it isn’t considered a taboo amongst majority of the people. Alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug in India & world because it’s easily available & government generates good revenue from taxes & import duty. It’s also promoted in many countries directly or indirectly.

Alcoholism: -

Alcoholism generally refers to drinking alcohol to such a level that major aspects of a person’s life get seriously & repeatedly affected negatively. An alcoholic may be unable to have a healthy relation with his family members; friends, he/she may not be able to perform at his/her optimum level at his/her job, college, education, etc. An alcoholic may not drink alcohol each day. He/she may drink abusively during some problematic or crisis like situation or during some parties or for fun & may lose self control.

It’s difficult to categorise alcoholism as some may drink alcohol everyday but may have a normal life & some may not drink alcohol everyday but if their life is adversely affected due to the consumption of alcohol then they can be termed as people suffering from alcoholism. To understand the intensity of alcoholism, how well a person can abstain from alcohol for an extended time, & the effects of drinking on that person’s family, friends, work & health may indicate the extent of alcoholism.

How alcoholism progresses: -

Alcohol if taken in small quantity acts like a mild intoxicant or mind stimulant. It relaxes a drinker’s mind & a person consuming it feels pleasant. Worries if present fade. Alcohol enhances good mood & changes bad mood. It allows a drinker to feel quite pleasant. If a person’s drinking progresses gradually the body requires more alcohol to reach the same positive effect. This makes the person increase his/her alcohol intake.

The progression is divided into 4 phases: -

1.   The social drinker: -

Social drinkers have few problems with alcohol consumption. A social drinker can take alcohol & leave. He/she can control his/her alcohol intake. They don’t get intoxicated. In parties & socialisation they aren’t preoccupied with alcohol consumption thoughts, whereas factors like enjoying the ambiance, meeting or socialising with friends, relishing food, making new friends, etc may interest them more.

2.   The early stage: -

In this stage a person starts experiencing problems with drinking. He/she may remain preoccupied with drinking in parties rather than focussing on other aspects of a party. He/she may only thing of filling his/her stomach with alcohol & there may not be enough space for meals. At this stage a person isn’t able to control his body after drinking, blackouts may happen. Problems like absenteeism may happen, work performance may decrease, ability to concentrate can also decrease, he/she may become angry or irritated soon. Ability to tolerate certain issues or conflicts may also decrease. Family & friends may start expressing concerns.

3.   Middle stage: -

Life becomes highly unmanageable for those who enter this stage. A person’s body craves for alcohol daily. Whenever the person has a problem or feels low or depressed or angry, he/she may consume alcohol. He may feel a celebration or party is incomplete without consuming alcohol thus may expect alcohol to be served in every celebration or party. He may even start his day with alcohol. He may suffer problems in his studies or job.  His/her relationship with his family members & friends may get affected. His health may begin to deteriorate.

4.   Late Stage: -

At this stage life becomes completely unmanageable. Medical complications may be numerous which includes diseases associated with alcohol like cirrhosis or liver or hepatitis, acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), high blood pressure, bleeding of the esophageal lining, anaemia, memory loss (Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome), brain damage, etc. Psychological problems like insomnia, depression, hallucinations, schizophrenia, etc are also prevalent.

Models of alcoholism: -

There are two models of alcoholism. 1 is the disease model & other is habit model. According to disease model alcoholism is a disease. This model is supported by AA community & treatment programmes. In their opinion alcoholism is abnormal, mental & behavioural condition. They believe that a person can’t control his/her dinking as his/her body craves for alcohol. Alcohol impairs the senses & thus a person is unable to control himself/herself from drinking. They also state that this disease is uncontrollable by an alcoholic, an alcoholic keeps craving for alcohol & compulsion rules the life of an alcoholic. Despite understanding the destruction alcohol does to body people are unable to abstain from it. The body keeps demanding alcohol. Without alcohol an alcoholic’s body isn’t able to function properly. Alcoholics are unable to control their urge to have alcohol. Some minor forms of this disease is solitary drinking, making excuses to drink, episodes of violence under the influence of alcohol, unexplained mood swings, neglecting health, etc. Thus alcoholism is called a disease which is progressive & fatal. As per (Encyclopedia Britannica 210) also Alcoholism is a "physiological or physiological dependence on alcohol characterized by the alcoholic’s inability to control the start or termination of his drinking." This model also states that once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. Even if an alcoholic stops drinking alcohol he/she will be called as recovering alcoholic & never cured of the disease. Unlike most of the diseases this disease isn’t contagious. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) state that Alcohol Dependence & Alcohol Abuse are mental disorders & about 8% of the adult population suffers from Alcohol Dependence & five percent from Alcohol Abuse. It also states that the risk for Alcohol Dependence is 3 to 4 times higher in close relative of people with Alcohol dependence.

