1. Alcohol Abuse and the
Disease known as Alcoholism
By: Stacy
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2. • Before you can look for a solution to a
problem, I believe that you first must
understand as much as you possibly can about
a problem.
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3. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)Chart
(Pauza, 2009).
The BAC Chart takes into account such things as gender, weight, and physical
condition to help determine the amount of alcohol in a person’s system.
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4. Definitions of Alcoholism
and Alcohol Abuse
1. Alcoholism is known to be a chronic disease in which a person
and the person’s body are dependent on alcohol. Person suffering
from alcoholism will have a hard time keeping their drinking under
control be that person be a male or female. An alcoholic is unable to
control how much, how long , or when they will drink. Any person
suffering from alcoholism will continue to drink even if it is affecting
relationships with others in their lives or if its keeping them from
performing efficiently.
2. Alcohol abuse has many similarities to alcoholism, but the person
may not suffer from all of the symptoms that would be found in a
person suffering from alcoholism. One huge difference that helps
distinguish the two is that a person who suffers from alcohol abuse
does not depend on the use of alcohol (Mayo Clinic staff, 2012).
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5. Side Effects
• There are plenty of downsides to drinking, especially if a person becomes
dependent on alcohol. Here is a list of some of the resulting side effects of drinking.
1. Hangovers: A good way to explain a hang over would be some time after a session
of heavy drinking, the person who consumed the alcohol will be pain ranging from
stomach pain to head aches.
2. Weight gain: Even though many think that this is not an issue with drinking, but
alcohol is not empty calories. In fact a beer has around a 150 calories in it.
3. Depressed Immune system: when a person suffers from alcoholism or alcohol abuse
they are more likely to contract a viral illness if their immune system has been
impaired.
4. Cancer: This is another fact many people do not know about, that around 2-4% of
all cases of cancer are related back to alcohol. Cancer of the upper digestive tract is
the most common.
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6. More Side effects
5. Alcohol Poisoning: If a person goes about consuming a toxic amount of
alcohol, then that same alcohol will poison their body. When someone is
suffering from alcohol poising then they should be taken somewhere they
can receive immediate medical attention.
6. Liver Disease : After drinking heavily for a long period of tie throughout
someone's life can bring about fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer of
the liver.
7. Heart or Respiratory failure: I think the title of this ailment speaks for
itself.
Of course there are many more ailments that come from alcohol use be it short
term or long term use of it (UNC, n.d.). It would just take a lot more
slides.
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7. Withdrawals From Alcohol
• If a person is suffering from alcohol withdrawals then that person will go through
several stages of symptoms before their system would be clean from any substance.
 The first stage would be the tremulous stage. The person will exhibit uncontrollable
shakes throughout their body. This is often accompanied by restlessness and
anxiety.
 Seizures are usually the next stage of withdrawals from alcohol. It is known that
seizures can be brought on by drinking too much or drinking too fast, but they can
also be brought on by ceasing or reducing alcohol consumption after a prolonged
period of heavy drinking (Cunha & Dryden-Edwards, 2012).
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8. Withdrawals Continued
 The most likely next stage that often follow that of the first two stages is that the
person will suffer from hallucinations. Visual hallucinations being the most
common of a person withdrawing from alcohol use, but people suffering from
withdrawals have also been know to have auditory hallucinations can also occur.
 Yet probably the most dangerous of all the stages that come with withdrawals from
alcohol is called delirium tremens or the DT’s. “About 5% of people withdrawing
from alcohol experience DTs. This condition usually occurs within 72 hours after
drinking stops but can occur up to seven to 10 days later. The hallmark of this stage
is profound delirium (confusion). People are awake but thoroughly confused. This
is accompanied by agitation, delusions, sweating, hallucinations, rapid heart
rate, and high blood pressure” (Cunha & Dryden-Edwards, 2012).
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9. Alcoholic Anonymous
• Luckily for those suffering from these two illnesses, there are groups that are willing to help
anyone who really wants to get away from the grips of alcoholism. The biggest of these
groups and most wide spread presence would be Alcoholic Anonymous also known as A.A.
• A short history of the groups should be given so that more can be known about them then just
their name. Alcoholic Anonymous would get the igniting spark it needed to come into
existence in 1935 in Akron, Ohio from the meeting between Bill W. (who worked as a New
York Stockbroker) and Dr. Bob S. who was a surgeon in Akron. Both of them had been
alcoholics and before they met had prior involvement with the Oxford Group, which was a
non-alcoholic fellowship that emphasized universal spiritual values in daily living. They both
jumped into action by working at the Akron city hospital. A second group of alcoholics would
slowly take shape in New York and then a third would appear in Cleveland in 1939, and in
early 1939, the fellowship would publish its basic text book that laid down the twelve steps to
recovery that would become a stamp in the organization’s history. “By 1950, 100,000
recovered alcoholics could be found worldwide (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.,
2012).
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10. Alcoholic Anonymous Continued
• Corresponding with and lending help in whatever way they could for thousands of
groups about their problems became the number one occupation of the New York
headquarters. “By 1946, however, it had already become possible to draw sound
conclusions about the kinds of attitude, practice and function that would best suit
A.A.’s purpose. Those principles, which had emerged from strenuous group
experience, were codified by Bill in what are today the Twelve Traditions of
Alcoholics Anonymous. By 1950, the earlier chaos had largely disappeared. A
successful formula for A.A. unity and functioning had been achieved and put into
practice” (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2012).
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11. A.A. Requirements and Guidelines
• Alcoholic Anonymous unfortunately does have a list of set requirements that a
person must follow. One being that you must have the desire to want to quit be it
alcohol or any other addiction such as drugs. Another is that there are no dues to be
paid since the organization is funded through contributions. It should also be noted
that even though the name of the organization does specifically say Alcoholics
Anonymous the organization recognizes many other addictions including any kind
of narcotics. Bill W. a co-founder of Alcoholic anonymous commented on drug
addiction by saying “perhaps there is no suffering more horrible than drug
addiction, especially that kind which is produced by morphine, heroin, and other
narcotics. Such drugs twist the mind, and the awful process of withdrawal racks the
sufferer’s body, compared with the addict and his woes, we alcoholics are pikers”
(The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., n.d.).
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12. A.A. in the Media
• In the way of media A.A. has evolved with the times. They release plenty
of information on the net through the use of their website. They put out
commercials talking about alcohol and how they are willing to help.
• You can view these commercials through this link to their website
http://www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=42
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13. References
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Historical Data: The Birth of
A.A its growth in U.S./Canada.
www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=288. Last updated 2012. Retrieved February 14,2013.
Anonymous. Welcome to Alcoholics Anonymous.
videostreaming.com/aa/weknow-flv./index.php?lang=en. No date last updated. Retrieved February
14,2013.
Cunha, John P. & Dryden-Edwards, Roxanne. When to Seek Medical Care.
www.emedicinehealth.com/alcoholism/page4_em.htm. Last updated 2012. Retrieved February 14,2013.
Mayo Clinic Staff. Alcoholism. www.mayoclinic.com. Last updated on May 24, 2012. Retrieved February
14,2013.
Pauza, Jayia. Beer belly be gone.
www.examine.com/article/beer-belly-be-gone. Last updated June 20, 2009. Retrieved February
14,2013.
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. Problems other Than Alcohol.
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-35_ProotherThanAlcohol.pdf. No date last updated.
Retrieved February 14,2013.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On Your Health.
www.med.unc.edu./alcohol/prevention/health.html. No date
Last updated. Retrieved February 14,2013.
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