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Alcohol Abuse: Risks and Prevention

Alcohol abuse involves compulsive use and impaired functioning, while dependence includes tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. The NIAAA defines alcoholism as a complex disease characterized by loss of control and preoccupation with drinking, often associated with mental disorders. The Task Force on Health and Family Welfare has called for action to address the rising alcohol consumption, which is increasing at 15 percent annually in the country.

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Jayaram Srinivasan
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9 views2 pages

Alcohol Abuse: Risks and Prevention

Alcohol abuse involves compulsive use and impaired functioning, while dependence includes tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. The NIAAA defines alcoholism as a complex disease characterized by loss of control and preoccupation with drinking, often associated with mental disorders. The Task Force on Health and Family Welfare has called for action to address the rising alcohol consumption, which is increasing at 15 percent annually in the country.

Uploaded by

Jayaram Srinivasan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

Alcohol abuse as a condition involves compulsive use of alcohol and impaired social or

occupational functioning, whereas alcohol dependence includes physical tolerance and

withdrawal symptoms when the drug is stopped. The World Health Organization has

published the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), designed to standardize health

data collection worldwide. The 10th edition (ICD-10) generally defines abuse and

tolerance,similar to the DSM-IV-TR.

As per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (2008),

“alcoholism is a complex disease characterized by persistent and intense alcohol-seeking,

which results in a loss of control over drinking, a preoccupation with drinking, compulsion to

drink or inability to stop, and the development of tolerance and dependence.” Mental

disorders appear to be commonly associated with alcohol dependence. The risk of mental

disease seems to be correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed Individuals with

affective and anxiety disorders have high rates of alcohol dependence. Excessive drinking

undoubtedly aggravates concurrent Alzheimer’s or multi-infarct dementia. Nevertheless, it is

often difficult to differentiate these dementias from a supervening or underlying alcohol

dementia in practice (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000).

The final report of the Task Force on Health and Family Welfare, chaired by Dr.H. Sudarshan

2001) has urged the state Government to take “responsible action” toward the prevention and

control of alcohol abuse. The following observations were discussed:

 The rate of liquor consumption in the country is growing at a steady 15 percent

annually.
In Karnataka, though accurate figures are not available, the sale and consumption of alcohol
and alcoholic beverages are increasing.

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