According to habit model alcoholism is a learned behaviour more than a habit. It’s a person’s choice or any automatic or dysfunctional coping strategy. The habit model views an alcoholic’s control over their drinking as impaired rather totally lost.

Type of people who are prone to consumption of alcohol: -

People who think that they are inferior to others, people with low self esteem, people with issues related to mood swings, or who get angry or hyper very soon, people who aren’t flexible, people with perfectionist attitude who tend to demand perfection in themselves & in others, people who feel low very soon & get depressed easily, very sensitive people, people born in a family where most of the family members drink (genetic or heredity factors), etc are more prone to get into alcohol addiction. Some people also have an idea that alcohol elevates one to a higher social status hence they drink.

Alcoholism & personality: -

Alcoholics are more prone to suffer from problems like anxiety, anger, depression, stress, etc at some point of life than people who don’t consume alcohol. When an alcoholic is depressed or stressed he/she would prefer to drink alcohol but alcoholics don’t know that alcohol doesn’t lessen depression or stress it just masks it for a short time by decreasing a person’s consciousness & thought processing.

Larger doses of alcohol can make a person even more depressed or stressed. At times alcoholism leads to withdrawal, low self-esteem, & an overall unwillingness to be part of society. Alcoholics may blow minor problems out of proportion while major problems are often faced with anger, resentment, & physical violence because of this their relationship with their family members & friends remains affected.

Heavy drinker’s memory also gets affected as alcohol interferes in a person’s remembering or learning process. It happens because alcohol interferes with the synthesis of proteins in the neurons of the brain. The proteins are needed to encode new information. As alcohol destroys these proteins, encoding new information, everyday decisions, & learning new things, remembering phone numbers, important occasions like birthdays, anniversaries become difficult for an alcoholic. Alcohol also affects the sensory organs of a person hence his/her tolerance capacity decreases. Thus some alcoholics become unable to tolerate bright lights & loud music & such environment disorients them.

Alcohol also affects quality of sleep. Alcoholics experience sleeping problems. Some alcoholics are unable to sleep without consuming alcohol. In some extreme cases alcoholics develop patterns of sleepwalking. Alcohol reduces the amount of REM sleep which is the time that an individual is most prone to awaken. This causes the alcoholic to wake in the middle of the night & doesn’t allow an individual to fall asleep once awaken.

Overall, there are a wide range of effects alcoholism has on a person’s personality. They range from anger, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, learning, recollecting, etc. Personality defines an individual’s character. These personality problems that alcohol causes can hamper an alcoholic’s relationship with his/her family members, friends. It also effects his/her profession, self-esteem, etc. In extreme cases an alcoholic becomes a monster to his/her family members, children, relatives, friends, etc. Thus an alcoholic’s self esteem diminishes, friends may disappear, he/she may lose his/her job, etc.

Alcoholism & youngsters: -

Young adolescents are also more prone to alcoholism as at an young age they have limited knowledge about the severe consequences of alcohol & just want to follow what they see in movies or because of peer pressure. Some youngsters do feel high when they drink. Some drink as their friends drink, as they feel awkward being a white sheep amongst all black sheep. Many also drink as it makes them feel better & it even relaxes in low quantity. They believe that in order to have a good time or something recreational they should drink. They feel more alive & more outgoing. Gradually they feel incomplete without drinking & body starts demanding more alcohol.

