In todays society, people do not consider alcohol to be a drug because it is used all over the world for social events and religious and cultural reasons. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, more than 14 million people in the United States abuse alcohol, which comes out to 1 in every 13 adults. It has been found that men tend to be more alcohol dependent than women. Studies show that younger nonblack men tend to abuse alcohol more than younger black men. The study also showed that alcohol abuse is higher in black women ages 30 to 44 years of age.
It takes an hour to digest 2/3 of a regular beer for the average adult, but this number can vary depending on a persons height, weight, sex, and drinking experience.
Adults may have a drinking problem if they regularly:
| 1. Drink to calm their nerves or reduce depression |
| 2. Lose interest in food |
| 3. Consume their drinks at a fast rate |
| 4. Try to hide their drinking habits |
| 5. Drink alone |
| 6. Hurt someone or themself while under the influence |
| 7. Got drunk three or four times in the past year |
| 8. Need more alcohol to get "high" |
| 9. Feel irriable when they aren't drinking |
| 10. If they experience medical, social, or financial problems that were caused by drinking |
Different standards are used for men and women who get intoxicated. This may be because society standards have changed the way women are suppose to act. Women may express their anger more or they may act out more sexually when they are under the influence. But none of these reasons stop women who are alcohol dependent.
Reasons why women may use alcohol may be include: genetics, they do not have the ability to deal with the stresses of life, they are depressed, they have problems with controlling their impulses, they may have hade a traumatic event or loss, and there may be someone who is a heavy drinker in their life such as a relative or friend. Although all of these are reasons as to why a women starts drinking depression has been most associated with women who drink. The reason this is most linked to women is because women who have developed alcohol problems will most likely develop depressed feelings of being unloved .
The National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that one in five women abuse drugs or alcohol during some point in their lives. It was found that 4.5 million women are alcoholics.
1. A positive family history for alcohlism is often reported more by women than men.
2. They become alcoholics in a shorter time span.
3. If a woman drinks her spouse is more likely to become a heavy drinker.
4. If a woman is married, there will more likely be problems in their marriage.
5. The use of alcohol and psychoactive medications is more common.
6. Drinking is more likely to occur in private places.
7. Hepatic disorders appear more frequently.
8. The risk of fetal effects from heavy drinking.
9. Women have a harder time finding ways to seek help and stay in treatment centers.
People 65 or older tend not to abuse alcohol because of the health risks. As people age they tend to not have as good of reflexes, eye sight, and hearing as when they were younger and when they drink alcohol this things may be affected. Older people who drink alcohol feel the affects much sooner putting them more at risk for falls and accidents.
However; there is still a small amount of elderly who do have drinking problems no matter how much their health is at risk. Those who started drinking heavily later in life may develop drinking problems. There are also those people who have heavy drinking episodes during some point in their lives and they are not diagnosed as alcoholics. The elderly who do have drinking problems may be unemployed and living alone. Another reason they may drink may be their way of dealing with the problems of aging.