Alcoholism In The 21st Century

1698 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Abstract the impact of alcoholism

Alcoholism in the 21st Century
The dictionary describes alcoholism as continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks. However, this disease is much more complex. Alcohol abuse is a growing problem in the United States today, causing more and more deaths each year. It affects nearly everyone in the U.S. today, either directly or indirectly. Over half of Americans have at least one close relative that has a drinking problem. About 20 million people in the United States abuse alcohol. It is the third leading cause of preventable deaths, and about 100,000 people die each year from alcohol related incidents (Peacock 11).
Alcohol is not a new invention of modern societies. It has been around through many different ancient cultures, wine being the most prominent substance. Some cultures viewed alcohol consumption as good, while others perceived it good only in moderation. For example, the Greek god Bacchus was known for his excessive drinking while the Roman god Dionysus was known for teaching moderation in drinking (Peacock 20-21).
Alcoholism was also learned to have existed in history. Interpreted writings on the tomb of an Egyptian king who lived over 5,000 years ago read, “His earthly abode was rent and shattered by wine and beer. And the spirit escaped before it was called for.” This shows that he died from alcohol related causes. However, most cultures began to limit alcohol use when they learned how to efficiently produce the beverage. Babylonian king Hammurabi and Chinese emperor Chung K’iang executed violators of their laws concerning alcohol (Peacock 20). Even in the Bible, refrain from alcohol is stressed. “…Nor drunkards… will inherit the kingdom of God” (Alcohol and the Bible). The United States was not immune to strict laws opposing alcohol. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed, limiting alcohol use. This period lasted for 14 years and became known as the Prohibition (Peacock 28).
Ancient and modern literatures show that alcohol has been around longer than most people think. For example, in the ancient epic of Giglamesh, written 4,000 years ago, one character was the goddess of wine and brewing, Siduri (World literature 136, 139). The Chinese poet Tu Fu wrote about celebrating an old friend’s retirement with wine in his...

... middle of paper ...

...rch on causes and treatment has increased substantially. There are many new and traditional treatment methods being tested to treat alcoholism. Looking toward the future, there is hope for a successful treatment of alcoholism, and prevention in generations to come.

Works Cited
Alcohol and the Bible: New Expanded Version. 29 April 2001.
<http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/8255/alcohol2pfv.html>.
Botsford, Christy. National Children of Alcoholics Week. 29
April 2001. <http://www.health.org/newsroom/rep/157.htm>
Clinton Signs Bill to Lower Drunken Driving Standards. Dallas Morning News. SIRS. 23
October 2000.
Peacock, Nancy. Drowning our Sorrows, Psychological Effects of
Alcohol Abuse. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001.
Selected Poetry of Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849). 29 April 2001.
<http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/authors/poe.html>
Williams, Steven. “America’s Drinking Problem.” Teen People. March 2000: 100-105.
World Literature Third Edition. United States: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2001.

Show More
Related

  • Description of Beer in History of the Worlds in Six Glasses by Tom Standage

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every culture has a different way of thinking. They believe different thing, they do different things. When it comes to alcohol now and back then people still have unlikely similarities, different attitudes to drunkenness. Mesopotamians did not mind getting drunk and having a good time, it showed they were humans. Egypt disapproved in drinking and getting unprofessional, they focused on more important things. Greeks were right in between; they didn’t want to get to out of hand but also wanted to drink. Finally in Rome only the rich could afford alcohol and were the only ones to drink. Religion takes a big part in drinking alcoholic beverages due that most cultures believe that’s how beer and wine first started. They also have different rituals they do to worship their gods with wine and beer.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Digestive System

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The digestive system, in organisms like the mink and human, is supposed to break down the food being eaten to transfer into energy. This energy helps other functions of the body that would in turn keep it alive. The digestive system includes organs such as the stomach, intestines, liver, etc. Digestion starts at the mouth, though.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Digestive System

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    The digestive system is a group of organs that works together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients that will feed the entire body. The digestive system breaks down food so nutrients can be absorbed by the body. The digestive system has three main functions. First, it ingests food then breaks it down so nutrients can be absorbed and it also eliminates what cannot be digested.

    Read More

  • The Digestive System: A Description Of The Digestive System

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is a combination of different set of organs which changes whatever we eat or drink in things that the body uses for growth, energy and repair. The body usually absorbs the nutrients, after the food has been broken down by different chemical processes, the rest is normally expelled as waste product. This whole process can usually take up to several hours or less. The digestive system is also known as the alimentary canal or the gastrointestinal tract. (Tucker L. 2005).

    Read More

  • The Problem of Teen Alcoholism in the United States

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alcohol has been all around the world for centuries and has become a custom of people all over. No one knows for sure who discovered alcohol, but we know how different types of alcohol are made. Just as well, no know knows when alcohol was discovered. There are no records of the discovery or discoverers of alcohol. Although historians do know alcohol ?was used by primitive people and recorded as early as 10,000 years ago in the Neolithic period and by European civilization?(Milgram 22). As early as 5000 B.C., the ancient Babylonians brewed, the process of making beer, their beer in religious temples because it was considered a gift from God. Beer is an alcoholic beverage made by fermentation of cereal grains such as, wheat, rye, corn, or barley; beer contains 3 to 6 percent alcohol. Besides the ancient Babylonians, the ancient Egyptians drank beer. The Egyptians called their beer hek, which was made from barley bread. The bread was crumbled into jars, covered with water, and allowed to ferment. The Egyptian pharaohs blessed this beer in the honor of the goddess of nature, Isis. Egyptians handed out free jugs of beer to peasant workers, and by no surprise drunkenness was a common problem in ancient Egypt (Nielsen 13).

