12th Grade
Alcohol essay
The Long-Term Effects of Alcohol Use
Alcohol is primarily absorbed through the stomach and the small intestines. It is considered a food because it has calories, but does not need to be digested and proceeds directly into the body through the digestive system. After ingestion it is carried through the blood stream and crosses the bloodbrain barrier, at which time impairment begins. A greater amount of ingestion causes greater impairment to the brain, which, in turn, causes a person to have a greater degree of difficulty in functioning. The majority of alcohol in the body is eliminated by the liver. Ninety percent is eliminated through the body, while ten percent is eliminated through sweat and urine. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which causes people to act differently. Also it is considered to be the most abused drugs in our society today. It can cause server damage to a developing fetus in a woman. Alcohol has some short term and long term damages. For short term it reduces sensitivity to pain, which can cause someone to injure themselves but not realize because of the alcohol which can cause damage to the person. Also while drinking alcohol it causes vision problems by narrowing the field of vision, reduces resistance of glare, and lessens sensitivity to colors. On the other hand the long term effects of alcohol are much more server. Abuse of alcohol can damage the liver, heart, and the pancreas. Also the abuse is linked to different types of cancer like, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, and colon. If drinking alcohol while taking other medicines can cause much more damage then if drinking it alone. In addition to reacting differently to the initial effects of alcohol, it appears that adolescents are also affected differently than adults by repeated, heavy drinking. Many adolescents engage in a pattern of chronic intermittent exposure (CIE) sometimes referred to as binge