Effects of Alcohol

  

Many of you have probably heard people say that drinking

is bad. But did they ever explain why? There are many effects. The main effects are short-term effects, long-term effects, cancer, alcoholism and dementia. Also,  many accidents are caused by people drinking too much. I hope you will enjoy my speech and learn something new.

      Short-term effects of drinking depend on many things. Like; age, weight, height, gender and amount of food and alcohol consumed. If you intake a large amount of alcohol at once, you start to slur your speech, it disturbs your sleep, you feel nausea and even vomit. The next day, even a couple of hours later, you get a hangover, which  causes headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness, and fatigue. Doesn’t this sound awful? A lot of domestic violence and child abuse is caused by alcohol because after consumption, it makes one feel angry and abusive. And this is only for short-term drinking!

                  Effects of long-term drinking are even worse! If you’ve been drinking on a regular basis for a long time, you might want to reconsider this choice because this leads to addiction, commonly known as alcoholism. Over time, this will cause severe anxiety, tremors, hallucination and convulsions. Wait till you hear the rest! Consuming large quantities with combined bad nutrition is not a good idea. It may lead to permanent damage to vital organs, such as the brain and liver. Also, do not ever drink any alcoholic beverages while pregnant. It may lead to giving birth to an infant with fetal alcohol syndrome. This doesn’t always occur, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

      Many accidents on the road are due to people drinking and driving. It’s not a good idea to drive under the influence of alcohol. Not only do you endanger your life, you also put everyone else’s life at risk. Consumption of alcohol significally impairs the judgement and coordination required to drive a car. It also slows down one’s reaction time. A lot of issues from just intaking an alcohol beverage.

      Alcohol consumption is linked with seven different types of cancer. Two of which are liver cancer and breast cancer. Can you believe that 3.6% of all cancer worldwide is caused by alcohol? Your risk of getting cancer increases even as little as three units a day. So why put yourself in such risk?

      Alcoholism can lead to malnutrition. Some common symptoms are; muscle cramps, nausea, appetite loss, nerve disorders and depression. None of the symptoms sound pleasant to me! Alcoholism doesn’t happen in a day. Alcohol addiction can lead to osteoporosis, and bone fracture due to lack of vitamin D. It’s like a cause with several effects.

      Serious loss of cognitive ability also known as the ability to think is known as Dementia. About 10% - 24% of dementia cases are caused by alcohol intake, where women are at larger risk than men. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a type of alcohol-related dementia associated with alcoholism. After hearing these facts, do you really want to drink alcohol?

      I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t drink alcohol. You’re old enough to make your own decisions. Before you heard my speech, did you know that there are so many illnesses and problems associated and caused by alcohol intake? I didn’t know. I think when people say drinking is bad, they should explain why instead of stating something we already know. Next time you decide to drink, think about the consequences. Think ahead. Remember my words when that first drink is offered to you.