Youngsters are also prone to binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as 5 or more drinks in a row for men & 4 or more drinks in a row for women during a two week period (Wechsler 1995). Binge drinking gets accepted gradually by many youngsters as they aren’t aware about its severe future consequences.

How alcohol reaches brain: -

Our body has a blood brain barrier to prevent any harmful or toxic substance from reaching the brain. But still alcohol reaches the brain. When alcohol enters body within 20 minutes 20% of alcohol is absorbed in the blood stream. The rest remains in stomach where it stimulates the secretion of gastric juices. From the stomach the alcohol passes into the small intestine. Then it’s absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. From the bloodstream, about 5% of alcohol leaves the body unchanged through urine, sweat, or exhaled breath.  Then the alcohol travels via the bloodstream to the heart. As alcohol reaches heart, heart rate changes. The heart then pumps alcohol to other parts of the body including the brain.

Effects of alcohol on body: -

Alcohol acts as a sedative & anaesthetic. It reduces nerve transmission & impulses to the central nervous system thus alcohol is also a central nervous system depressant. It depresses mental, motor & vital functions such as pulse rate, respiration & blood pressure. It dulls the senses especially vision & hearing. If the level of alcohol rises then a person may get inability to concentrate, delirium, tremors. Large amount of alcohol if taken in an empty stomach can irritate the gastric lining & cause stomach to get inflamed.

Many health problems are associated by prolong intake of alcohol. Alcohol can cause physical & mental illness both one you can acquire problems that include stomach problems, digestive problems, headaches, kidney problems, liver disease, problems with nervous system & trouble with immune system. Mental illness can include depression, anger, irritability, lack of concentration, & low self-esteem. Cirrhosis is probably the most widely recognized medical complication of chronic alcoholism.

As alcohol affects the digestive system the digestive system decreases its efficiency to absorb vitamins from food that an alcoholic eats.

Many studies show that there is a link between suicidal thoughts & alcoholism. Depressed alcoholics are more prone to commit suicide.

Chronic alcohol consumption can damage the frontal lobes of the brain, reduce the brain’s size & increase the size of the ventricles. Alcohol gradually kills the brain cells because of this a person’s judgement & perception becomes poor. The dying of brain cells can make a person suffer from short term memory loss. If the damage isn’t controlled then an alcoholic can suffer from more severe problems like “wet brain.” In wet brain condition the brain hardly functions. It is like a pre-vegetative state. In this state an alcoholic can no longer put coherent sentences together or even function his/her bowels or bladder normally without the assistance of medicines.

Unfortunately consumption of alcohol is increasing. Society has become too naive to understand its negative effects on body such as unstable mental & physical health, alternation of judgement, changes in hormones, problems in relationship, etc.

With men who start drinking at a young age their reproductive system gets affected during their mid-life. Studies have shown that alcohol can significantly decrease the amount of male hormone, testosterone. Not only does the hormonal level go down but it also decreases its function & size. In both men & women, alcohol increases the yearning for sex but decreases both genders sexual performances. As the couple may not be satisfied with their physical relationship they may again turn to alcohol to decrease their frustration & this cycle continues.

With women who drink alcohol to relieve stress or tension are unable to control their drinking during pregnancy as during pregnancy they are more stressed & tensed. This can affect the child in their womb. One of the problems pregnant women who drink may suffer from is FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome).  Children born with FAS may have distinct facial features. FAS infants also are markedly smaller than average. Their brains may have less volume (i.e., microencephaly). They may have fewer numbers of brain cells (i.e., neurons) or fewer neurons that are able to function correctly, leading to long–term problems in learning & behaviour.  In severe cases the unborn child may die in his/her pregnant mother’s womb.

