Alcohol in the United States - Research Paper Example

ALCOHOL SHOULD BE BANNED IN THE UNITED S The 1917 Amendment to the U.S. constitution banned all activities related to alcohol as a measure towards protecting Americans from the effects of alcoholism. The Amendment was to be later repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment, meaning Americans could enjoy alcohol as long as they were adults. The consequences that followed have been negative in that unnecessary expenditure and millions of lives are being lost due to it. Following this, several attempts have been made in the past to reenact the 18th Amendment to no avail. In the light of this, the following research has been conducted to highlight binge drinking of alcohol and the negative consequences it carries along. The objective of the research is to sensitize Americans on the dangers of drinking, thus prove the need to have the 18th Amendment restored. To achieve this, studies and literatures citing real-life evidence of the topic have been consulted and the findings presented. At the end of the research, reenactment of the 18th Amendment has been presented as the only way out of this scourge affecting not only Americans, but the world at large. Introduction In 1917, an amendment to the United States constitution banned the transportation, sale, and manufacture of alcoholic beverages. It is referred to as “The 18th Amendment”. It was however to be repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Ever since, alcoholic beverages have enjoyed freedom in the United States with the only restrictions being inflicted on underage consumers. In recent years, it has come to light that alcohol is even harming adults; both drinkers and non-drinkers. Developed countries such as the United States are notorious consumers of alcohol and they double up as major sources of influence to other countries. The reason why this is true is found in the fact that other countries such as those in the Gulf and Africa look up to the developed countries. As such, they are bound to acquire their practices. Additionally, Americans travel to other countries and are therefore likely to spread their practices there. The problem with alcohol is that it affects even adults negatively by influencing bad behavior, misjudgment, accidents, and onset of health risks. Therefore, if they influence others to consume alcohol, they are going to spread these negativities as well. Several attempts have been made in the past, such as banning children from consuming alcohol, but these have not solved the aspect of influencing others into consuming alcohol. The following research aims at presenting a feasible reason as to why alcohol should be banned in the U.S. as a means of stopping this problem. In doing so, it will support that selling alcohol should be banned or strictly restricted in the United States of America as it poses as an economic burden, causes serious issues such as alcohol dependency and results in damaging long-term effects in young and old people alike. Alcoholism as an economic burden One of the biggest reasons why the 18th Amendment was constituted is that it was aware that alcohol consumption drags behind it billions in unnecessary expenses. As revealed by the CDC (2014, n.p.), in 2006 alone, excessive consumption of alcohol had cost the U.S. approximately 223.5 billion dollars. In simplified form, this was approximately 1.9 dollars per drink. Again, this figure meant that each excessive drinker cost the United States about 746 dollars. Binge drinking, that is the consumption of five or more drinks for men, or above four for women, was the leading cause (NIAAA 2005, n.p.). Excessive drinking not only affected the drinkers, but those around them as well according to the CDC. Of the overall 223.5 billion dollars, 72% was lost due to reduction or loss in workplace productivity. Treating or managing the excessive consumption of alcohol followed closely, representing 11% of the overall expense. Criminal justice and law enforcement-related matters cost about 9% of the overall, while motor vehicle accidents accounted for 6%. Of the total U.S. population, binge drinking affects 18% of the adults. Additionally, most binge drinkers are white men aged 18 to 34 years with average incomes above 75,000 dollars. Bouchery, et al. (2013, p.198) add that about 79,000 premature deaths occur every year due to binge drinking. Other unnecessary financial expenses ranged from fires, property damage, increased diseases and injures, and finally legal procedures. The alarming fact is that this data was compiled in 2006; meaning the occurrences are much higher as of today. The US’s ability of binge drinking A study was conducted by Markides, et al. (2013, p.116) to determine the influence played by nativity and neighborhood context in binge drinking. It was conducted in Texas City between 2004 and 2006 on 1,435 adults aged above 25 years. The study was aimed at telling who between Americans and non-Americans were likely to be binge drinkers. In the findings, it was evident that foreign-born women were drinking less as compared to American-born women. Additionally, it was recorded that the persons who resided in Hispanic concentrations were less likely to be binge drinkers while those living in American concentrations were likely to abuse alcohol. In a nutshell, the findings indicated that being American meant