Alcoholism has been a big factor in the United Sta Essay Example For Students

Alcoholism has been a big factor in the United Sta Essay tes for teenagers. More kids today are consuming alcohol then ever before. Alcoholism is the habitual drinking of alcoholic liquor to excess, or a diseased condition cause by this. Alcoholism has been classified as a disease by the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA) because its victims have no control over its progress. Whenever there are substances that can harm somebodys body, effects will always be apart of it. Alcohol can not only effect a persons body physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. The physical effects of alcohol are both long term, and short term. Alcohol works as a poison in the body. The main thing that alcohol first attacks is the liver. There is a term that doctors use to describe the liver after excessive drinking has taken place, and that is fatty liver. What happens is that the cells of the liver fill with triglyceride droplets, which are major fat in blood and interfere with normal biochemical and metabolic functions of the cells. Although teenagers can drink for decades and avoid both acute alcohol poisoning and accidents, they can not escape the effect on the brain and other organs. The reason people become drunk is because the alcohol a person consumes goes directly to the brain and stuns the brain stem making it hard for an intoxicated person to think clearly or even concentrate on whats going on around them. This is the reason that so many accidents occur when people drink and drive. The body is also effected mentally when consuming a great deal of alcohol. The body becomes dependent on it and can not go without it. The body will start having withdraws if it does not consume that particular substance. Alcohol also causes brain damage as well. If alcohol is abused over a long period of time, it affects the membranes surrounding the brain cells, interfering with their ability to transmit information. After a long period of time these membranes become adapt and that is what causes tolerance (the ability to consume large quantities of alcohol and not become drunk).