JOIN USThe cycle of alcohol addiction
Addiction is a global problem and beverages containing alcohol are a big part of that. India is a large nation filled with diverse socio-cultural practices. States in India exercise a great deal of autonomy in terms of implementing policies, procedures, practices and legislation. The lack of unanimity across laws governing alcohol use in each state consequently contributes to the differences in usage. This is further exacerbated by imprecise media representations of alcohol use coupled with an extreme lack of awareness. “I’m not really addicted, I just drink socially. I’m well in control of what I drink and I know what my relationship with my drink is like.” This is something people often bookend their raconteur with.
The World Health Organization has classified the pattern of alcohol consumption or drinking into five types. Social drinking is the first type. It is a measure that covers the level of consumption in a day and not an average of several days. When men don’t consume more than two drinks in a day and women don’t consume more than one drink in a day, it is considered social drinking. Men consuming five or more and women consuming four or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion is considered binge drinking. This is the second type and is typically measured within a span of two hours. Alcohol consumption can sometimes take over an individual’s life. They can be physically dependent with consequent harsh psychological onslaughts.
This can then have a rippling effect on their family and society as a whole. When this happens, it is considered to be a harmful drinking pattern, which is the third type. When an individual starts suffering from acute, adverse health effects of alcohol consumption, it is considered a hazardous drinking pattern. If repeated use is maintained over a period of time, a strong dependence and desire for alcohol supplants voluntary control. This consequently shall have repercussions on their behavioural, cognitive and physiological phenomena.
Over a period of time, increased tolerance also builds up. Eventually, they may develop physiological withdrawal symptoms which brings us to the fifth type. This pattern of drinking is classified as alcohol dependence. This is essentially where an individual is considered addicted to alcohol. A recent report published by WHO in May 2022 states that alcohol-related deaths make up 3 million deaths globally. This makes up 5.3 per cent of all the deaths in the world.
In the Global burden of disease and injury, 5.1 per cent is attributable to alcohol as measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that is quick in honing dependent properties in individuals. In people aged 20-39 years of age, approximately 13.5 per cent of deaths are alcohol-related. In India, the alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF) of all-cause deaths were found to be 5.4 per cent. 62.9 per cent of deaths due to liver cirrhosis were found to be related to alcohol use.
When a person consumes alcohol, it reaches the stomach and then the small intestines. From there it gets absorbed into the bloodstream which carries it to all the different organs of the body. The alcohol is then absorbed in a very quick speed by the liver. This is then excreted by the kidneys which accounts for about 95 per cent-97 per cent of the alcohol consumed. While the most common complication of long-term alcohol use is compromised liver disease, it can also cause hyperacidity leading to peptic ulcer disease.
Drinking as little as 1.5 drinks per day increases the risk of breast cancer in women and other cancers across both genders. When ethanol is taken in mild doses, it can increase the sex drive. Increased volumes, however, contribute to erectile dysfunction, irreversible testicular atrophy and other changes in the genitourinary system. About half of the alcoholics also suffer from decreased bone density and skeletal muscle weakness caused by acute alcoholic myopathy.
Finally, chronic alcohol use can also lead to a range of neurological complications such as cerebral degeneration, Wernicke’s encephalopathy and a broad range of psychiatric complications. The real moniker of the solvent that dissolves an individual’s life is alcohol. Have you had a look at your relationship with this solvent?
(The author is a multidisciplinary professional who works in the UK.)