Alcohol
What Is It?
Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is a depressant drug that is the active ingredient in drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor). It is one of the oldest and most commonly consumed recreational drugs, causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication ("drunkenness").
Alternative Names
Absolute alcohol; Alcohol (USP); Cologne spirit; Drinking alcohol; Ethanol (JAN); Ethylic alcohol; EtOH; Ethyl alcohol; Ethyl hydrate; Ethyl hydroxide; Ethylol; Grain alcohol; Hydroxyethane; Methylcarbinol
Legality
Generally legal for adults in the Western world.
Common Forms
With the exeption of "powdered alcohol", it is consumed in liquid form.
Common Ways Taken
Alcohol is typically consumed orally.
Short Term Effects
Excessive alcohol use has immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. These are most often the result of binge drinking and include the following:
- Injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings, and burns.
- Violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
- Alcohol poisoning, a medical emergency that results from high blood alcohol levels.
- Risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners. These behaviors can result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
- Miscarriage and stillbirth or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) among pregnant women.
Long Term Effects
Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:
- High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
- Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
- Weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick.
- Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.
- Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
- Social problems, including family problems, job-related problems, and unemployment.
- Alcohol use disorders, or alcohol dependence.
Other Health-Related Issues
Alcohol consumption is a causal factor in more than 200 diseases, injuries and other health conditions. Drinking alcohol is associated with a risk of developing health problems such as mental and behavioural disorders, including alcohol dependence, and major noncommunicable diseases such as liver cirrhosis, some cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
A significant proportion of the disease burden attributable to alcohol consumption arises from unintentional and intentional injuries, including those due to road traffic crashes, violence, and suicide. Fatal alcohol-related injuries tend to occur in relatively younger age groups.
A causal relationship has been established between harmful drinking and incidence or outcomes of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Alcohol consumption by an expectant mother may cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and pre-term birth complications.
Harmful Interactions
Withdrawal Symptoms
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually occur within 8 hours after the last drink, but can occur days later. Symptoms usually peak by 24 to 72 hours, but may go on for weeks.
Common symptoms include:
- Anxiety or nervousness
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Jumpiness or shakiness
- Mood swings
- Nightmares
- Not thinking clearly
Other symptoms may include:
- Sweating, clammy skin
- Enlarged (dilated) pupils
- Headache
- Insomnia (sleeping difficulty)
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pallor
- Rapid heart rate
- Sweating, clammy skin
- Tremor of the hands or other body parts
A severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens can cause:
- Agitation
- Fever
- Seeing or feeling things that aren't there (hallucinations)
- Seizures
- Severe confusion
Additional Information
- According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, more than half of US adults report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. Nearly 17% of adults binge drink and 6% report heavy drinking. Nearly all adults who drink heavily also binge drink.
- According to the ARDI application, during 2015–2019, excessive alcohol use was responsible for more than 140,000 deaths and 3.6 million years of potential life lost each year, on average. More than 40% of these deaths and half of the years of potential life lost were due to binge drinking.
- Alcohol consumption causes death and disability relatively early in life. In people aged 20–39 years, approximately 13.5% of total deaths are attributable to alcohol.
Sources: Medlineplus, CDC, NIH, World Health Organization, and Wikipedia, (Collected 2023)