higher chances of being a binge drinker. More importantly for this research, Americans were overly influential in calling others to binge drinking. Effects of alcoholism on underage drinkers Any person under the age of 21 years that drinks alcohol is termed as an underage drinker. In the United States, the CDC (2014, n.p.) states that of all drugs consumed by children (youth), alcohol comes before illicit drugs and tobacco. Additionally, 4,300 deaths occur in this age category, influenced by alcoholism. In as much as underage drinking is termed illegal in the United States, about 11% of the youth drink. As the CDC further reveals, there were 189,000 visits to emergency rooms by underage drinkers with issues related to alcoholism in 2011. A survey by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011 found that; 24% youth rode with drunk drivers, 22% youths were binge drinkers, 39% drank some amount of alcohol, and that 8% drove under influence. Similar findings were recorded by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the Monitoring the Future Survey. Underage drinking has diverse effects; failing and absenteeism from school, fighting, social problems, and lack of participation in activities meant for youth. In addition, the youth are arrested for drunk driving, being disorderly, or physical assault. Worse still, drunk youth engage in risky behavior such as unprotected sex and demand for hard drugs; homicide and suicide in the U.S. are contributing to a large extent by alcohol drinking (NIAAA 2005, n.p.). Finally, uncontrolled drinking in youth contributes to deaths directly related to alcohol poisoning. Binge underage drinkers are more vulnerable to these mentioned problems. It is further proven that if a youth is introduced to alcohol were five times likelier to be addicted to alcohol than those who began taking alcohol at age 21 and above (Hanes 2012, p.2). Effects of alcohol on the human body Alcohol is a drink constituting of ethyl alcohol or ethanol. Ethanol is made by fermenting a mixture of sugar and yeast. The body itself warns of the poison that is alcohol by giving a burning effect at the back of the neck after taste buds are overwhelmed by ethanol. This is usually a warning but most people ignore it. When it gets to the bloodstream, alcohol will affect the body depending on sex, age, weight, or size (Klein 2012, n.p.). Since it is a poison, alcohol activates counter-mechanisms in the body to eliminate it. The liver is the organ that does this work by oxidizing the alcohol. When there is too much alcohol for the liver to oxidize, problems begin to be experienced (Nag 2008, p.4). Organs are the first to be affected by alcohol. The liver that is meant to deal with the alcohol is damaged by liver cirrhosis or liver hepatitis. The kidneys are also damaged in that ionic imbalance, low blood sugar, decrease in blood acidity, and enzyme impairment occurs. The skin becomes dehydrated and it becomes red. Further drinking leads to permanent enlargement of the peripheral vessels. Alcohol slows the brain down by interfering with the chemical arrangements (Blum 2010, p.100). An impaired brain cannot function properly. As such, students cannot concentrate in class, thus decreased performance. Again, decreased judgment leads to involvement in risky or inappropriate behavior. Finally, lack of judgment ability explains the causes of road accidents and increased falls and injuries. Psychological complications occur as well. Alcohol affects one’s emotional status and can lead to inappropriate or aggressive behavior. This explains increased violence or risky behavior in drunken people. Alcohol may also induce insomnia, loss of concentration, sluggishness, depression, and anxiety to mention a few. To some extent, alcohol leads to cravings that in turn add up to an addiction. Getting out of this problem can be hard and overly expensive. Drunkards become antisocial and may develop psychiatric issue such as depression or withdrawal. The result of such issues is suicide, homicide, or violence. Alcohol, even in small amounts, may have detrimental consequences in the long run. These include liver hepatitis and cirrhosis, reddened skin, and general body deterioration. Kidney problems may lead to high blood pressure, and finally stroke. Some cancers such as throat and mouth cancers are caused by long-term consumption of alcohol. Finally, the brain may end up damaged, neurological complications like epilepsy may emerge, and heart failure (thus death) is also risks associated with long-term consumption of alcohol (Goldberg 2009, p.70). Why re-introduce the 18th Amendment? Scholars have come out in the past in favor of banning alcohol in the United States and offering multiple reasons. First and foremost the government remains the party in charge of protecting its citizens from all harmful substances such as alcohol (Kraak 2012, p.337). The United States government, having realized the number of deaths it experiences annually in addition to the billions lost, should implement mitigation measures. This should be a protective measure since unnecessary finances expended due to alcoholism would be diverted to other constructive areas. Similar to how the government protects its citizens from insecurity and other threats, the same should be extended to the scourge caused by alcoholism. Concisely, the government would be exercising its protective