Alcoholism is Harmful To Humanity

By Diego Munoz & Oscar Basurto
“Alcohol is a very powerful, addictive drug that some people of all ages enjoy in low doses, but that is damaging or even lethal in high doses.”-WebMD

Alcohol is a drug found in beer, wine, and liquor. According to WebMD when a person drinks alcohol to a point where it is too much for their body to handle they become intoxicated. Intoxication is when a person is being damaged physically and mentally.

Christopher Casillas, a freshman at South East High School, said, “My uncle drinks and he suffers painful physical symptoms when he doesn’t have alcohol in his blood.”

Alcohol is a drug used and abused by many Americans. When alcohol is used over a long period of time it leads to cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis is a disease that scars healthy liver tissue and is usually caused by long-term alcohol abuse. Another thing that long-term alcohol use does is that if you have Hepatitis C alcohol will only make it worse.

Mr. Sanchez, a health teacher at SEHS, said, “Alcohol abuse is when you drink alcohol too much and at inappropriate times.” Alcohol is really harmful because, not only does it harm the user, but it harms the family of the user. Alcoholism can affect a family when the user passes away. When a person is an alcoholic they can become more aggressive towards their family and others. Mr. Martinez, a health teacher at SEHS, said, “One of my family members passed away due to alcoholism.”

Alcohol is very common among teens because of peer pressure. According to the National Center Of Addiction and Substance Abuse, “almost 80% of high school students have tried alcohol,” even though the legal age for a person to start drinking is 21.

Some people think differently. Casillas said, “I think that people should start drinking over the age of 25.” Adriana Munoz, a junior at SEHS, said, “I think it is best to start drinking at the age of 21, but in moderation. When you drink, its best if you do it when there is someone sober you know to take you home.” A person is most likely to drink because they want to fit. While it could be as simple as liking the taste. But the main thing that will put a person to drink is influence by others.

People drink for many reasons. Munoz said, “I think people drink because they believe they can forget about their problems.” Out in the world there are many brands of products that contain alcohol and some families drink just one product because of family traditions. Martinez said his family mostly drinks “Corona” which is a Mexican beer. While Casillas said his family “drinks Coors Light all the time.”

“Products with alcohol cause people to suffer from high blood pressure,” said Sanchez. Alcoholism strikes some families while to others it just doesn’t. Munoz says, “No I don’t have any alcoholics in my family. No one in my family has passed away from such addiction.”

Groups like Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Alcoholics Anonymous group (AA) and Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) have experience helping people with alcoholism. Martinez said, “These groups are always good to join as long as they provide help and keep people from their addiction.” Casillas said, “I do think it works but only for a while no one knows what an alcoholic can do after.”

The AA official website says, “Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Our mission is to affect change in our separate communities through individual chapters. To help people get through these bad decisions that will affect the lives of others and their own.”

When it comes to holidays some people start drinking. This causes the police to be more aware of the situation. Officer Zamora, a police at SEHS, said, “People definitely drink because they are going through hard times with the economy, and they find another reason to drink because of the holidays.” When a person drinks and drives they are in risk of harming themselves and others. Zamora said, “During the Holidays in the City of South Gate the arrest rate for drinking and driving goes up [3 to 5%]. It is known that many Americans drink more when special events are taken place.