Alcohol PDF
Preview Alcohol
DRUGS The Straight Facts Alcohol DRUGS The Straight Facts Alcohol Cocaine Hallucinogens Heroin Marijuana Nicotine DRUGS The Straight Facts Alcohol Heather Lehr Wagner Consulting Editor David J. Triggle University Professor School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences State University of New York at Buffalo CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP,NEWPRODUCTDEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOROFPRODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVEMANAGERTakeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURINGMANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for ALCOHOL ASSOCIATEEDITORBill Conn PRODUCTIONEDITORJaimie Winkler PICTURERESEARCHERSarah Bloom SERIES& COVERDESIGNERTerry Mallon LAYOUT21st Century Publishing and Communications,Inc. ©2003 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary ofHaights Cross Communications. All rights reserved.Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica. http://www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wagner,Heather Lehr. Alcohol / by Heather Lehr Wagner. p.cm.—(Drugs,the straight facts) Includes index. ISBN 0-7910-7260-6 1.Alcohol—Juvenile literature.2.Alcoholism—Juvenile literature.3.Drinking ofalcoholic beverages—Juvenile literature.4.Teenagers—Alcohol use— Juvenile literature.[1.Alcohol.2.Alcoholism.] I.Title.II.Series. HV5066 .W34 2002 613.81—dc21 2002015919 Table of Contents The Use and Abuse of Drugs David J. Triggle 6 1. Thinking about Drinking 8 2. Alcohol: Past and Present 20 3. The Health Effects of Alcohol 34 4. Teenage Trends and Attitudes 50 5. Alcoholism: Identifying the Disease 62 6. Alcoholism: Treating the Disease 74 7. Exploring Additional Resources 84 Appendix 92 Bibliography 94 Further Reading 96 Index 98 The Use and Abuse of Drugs The issues associated with druguse and abuse in contemporary society are vexing subjects, fraught with political agendas and ideals that often obscure essential information that teens need to know to have intelligent discussions about how to best deal with the problems associated with drug use and abuse.Drugs: The Straight Facts aims to provide this essential information through straightforward explanations of how an individual drug or group of drugs works in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic conditions; with historical information about the use and abuse of specific drugs; with discussion of drug policies in the United States; and with an ample list of further reading. From the start,the series uses the word “drug”to describe psychoactive substances that are used for medicinal or non- medicinal purposes. Included in this broad category are substances that are legal or illegal. It is worth noting that humans have used many of these substances for hundreds, if not thousands of years.For example,traces of marijuana and cocaine have been found in Egyptian mummies; the use of peyote and Amanita fungi has long been a component of religious ceremonies worldwide; and alcohol production and consumption have been an integral part of many human cultures’ social and religious ceremonies. One can speculate about why early human societies chose to use such drugs. Perhaps,anything that could provide relieffrom the harshness of life—anything that could make the poor conditions and fatigue associated with hard work easier to bear—was consid- ered a welcome tonic.Life was likely to be,according to the seventeenth century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, “poor, nasty, brutish and short.” One can also speculate about modern human societies’ continued use and abuse of drugs. Whatever the reasons,the consequences of sustained drug use are not insignificant—addiction,overdose,incarceration,and drug wars—and must be dealt with by an informed citizenry. The problem that faces our society today is how to break 6 the connection between our demand for drugs and the will- ingness of largely outside countries to supply this highly profitable trade. This is the same problem we have faced since narcotics and cocaine were outlawed by the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914, and we have yet to defeat it despite current expenditures of approximately $20 billion per year on “the war on drugs.”The first step in meeting any challenge is always an intelligent and informed citizenry.The purpose of this series is to educate our readers so that they can make informed decisions about issues related to drugs and drug abuse. SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING David T.Courtwright,Forces ofHabit.Drugs and the making of the modern world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,2001.David Courtwright is Professor of History at the University ofNorth Florida. Richard Davenport-Hines, The Pursuit of Oblivion. A global history of narcotics.New York:Norton,2002.The author is a professional historian and a member of the Royal Historical Society. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World. New York: Harper & Row, 1932.Huxley’s book,written in 1932,paints a picture of a cloned society devoted to the pursuit only ofhappiness. David J.Triggle University Professor School ofPharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences State University ofNew York at Buffalo 7 1 Thinking about Drinking Alcohol surrounds us. It isso much a part ofour daily lives that we may not even notice how frequently we are exposed to it directly or indirectly. Beer commercials interrupt our favorite television programs;advertisements for wine pop up in the magazines we read. Billboards promoting a particular brand of liquor are plastered around our sports stadiums.In some states,beer and wine are sold in grocery stores and 24-hour convenience markets next to snacks and soft drinks. Alcohol plays an important role in many celebrations.Champagne is used to toast a bride and groom at their wedding.Family parties may feature beer and wine.New Year’s Eve parties offer the opportunityto mark the end ofone year and the beginning ofanother with a drink in your hand. Alcohol also has a significancein manyceremonies.In some reli- gions,wine plays a symbolic role in certain sacred holidays and cele- brations.In some cultures,wine and beer are regularly consumed as part of the family meal and a dinner is considered incomplete with- outthis important element. With all of these different customs and functions, alcohol presents a complex picture.It is important to remember that alcohol is a drug—a drug that can prove addictive and that alters the way your brain functions. 8 Alcohol plays an important and positive role in many celebrations and ceremonies. Alcohol is also a drug that affects the brain and body. Understanding and weighing the costs and benefits of alcohol use are essential for anyone thinking about drinking. WHAT IS ALCOHOL? Alcohol is defined as a colorless liquid obtained either syn- thetically or naturally, through the fermentation of certain carbohydrates (that is, transformation of carbohydrates to alcohol by means of enzyme activity). The colorless liquid 9
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