    Read More

  • The Digestive System: The Digestive System

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Digestion is defined as the process of transforming foods into unites for absorption. The Digestive System is a complex network of organisms that have six major processes: The digestion of food, the secretion of fluids and digestive enzymes, the mixing and movement of food and waste throughout the body, the digestion of food into smaller pieces, the absorption of nutrients, and the excretion of wastes (Inner Body (1).)

    Read More

  • Prohibition and the Birth of Organized Crime

    2133 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (“drinkingprohibition” 1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (“There was one...” 1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u...

    Read More

  • Alcoholism: Recovery Experiences Between Men And Women

    2428 Words  | 5 Pages

    Alcoholism has been a fixture in our society since the first introduction of alcohol. Despite it being an equal opportunity disease, a large majority of not only the treatment, but also the research, has been about men. This lack of consideration of the different needs for men and women has led to many women going through recovery systems that do not address their experiences, and therefore do not allow them to take full advantage of that recovery system. This paper will attempt to look at the different experiences that men and women have in their journey through a substance addiction (particularly alcohol), from addiction through recovery. The main recovery method that will be discussed here is Alcoholics Anonymous. As an observation addition to this assignment, I sat in on an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Kerrville, TX. The meeting was on Thanksgiving Day at noon. I took detailed notes of the meeting, while keeping a watchful eye for any gendered interactions during the flow of the meeting.

    Read More

  • Gratitude And Gratitude

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gratitude is one of the positive emotions shown from research and clinical trials to enhance the general well being of human beings. Gratitude is defined by Emmons (2004) as “a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty. Emmons and McCullough also see gratitude as an attitude, a habit, a personality trait and a way of handling difficult situations response (Emmons & Stern, 2013).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of William Rorabaugh's The Alcoholic Republic

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people point to wars, Presidents or the economy when asked to describe the history of the United States, but what about alcohol. Social history in general has always taken a back seat to political and economic history, mostly because many aspects of social history are not exactly bright spots from the past. Alcohol, for example, is actually a much bigger aspect of our history than one may expect. As a matter of fact, early America was centered around drinking as a kind of social event. William Rorabaugh’s book Alcoholic Republic outlines how prevalent drinking really was during the years after the Revolutionary War. Rorabaugh argues that post-colonial Americans should be considered alcoholics. However, the evidence Rorabaugh uses

    Read More

  • Food Digestive System Essay

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to use the food we eat our body has to break the food down into the smaller molecules that can process, it also has to excrete waste. The process begins in the mouth. It first begins with your mouth and your salivary glands. Just at the sight of the food your mouth begins to develop saliva, which will be used to moisten and lubricate the food as you are chewing your food. This is called the motility and mechanical processing. Once the food has been chewed its broken down by the chemical action of the salivary enzymes. You have smooth muscles and the movements of the smooth muscles help your food make its way into the esophagus. The digestive tube is mainly lined with four layers. There are smooth muscles called sphincters that are between the junctions of the GI tract. These sphincters are what help the food pass through the digestive system and then they relax in order to deposit the food into the stomach. The main function of the digestive system is to break down food

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Alcohol and Alcoholism

    3315 Words  | 7 Pages

    “For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.

    Read More

  • Understanding the Intricacies of the Digestive System

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is one of the most amazing system, this system can be can break down food. It extends from the mouth to the anus and closely associated with cardiovascular system. You never begin to think how this system work when you go to put your favorite food in your mouth, you don’t begin to think about how it’s going be digestive. The system I bring to you is the digestive system, this system has two group of organs which are the gastrointestinal tract and accessory digestive organs. The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients to feed the entire body. Food passes through a long tube inside the body known as the alimentary canal or the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). The alimentary

    Read More

  • The Digestive System

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The digestive system has of a chain of linked organs that work with each other to digest, and break down food into molecules that are put in the circulatory system. Then takes them to the body’s tissues. The most important structures in the digestive system are the tongue, mouth, intestines, esophagus, stomach, and anus. The liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are with the digestive system also.

    Read More

  • Essay About Digestion

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first steps of digestion begins in the stomach. The stomach is an organ, which gets the bolus from the esophagus and helps with chemical and mechanical digestion. Now, let’s break that down a little bit. First of all, if you don’t know what the stomach looks like, it is J-shaped. That should make it pretty easy for you to recognize. Okay, so, bolus is a small, circular mass of digested food. The esophagus is a muscular tube that is used to help food and liquids make its way into the stomach. But, the esophagus is not involved with digestion. The mechanical digestion is the breaking down of big chunks of food into smaller chunks. On the other hand, chemical digestion, is a more complicated form of digestion, which break down molecules and passes through the blood stream. So, once again, the stomach gets the mass of digested food from the esophagus and helps with the mechanical and chemical digestion.

    Read More

More about Alcoholism In The 21st Century

Open Document