Alcoholism & family: -

An alcoholic isn’t an only sufferer. Alcoholism also leads to many serious problems for the people surrounding him/her. An alcoholic not only ruins his/her life but also ruins the life of his/her family members. It’s important to understand that both alcoholic & his/her family members become the victims of alcohol. For a family to run smoothly each person in the family has to perform his/her role in a predictable manner & according to the expectations of others in the family. If an alcoholic is present in a family & if he/she isn’t able to perform his/her role then someone else has to perform his/her role & responsibility. Initially the other family members may not have any problem but gradually the other family members will perform their roles & alcoholic’s roles with less enthusiasm. The alcoholic may become a burden to his/her family members. This affects the smooth running of the family. It affects the family’s organisation & its repercussions are felt not only to the family but also to the extended family members. This can cause a family crisis also.

Alcoholic’s denial problem: -

Generally alcoholics are unable to understand the problem happening due to them in the family. As they don’t understand the problem happening due to them they are unable to accept that alcoholism is the cause of the problem. This increases arguments, conflicts, tension in family & there is no happiness & peace.

After a point family members become concerned about their reputation in the society, & hide the social visibility of the alcoholic. They also decrease their socialisation with others in the society. Alcoholics also prefer to isolate themselves from socialising with their extended family members & even at times when an alcoholic socialise some arguments or issues happen. It affects the understanding of alcoholic & family members. In worst cases alcoholism can tear apart a family. A wife may sometimes threaten to leave her alcoholic husband. She may do that after realising her husband’s inadequacy as a husband, father, brother & as a person. It starts with communication problems then family members start hating the alcoholic.

Children are the biggest losers in this situation as they don’t know what to do. They are informed by other family members that their father is an alcoholic & they are asked to not show him any affection & respect. Children are unable to accept it initially as they have some affection to their father but gradually they don’t show any affection, care & love to their father. These children have a tough time during childhood & as they get to see complications in their family when they grow up some of them are unable to have good relationship with their spouse. In cases where both father & mother drink & are unable to control their life then their child/children suffers a lot. In cases of nuclear family child may have tremendous problems related to self-esteem, identity as he/she may not get proper affection, care & love from his/her parents as both drink. Because of this they may go through emotional, physical & psychological pain due to parental abuse of alcohol.

Financial problems: -

An alcoholic may spend his/her earnings on alcohol & may forget his responsibilities because of this the entire family may suffer. In some families children may not be able to pay their school or tuition fees in time, sometimes they may have shortage of meals, etc. Due to heavy drinking if an alcoholic becomes ill then family has to arrange money for his treatment. Thus an alcoholic spends money to deteriorate his health by drinking alcohol & has to spend money again to regain health that he/she deteriorated earlier. Financial problems happening in family due to alcohol can cause further psychological problems like tremendous tension, depression, etc. Thus alcoholism can ruin an entire family.

Society’s thoughts on alcoholics: -

Society blames alcoholics for their downfall & setbacks that alcoholics experience in their life. Society thinks that alcoholic took this decision of living a life of dependency on their own & nobody forced them. Most of the people don’t know that alcoholism is a disease. Most of the society people may not have sympathy for an alcoholic & they believe that alcoholics are the pollutants that harm communities & if not controlled could cause problems in the future. Some people may ask their children to stay away from those children whose father or parents drink alcohol.

Places of help for alcoholics: -

Alcohol rehabilitation centres, general psychiatric services, hospitals, psychiatric clinics, public-welfare departments, medical detoxification agencies, & social agencies are some of the places an alcoholic can get help (Plaut 1967).

Alcohol consumption in India: -

India is the second most populated country. Many people living in urban India have no qualms in drinking. Alcohol is no longer considered a taboo amongst urban people. This has attracted the attention of multinational liquor brands. They want to do business in India as India is a populated country & many people in urban India are very wealthy. Thus the market of liquor in India is growing 6% to 8% per year. This is helping Government generate more revenue. Although Indian Government’s revenue is growing but this growth also has unknown drawbacks. Cost of absenteeism, health care & reduced income levels related to heavy alcohol use are higher than the revenue Indian Government generates. These costs were estimated to be 60% more than the revenue generated in a study from Karnataka (NIMHANS 2000). The study also revealed that 20% absenteeism & 40% accidents at work place are related to alcohol. Annual loss due to alcohol was estimated to be Rs.70,000 to 80,000 million.

