Alcohol is a carcinogen that upon consumption increases the risk of mouth cancer,liver and female breast,and to a lesser extent stomach,colon and rectum cancer. Heroin,crack cocaine and methamphetamine or crystal meth were the most lethal to individuals. However, when considering their social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest with alcohol outranked all other substances. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.Thus we can say that alcohol consumption is a growing health threat. Despite authorities plan drastic cut and possibly a total ban on alcohol advertising, alcohol continues to be a great and growing threat around the world today.
According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), men in Russia have an average life expectancy of just 60 years, well below that of western Europe where men have an average life span of 77 years. Statistics also shows that there are more than 23000 people die of alcohol poisoning annually in Russia. The condition is Malaysia is also worse, The WHO Global Status Report on alcohol 2004 shows that 45%of Malaysian youths under the age of 18 consume alcohol regularly. This figure is really alarming as drinking alcohol excessively can pose a threat to our teenagers. I myself, have seen quite a lots of teenagers binge drink in the pub, cyber cafes and even in public places. They don’t care whether the authorities would catch them red-handed since it is not an illegal act.
They should bear in mind this:
Alcohol is a toxin,poison, dangerous drug, mother of many maladies, destructive substances,highly advertised demon and potent killer.
And to those who fear of being obese, indeed, alcohol makes you FAT!!
Why? Because the presence of alcohol in the body will undergo anaerobic respiration, which in turn being oxidised to acetaldehyde. The breakdown product of acetaldehyde is acetate which will rise sharply after alcohol is consumed. In a study, blood levels of acetate were found to be 2.5 higher than normal after drinking 2 drinks of Vodka. Consequently, this steep rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss. Our body simply burns more acetate and less fat.
Here is how this metabolism works: after one or two drinks of alcohol, a small portion of the alcohol(<5%) is converted into fat. The liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate , the acetate then released into the bood stream and replace fat as a source of fuel. Our body tend to use whatever we feed. Another problem is the body starts making other substance called acetyl CoA which is the starting material for biosysnthesis of fats, thus cause body to make more fats.
Besides, alcohol will make us have a good appetise, in other word, it is an apetite booster. Ever heard of the word ‘aperitif’, which is alcoholic drink enjoyed before a large meal to whet the appetite . It is a method used by most restaurants to encourage more patrons to order and consume more quantities of food. Most people will consume alcohol during evening or night time, this is very harmful as the metabolism is at its slowest, and consequently they will store fat instead of burning calorie.
Let us beware of the effects of alcohol by looking at statistics figures. World Heath Organisation (WHO)’s Global Burden Disease( GBD)study found tht alcohol was the 3rd most important risk factor after smoking and raised blood pressure for ill-health and premature death in European Union.( Enderson etal.2005). Overall, injuries account for the largest portion (40%) of the disease burden due to alcohol, with unintentional injuries outweighing intentional injuries. Neuropsychiatric disorder and disease accounted for 38% of the disease burden. Other non-communicable( eg liver cirrhosis), cardiovascular disease, cancer, each contribute 7-8% of the total. Alcohol not only destroys our health but also damage the economy of our country as it amounts to more than 1% of the Gross National Product with the costs of social harm constituting a major proportion in addition to health costs.
Let's get back to our part to ban alcohol!
