Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Alcohol tolerance is increased by regular drinking. [1] This reduced sensitivity to the physical effects of alcohol consumption requires that higher quantities of alcohol be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before tolerance was established. Alcohol tolerance may lead to (or be a sign of) alcohol dependence.
A legal drinking age for the buying or consuming of alcohol is in place in many of the world's countries, typically with the intent to protect the young from alcohol-related harm. [9] This age varies between countries; for example, the legal drinking age for Australia is 18, whereas the legal drinking age in the United States is 21. [9]
The level of ethanol consumption that minimizes the risk of disease, injury, and death is subject to some controversy. [16] Several studies have found a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and health, [17] [18] [2] [19] meaning that risk is minimized at a certain (non-zero) consumption level, and drinking below or above this level increases risk, with the risk level of drinking a ...
Since 2000, binge drinking has fallen from 30% to 9% in 12th grade, from 24% to 5% in 10th grade and from 12% to 2% in 8th grade. Getty Teens drinking beer (stock image)
[7] Even light to moderate alcohol consumption can have negative effects on health, [8] [9] [10] such as by increasing a person's risk of developing several cancers. [11] [12] A 2014 World Health Organization report found that harmful alcohol consumption caused about 3.3 million deaths annually worldwide. [13]
National Health Service guidelines recommend consuming no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. The service, which is publicly funded, advises "there's no completely safe level of drinking, but ...
In addition to problem drinking, the disease is characterized by symptoms including an impaired control over alcohol, compulsive thoughts about alcohol, and distorted thinking. [7] Alcoholism can also lead indirectly, through excess consumption, to physical dependence on alcohol, and diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver.
[4] [8] As of 2001, there were an estimated 26.8 million children of alcoholics (COAs) in the United States, with as many as 11 million of them under the age of 18. [9] Children of addicts have an increased suicide rate and on average have total health care costs 32 percent greater than children of nonalcoholic families. [9] [10]