The other problem India is experiencing is shortage of agricultural land. Indian population is growing but land isn’t growing. Thus there is a shortage of land. The profit alcohol generates is higher than other cereals, fruits grains & vegetables agricultural land is used to grow those fruits, grains & cereals that are used to make alcohol. Because of this quantity of eatable cereals, fruits & grains has decreased as those cereals, fruits & grains are used to produce alcohol. The production of these items are less & demand is more thus its price rises. Thus poor man suffers as he can’t afford to buy cereals, fruits & grains. Without proper nutrition they are prone to suffer from health problems. Thus Government for the sake of generating revenue allows alcohol industry to grow that hardly has any nutritional value & overlooks factors like nutrition & wellbeing of the poor.

Interventions: -

Most important intervention for alcoholism is detoxification. Hence a person should be admitted to a detoxification centre for cleaning his body.

Further treatment requires counselling.

Some counselling interventions techniques are: -

Motivational enhancement therapy: -

In case of alcoholism, usually there are clients who aren’t motivated to quit alcohol for their own good. Use of motivational enhancement therapy can be helpful to enhance the intrinsic motivation in the client. In this therapy, the patient sets his or her own goals regarding substance use, & the therapist points out discrepancies between the user’s stated personal goals & his/her current behaviour. The therapist then elicits the user’s desire to meet the goals, overriding the rewarding effects of drug use. Therapists using motivational enhancement therapy don’t dispense advice or seek to increase any specific skills; rather, they focus on increasing the motivation to change drug use, discussing both positive & negative aspects of drug use, reasons to quit & how change might begin. Like all other therapeutic interventions, this one also requires a great deal of positive client-therapist relationship.

The application of the motivational enhancement therapy is to be done based on the stages of the change model (developed by: Prochaska & Diclemente) which says that people will progress through a series of five stages in deciding & acting upon a plan to change a particular behaviour. These stages include: (i) Pre-contemplation, (ii) Contemplation, (iii) Preparation, (iv) Action, & (v) Maintenance, each characterised by the balance between the benefits/losses of maintaining current behaviour versus the benefits/losses of changing that behaviour.

Cognitive behavioural therapy: -

Alcoholism is a disorder in which both beliefs & physiology are involved & hence application of cognitive therapy can be helpful to change those distortions & then it can be applied in synch with behavioural techniques to modify the physiological aspects.

In terms of CBT for alcoholism, there are chances of relief oriented beliefs or permissive beliefs such as “I can use alcohol...I won’t get addicted.”  To change the belief system of drug abusers, Beck et al. (1993) suggest six methods:

1. Assessing beliefs

2. Orienting the patient to the cognitive therapy model

3. Examining & testing addictive beliefs

4. Developing control beliefs

5. Practicing activation of these new beliefs

6. Assigning homework

Assessment of such beliefs comes from questions such as “How do you explain?” & “What are you thinking about?” Use of Socratic questioning is also helpful.

 To further assess beliefs, Beck & his colleagues developed substance-related questionnaires, such as the Craving Beliefs Questionnaire, Beliefs about Substance Abuse, & Automatic Thoughts about Substance Abuse.

After a thorough assessment of beliefs, the patient can then be oriented to the specific cognitive model of addiction.

Use of Behavioural techniques: -

Behavioural theories explain a lot about alcoholism: -

1. Observational learning of alcohol use: - It promotes expectations about experiences from such use & promotes such use as a coping strategy.

2. Operant conditioning, it includes the following: -

A. Positive reinforcement: - It leads to positive expectations of depressant use & to reward craving.

B. Negative reinforcement: - It can lead to relief craving & to depressant use becoming a chronic coping strategy; &

3. Classical conditioning: - Whereby drug cues elicit cravings.

Hence application of some behavioural techniques can be useful.

