NHM Health Focus: Alcohol Awareness Month April 2009

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Often, people who are not alcoholic do not understand why an alcoholic can’t just “use a little willpower” to stop drinking. However, alcoholism has little to do with willpower. Alcoholics are in the grip of a powerful “craving,” or uncontrollable need, for alcohol that overrides their cognitive ability to stop drinking. This need can be as strong as the need for food or water. (NCADI)

Alcohol abusers include people of all ages, cultures, and occupations.

"When many people think of alcohol abusers, they picture teenagers sneaking drinks before high school football games or at unsupervised parties. Alcohol abuse is prevalent within many demographic groups in the United States. People who abuse alcohol can be:

• College students who binge drink at local bars.
• Pregnant women who drink and put their babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome.
• Professionals who drink after a long day of work.
• Senior citizens who drink out of loneliness."
  SAMHSA

Regular, long term use of alcohol can:

• "Damage the frontal lobes of the brain.
• Cause an overall reduction in brain size and increase in the size of the ventricles.
• Lead to alcoholism (addiction to alcohol) and result in tolerance to the effects of alcohol and a variety of health problems.
• Cause a vitamin deficiency."
  Neuroscience for Kids

"Alcoholism, also known as 'alcohol dependence,' is a disease that includes four symptoms:

• Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: The inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion.
• Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
• Tolerance: The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to 'get high'.”
  (SAMHSA)

"Alcoholism, like other addictions, is a brain disorder. Research has shown that genes shape how an individual experiences alcohol–how intoxicating, pleasant, or sedating it is–and how susceptible he or she is to developing alcohol use disorders. Research has also shown that chronic heavy drinking causes long-term, and perhaps permanent, changes in the way the brain responds to alcohol. These parallel insights from neuroscience research are paving the way for new medications that will improve alcoholism treatment and relapse prevention." (NIAAA)

"Research shows that more than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 15 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives."(SAMHSA, USDHHS)

For those who drink but have not been specifically identified as at risk for alcoholism, or alcohol abuse, screening is a first step. AlcoholScreening.org has online screening and extensive databases listing treatment centers as well as local or online support groups.

Access Excellence @ the National Health Museum resources related to alcohol and alcohol use:

• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Teen Alcohol
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Alcohol Poisoning
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Prom Peer Pressure
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week– Parents and Alcohol
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Making Roads Safer
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Water Fun
• Health Headquarters: Health Question of the Week – Variety in Treatment Options
• Health Headquarters: Health, Science & Society – Addressing Unhealthy Alcohol Use
• Health Headquarters: Health Focus – Birth Defects Prevention
• Health Headquarters: Health Focus – Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery
• Health Headquarters: Health Education – Analyzing Tobacco and Alcohol Messages
• Let's Collaborate: Science Seminar – Microbial Fermentation
• Let's Collaborate: Bioethics in the Classroom – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Let's Collaborate: Technology in Education – Effect of Alcohol on Biological Membrane