roles. Second, banning alcohol would protect third parties from the negative consequences brought by alcohol. As the research highlighted, alcohol affects both the drinkers and non-drinkers. According to (Kahn 2009, p.109), alcohol is the leading cause of distress in society and in families. Parents who are drunkards cause physical and psychological problems to their children. Research has proven that children that live with abusive drunkard parents develop issues with their self esteem, guilt, loneliness, chronic depression, and feelings of abandonment. Such children end up being antisocial or unable to effectively integrate in society. As such, the U.S. government would be protecting these third parties from such suffering. Beyond the family, other issues cased by drinking such as road accidents would reduce significantly. Additionally, the finances spent on medical care and rehabilitation would be eliminated. Better still, the United States would ensure that its citizens are healthier by banning alcohol. This is supported by the health effects highlighted in this research. Apart from reducing injuries, fights, risky behavior, and alcohol dependency, all the negative health implications of binge drinking would not exist. Diseases such as liver cirrhosis and hepatitis, chronic stress, depression, mouth and larynx cancer, as well as high blood pressure would reduce significantly. Further, addiction and craving for higher drugs would be eliminated. In a nutshell, implementing a law banning alcohol in the U.S. would mean fewer hospital visits and deaths related to drinking alcohol. Apart from this, the health care fraternity will achieve its objectives of disseminating services to more people and result in a healthier America. This would be made possible in that the funds used in treating alcohol-related issues would be used to advance the quality of health in America. Finally and most importantly for this research, banning alcohol in the United States would not only end the scourge within it but also beyond its borders. As findings from one of the studies showed, the U.S. is a major influential nation that is looked upon by many nations of the world. As such, banning the consumption of alcohol would mean the other nations are safer, healthier, and do not spend unnecessarily. Banning alcohol would discourage the importation of alcohol into the U.S. as well as exportation of the drinking culture to other cultures abroad. Conclusion This research was aimed at addressing the blunder that was made in repealing of the 18th Amendment. The amendment had been made to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol all over the U.S. after it was repealed, alcohol gained a freedom that has seen multiple negative occurrences affect Americans and non-Americans the world over. America is blamed for promoting the consumption of alcohol since many nations look up to it as a mentor. In the same way, it is perceived of as a potential channel of addressing the global problem. Binge drinking has cost the U.S. billions of dollars as well as lives. Collectively, the U.S. has been economically and socially impaired. Such occurrences have been blamed on binge drinking as it causes physical, social, health, psychological, and societal problems. Following these, the research proposed the reenactment of the 18th Amendment as a measure towards saving lives and unnecessary expenditure. If this is enacted, America would predominate as mentor towards better financial management, a healthier world, and more lives would be saved. These would however not be achieved unless the recommendation offered in this research, reenacting the 18th Amendment, is implemented. Bibliography Blum, K 2010, Alcohol and the Addictive, Free Press. Bouchery, E, Harwood, H, Sacks, J, Simon, C, & Brewer, R 2011, “Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in the U.S., 2006”, NCBI, 41(5):516-524. CDC 2014, “Excessive Drinking Costs U.S. $223.5 Billion”, CDC Gov, Available from http://www.cdc.gov/features/alcoholconsumption/ [13 December, 2014]. CDC 2014, “Fact Sheets- Underage Drinking”, CDC Gov, Available from http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm [13 December, 2014]. Goldberg, R 2009, Drugs Across the Spectrum, California: Cengage Learning. Hanes, M 2012, “Effects and Consequences of Underage Drinking”, U.S. Department of Justice/ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1-12. Kahn, A 2009, The Encyclopedia of Stress and Stress-related Diseases, InfoBase Publishing. Klein, S 2012, “The Effects of Alcohol in the Body (Infographic)”, The Huffington Post, Available from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/alcohol-effects-body-infographic_n_2333328.html [13 December, 2014]. Kraak, V 2012, “Government Policies and Actions to Protect Citizen Health”, Journal of the World Public Health Nutrition Association, 3(8), 337-358. Markides, K, Al Snih, Walsh, T, Cutchin, M, Ju, H, & Goodwin, J 2012, NCBI, 26(4): 116-128. Nag, R 2008, “The Effects of Alcohol”, Alcohol Free Social Life, 1-23. Available from http://www.alcoholfreesociallife.com [13 December, 2014]. NIAAA 2005, “Module 1: Epidemiology of Alcohol Problems in the United States”, National Institute of Alcohol Problems in the United States, Available from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Social/Module1Epidemiology/Module1.html [13 December, 2014]. Read More