1. Use of aversive Conditioning: - In alcoholism use of aversive conditioning is used extensively & there are drugs producing aversive effects called as “Antabuse” e.g. “Disulfram”. It causes violent nausea & vomiting when it is mixed with alcohol. When an alcoholic takes it & then drinks alcohol, the resulting nausea & vomiting leads to negative conditioning towards drinking alcohol.

2. Shaping: - In shaping the therapist shapes an alcoholic’s behaviour, reinforcement, extinction, generalization, & discrimination are involved. In shaping, there is a gradual movement from the original behaviour to the desired behaviour by reinforcing approximations of the desired behaviour.

3. Self-efficacy: - As most of the alcoholics self-efficacy is low & hence the therapists can work over it by using the four major aspects such as performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, & lowering emotional arousal.

While applying behavioural techniques there is also a scope of utilising the areas of interest of the client like he mentioned that he likes & enjoys singing a lot.

Other techniques: -

Residential treatment: -

Some people who seek treatment for substance abuse may need more intensive help, such as the assistance that can be found in residential treatment, which provides a round-the-clock therapeutic environment. Because it is so intensive, residential treatment can help an individual more rapidly change how he or she thinks, feels, & behaves.

Group therapy: -

CBT may be used in a group format to help those with substance abuse. The group provides peer pressure & support for abstinence.

Moreover, members may use role-playing to try out new skills, such as saying “no” to friends who offer drugs. Other types of groups include social-skills training groups, where members learn ways to communicate their feelings & desires more effectively, & general support groups to decrease shame & isolation as members change their substance abuse patterns.

Relaxation techniques: - 

Since alcoholism causes various withdrawal symptoms &/or craving in the client, use of relaxation techniques such as breathing & stretching exercises might also be very helpful. Also it requires impulse control & delay of gratification & hence indigenous techniques like yoga & meditation can also be very helpful.

Family therapy: -

To the extent that family interactions lead to or help sustain substance abuse, changing family patterns of interaction can modify these factors.

The goals of this type of therapy are tailored to the specific problems & needs of each family, but such therapy typically addresses issues related to communication, control & power.

Burroughs in his novel has mentioned that attending group meetings in rehabilitation centres, listening to problems of others alcoholics helps. The meetings helps in alcoholics develop a mutual trust for each other. They get a positive feeling as other people listen to them & understand what they all went through. They also get empathy from others. Many alcoholics think that only an alcoholic can understand them & they feel nice when they get to speak with other alcoholics hence rehabilitation centres can come up with techniques that allows healthy interaction between alcoholics. Thus support groups like alcoholic anonymous, smart recovery & rational recovery are beneficial.

Programs that offer this kind of help thus needs to be advertised to those that need the help & don't know where to turn for it. Other therapies like Aversive conditioning, hypnotherapy, group psychodrama, lysergide, therapy are beneficial.

Role of counsellors: -

A counsellor should understand that the impact of alcoholism not only has on a person who consumes alcohol but also on his family members, extended family members, future generations & society. Counsellors can start public educational programmes where they can shed light on the negative effects of alcohol, alcohol dependency, etc. Counsellors can help in making social networks between recovering addicts with other recovering addicts.

Conclusion: -

Alcohol has been consumed in India since many decades but the quantity of consumption & problems associated have increased in recent years. The person who drinks isn’t the only person who suffers but also his family members & poor people suffer due to rise in price of cereals, fruits & grains.

Alcoholism is a serious dependency issue that society has to become aware of in order to solve the problem.

Just like we care people who suffer from certain diseases people suffering from alcoholism should also be cared as it is also a disease. Ignoring or excluding the alcoholics only happens by family members & society as they don’t know better ways to deal with them.

Even though drinking alcohol is a popular social activity the world needs to realise the dangerous affects that alcohol has on their body, emotions & mental health. Unstable mental conditions, alteration of judgment, perception, hormonal changes & sexual performance problems, are some of the problems due to the consumption of alcohol.

The society has to understand that there is no other way to look at alcoholism as the number of negative effects is very high & there are hardly any positive effects. If the consumption of alcohol continues to increase, the human population’s health & happiness will continue to plummet.

References: -

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