Alcohol - Our Favourite Drug

Alcohol was first made about 10,000 years ago. It could be said that the single most important species humans have domesticated all over the world is not dogs, wheat or rice but brewers yeast!

Alcohol is:

• Legal
• Socially acceptable in most sections of society
• An integral part of many life stages, from birth 'wetting the baby's head", through parties, weddings and funerals - giving someone a 'good send off'
• In the UK most people drink - not drinking is unusual
• Alcohol comes in a great variety of different strengths and tastes and is widely available - pubs, clubs, supermarkets and corner shops - and with the extension of opening hours, it is not difficult to buy alcohol 24 hours a day.

The social costs of alcohol are considerable:

• 1 in 6 people attending A & E have alcohol related injuries or problems, rising to 8 out of 10 at peak times
• 65% of suicide attempts are linked with excessive drinking
• 1 in 25 adults are dependent on alcohol
• 1.7 million men and 0.6 million women drink at very risky levels - over 50 units a week for men and 35 for women
• In the family, between 60% and 70% of men who assault their partners do so under the influence of alcohol
• Heavy drinking by parents was identified as a factor in over 50% of child protection cases
• 40% of 13 and 14 year olds were "drunk or stoned" when they experienced first sexual intercourse

What are the effects of alcohol?

This will depend on a number of factors such as level of tolerance, if there is food in the stomach, so the following is only a guide.

Physically - alcohol affects the whole of the body - the mouth, throat, stomach, liver, duodenum, nervous system and brain being the most obvious. The liver has a central role in processing alcohol so is very susceptible to damage. Also, if tied up doing this, its ability to carry out other functions - such as producing the 100 or so different enzymes crucial to various systems - will be impaired.

Mentally - The initial effect of drinking alcohol, just 1 or 2 units, is stimulation - as though the brain 'revs up'. Ratcheting up brain activity reduces inhibitions - anyone who has had a glass of Chardonnay to calm their nerves at lunch time or an after work pint knows this calm, confident feeling. People tend to become more animated and less inhibited. If they continue to drink, the next few glasses tend to have a different effect, a more sedative effect, very like Valium. The alcohol begins to affect the parts of the brain responsible for memory and co-ordination - most notably fine motor skills and speech. 
Beyond this point how people respond varies, some people will pick a fight while others will doze off. However this doesn't mean they will get a good nights sleep as alcohol interferes with normal sleep patterns. Worse still, once alcohol has been gradually eliminated from the body, the person will tend to become aroused again and wake up.

As with any drug regular consumption leads to tolerance - the body adapts so it takes increasing amounts to achieve the same effect. The central nervous system becomes used to handling a certain level of sedation. This explains why the effect of withdrawal is an over active nervous system with symptoms ranging from mild edginess or irritability to extreme illness with fits and hallucinations. For an individual who is dependent on alcohol, coming off too quickly without medical help can actually be life threatening. They should either cut down gradually or seek a detox from their GP or the Substance Misuse Team. 

What is meant by 'alcohol problems'?

Many people use alcohol without experiencing harm. The phrase 'alcohol problems' describes many different patterns of drinking - a real continuum. It could be occasional mammoth binges, regular but relatively stable drinking that is just above safe levels or very heavy drinking around the clock, with real physical or psychological dependence. 

As well as posing risks to health, high levels of alcohol consumption may impact on other aspects of a person's life:

• Job - can they get one and keep it?
• Diet - are they eating reasonably, if at all?
• Mobility - if they lose their licence - with possible knock on effects on their job
• Housing - the ability to keep a roof over their head
• Finances - drinking regularly, especially daily, is expensive and if the person is on benefit, having an alcohol problem may cause real hardship. The cheapest way of being drunk is White Lightening (7.5% abv), a super strength cider, at £1.99 for 2 litres -15 units of alcohol. At SAAS we see many people, on benefit, who drink 3 - 4 litres a day = £21 to £28 per week. For a professional couple who drink a £3.50 bottle of wine each every evening - which is 9 units apiece - to 'de-stress' after work, the cost is around £49 per week, or £200 a month. As much as a mortgage. It is easy to see how money may be diverted from other essentials such as food or rent.
• Relationships - all the above potentially affect relationships with partners, children, parents and friends, both directly by the behaviour of the individual and indirectly by, for example, money intended for food and clothing being used for drink. 

For most people who experience problems, alcohol has a very important function in their life and even contemplating change is hard. It is unlikely to occur until they experience negative consequences that they link directly to their drinking - the loss of their licence, health, job or relationship - and for some this may take a long time. 

Specialist help is available through:

• The Community Health Sheffield Substance Misuse Team which generally works with people with more severe problems, and offers medical interventions such as hospital or home detox and an Antabuse Clinic.  
• SAAS provides an open access information, advice and counselling service plus a 6 bedded residential rehab. SAAS works with drinkers and third parties
• AA which is a self-help group following the 12 step programme based on total abstinence. 

Web site created by Tina Bell
as part of the Sheffield Community Information project