ALCOHOL DETOX

WHO GUIDELINES FOR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION TH WHO works with Member States and partners to prevent and reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority. The 2010 WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol is the most comprehensive international alcohol policy document, endorsed by WHO Member States, that provides guidance on reducing the harmful use of alcohol at all levels. WHO’s approach aligns with and furthers work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically target 3.5 on substance abuse, including harmful use of alcohol, and target 3.4 on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and promoting mental health and well-being. WHO has identified that the most cost-effective actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, enforcing restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising, and restrictions on the physical availability of retailed alcohol. In addition, enforcing drin...

What is alcohol? Alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) is the ingredient found in beer, wine and spirits that causes drunkenness. Alcohol is formed when yeast ferments (breaks down without oxygen) the sugars in different food. For example, wine is made from the sugar in grapes, beer from the sugar in malted barley (a type of grain), cider from the sugar in apples, vodka from the sugar in potatoes, beets or other plants. Alcohol is classed as a ‘sedative hypnotic’ drug, which means it acts to depress the central nervous system at high doses. At lower doses, alcohol can act as a stimulant, 3  inducing feelings of euphoria and talkativeness, but drinking too much alcohol at one session can lead to drowsiness, respiratory depression (where breathing becomes slow, shallow or stops entirely), coma or even death. As well as its acute and potentially lethal sedative effect at high doses, alcohol has effects on every organ in the body and these effects depend on the blood alcohol concentration...

What Is Alcohol Withdrawal? If you drink  alcohol  heavily for weeks, months, or years, you may have both mental and physical problems when you stop or seriously cut back on how much you drink. This is called  alcohol withdrawal . Symptoms can range from mild to serious. If you drink only once in a while, it's unlikely that you'll have withdrawal symptoms when you stop. But if you've gone through alcohol withdrawal once, you're more likely to go through it again the next time you call it quits. What Causes It? Alcohol  has what doctors call a depressive effect on your system. It slows down  brain  function and changes the way your nerves send messages back and forth. Over time, your  central nervous system  adjusts to having alcohol around all the time. Your body works hard to keep your  brain  in a more awake state and to keep your nerves talking to one another. When the alcohol level suddenly drops, your  brain  stays in this...

INTRODUCTION Alcohol is part of our society. People use it to celebrate, socialize, relax, and enhance the enjoyment of meals. Nearly 90 percent of adults in the United States report that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime, and more than half report drinking in the last month. 1  Although most people drink in moderation, nearly 40 percent of U.S. adults drink in excess of the low-risk guidelines established by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). 2  (See  “Drinking Patterns and Their Definitions.” ) Alcohol misuse has wide-ranging adverse consequences. In the United States, nearly 88,000 people per year die from alcohol-related causes; 3  globally, alcohol accounts for 3.3 million deaths—5.9 percent of all deaths—each year. 4  Alcohol misuse also contributes to poor performance at school and work; family problems; unprotected sex and sexually transmitted diseases; violence; memory blackouts; unintentional injuries, acci...