Alcoholism Essay

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Recommended: Effects of alcohol on society and family

Brian Serein Period 5 4/08/14 U.S History Honors Alcoholism Throughout history people have drank alcohol as a means of wealth, just to pass the time, or as an escape from reality. In today’s modern world, people use alcohol as a means of having a good time or just love the taste of alcohol. For the individuals who love alcohol and drink a surplus amount of alcohol every week is considered an alcoholic, also known as alcoholism. Alcoholics are known to destroy their futures drinking liquor, so to prevent such cases Alcoholics Anonymous was created. Alcoholism is given many broad definitions, but the one thing that all the definitions have in common are that alcoholism is a disease and an addiction. Alcoholism is considered a disease that not only harms the alcoholic, but the family of the individual as well. The term alcoholism came around the mid-eighteenth century in Sweden. Alcoholism was used to depict someone in a condition of constant alcohol intoxication that was characterized by harsh bodily pathology and interruption of social functioning. Before alcoholism became a widely known term, other famous expressions were drunkard, intemperance, barrel fever, dipsomania, and a couple others. Alcoholism became a popular term and used in the American profession around the nineteenth century. First in American literature and then moved on to Medical Records and the Quarterly Journal of Inebriety (White 36). The organization of Alcoholics Anonymous happened to use the word alcoholism a lot which made the term even more popular, after the prohibition. The prohibition began in the 1720’s which stopped the manufacturing and distribution of all alcoholic beverages in the United States. This was known as the prohibition era and it wa... ... middle of paper ... ...hey pick up things such as drinking, smoking, stealing, and/or speaking (Haskins 36). Teenage alcoholism is a trending issue because more teens are drinking intoxicating liquor as a casual party drink because of it being a social custom and everyone becoming adjusted to gatherings that contain alcoholic beverages, they continue to drink alcohol. Since alcohol has become accepted amongst teenagers, they are in risk of becoming alcoholics because they may form a dependency from drinking too much. However, in the topic of teenagers, alcoholism is more common amongst college students because most of the student population usually drinks when they get to a university. College students have been known to be reckless and also be associated with alcohol abuse because of all the destruction they cause when they throw a party or have an event going on that contains alcohol.

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