essay on alcohol dependence

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• v.5(9); 2019 Sep

Advances in the science and treatment of alcohol use disorder

K. witkiewitz.

1 Department of Psychology and Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, 2650 Yale Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA.

R. Z. Litten

2 Division of Medications Development and Division of Treatment and Recovery Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 6700B Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-6902, USA.

3 Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive (10CRC/15330), Bethesda, MD 21224, USA.

4 Medication Development Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.

5 Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

Pharmacological and behavioral treatments exist for alcohol use disorder, but more are needed, and several are under development.

Alcohol is a major contributor to global disease and a leading cause of preventable death, causing approximately 88,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. Alcohol use disorder is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, with nearly one-third of U.S. adults experiencing alcohol use disorder at some point during their lives. Alcohol use disorder also has economic consequences, costing the United States at least $249 billion annually. Current pharmaceutical and behavioral treatments may assist patients in reducing alcohol use or facilitating alcohol abstinence. Although recent research has expanded understanding of alcohol use disorder, more research is needed to identify the neurobiological, genetic and epigenetic, psychological, social, and environmental factors most critical in the etiology and treatment of this disease. Implementation of this knowledge in clinical practice and training of health care providers is also needed to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment of individuals suffering from alcohol use disorder.

INTRODUCTION

In most regions of the world, most adults consume alcohol at least occasionally ( 1 ). Alcohol is among the leading causes of preventable death worldwide, with 3 million deaths per year attributable to alcohol. In the United States, more than 55% of those aged 26 and older consumed alcohol in a given month, and one in four adults in this age group engaged in binge drinking (defined as more than four drinks for women and five drinks for men on a single drinking occasion) ( 2 ). Excessive alcohol use costs U.S. society more than $249 billion annually and is the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability ( 3 ).

The morbidity and mortality associated with alcohol are largely due to the high rates of alcohol use disorder in the population. Alcohol use disorder is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders , 5th edition (DSM-5) ( 4 ) as a pattern of alcohol consumption, leading to problems associated with 2 or more of 11 potential symptoms of alcohol use disorder (see Table 1 for criteria). In the United States, approximately one-third of all adults will meet criteria for alcohol use disorder at some point during their lives ( 5 ), and approximately 15.1 million of U.S. adults meet criteria for alcohol use disorder in the previous 12 months ( 6 ). The public health impacts of alcohol use extend far beyond those individuals who drink alcohol, engage in heavy alcohol use, and/or meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use is associated with increased risk of accidents, workplace productivity losses, increased medical and mental health costs, and greater rates of crime and violence ( 1 ). Analyses that take into account the overall harm due to drugs (harm to both users and others) show that alcohol is the most harmful drug ( 7 ).

Only a small percent of individuals with alcohol use disorder contribute to the greatest societal and economic costs ( 8 ). For example, in the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey (total n = 43,561), a household survey conducted across the United States, 11.8% met criteria for an alcohol use disorder ( n = 5124) ( 6 ). Of these 5124 individuals, 67.4% ( n = 3455) met criteria for a mild disorder (two or three symptoms, based on DSM-5), 18.8% ( n = 964) met criteria for a moderate disorder (four or five symptoms, based on DSM-5), and only 13.8% ( n = 705) met criteria for a severe disorder (six or more symptoms) ( 6 ). There is a large treatment gap for alcohol use disorder, arising from the fact that many individuals with alcohol use disorder do not seek treatment. Those with a mild or moderate alcohol use disorder may be able to reduce their drinking in the absence of treatment ( 9 ) and have a favorable course; but it is those with more severe alcohol use disorder who most often seek treatment and who may experience a chronic relapsing course ( 10 ).

HISTORY OF TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

Near the end of the 18th century, the Pennsylvania physician Benjamin Rush described the loss of control of alcohol and its potential treatments ( 11 ). His recommendations for remedies and case examples included practicing the Christian religion, experiencing guilt and shame, pairing alcohol with aversive stimuli, developing other passions in life, following a vegetarian diet, taking an oath to not drink alcohol, and sudden and absolute abstinence from alcohol. Through the 1800s and early 1900s, the temperance movement laid the groundwork for mutual help organizations, and the notion of excessive alcohol use as a moral failing. During the same period, inebriate asylums emerged as a residential treatment option for excessive alcohol use, although the only treatment offered was forced abstinence from alcohol ( 12 ). The founding of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) in the 1930s ( 13 ) and the introduction of the modern disease concept of alcohol use disorder (previously called “alcoholism”) in the 1940s ( 14 ) laid the groundwork for many of the existing treatment programs that remain widely available today. Over the past 80 years, empirical studies have provided support for both mutual support [A.A. and other support groups, such as SMART (Self-Management and Recovery Training)] and medical models of treatment for alcohol use disorder, as well as the development of new pharmacological and behavioral treatment options. In addition, there are several public health policy initiatives (e.g., taxation, restrictions on advertising, and outlet density) and brief intervention programs (e.g., social norms interventions) that can be effective in reducing prevalence of alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related harms ( 1 ).

NEUROBIOLOGY OF ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

Alcohol use disorder is characterized by loss of control over alcohol drinking that is accompanied by changes in brain regions related to the execution of motivated behaviors and to the control of stress and emotionality (e.g., the midbrain, the limbic system, the prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala). Mechanisms of positive and negative reinforcement both play important roles with individual drinking behavior being maintained by positive reinforcement (rewarding and desirable effects of alcohol) and/or negative reinforcement mechanisms (negative affective and physiological states that are relieved by alcohol consumption) ( 15 , 16 ). At the neurotransmitter level, the positive reinforcing effects of alcohol are primarily mediated by dopamine, opioid peptides, serotonin, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and endocannabinoids, while negative reinforcement involves increased recruitment of corticotropin-releasing factor and glutamatergic systems and down-regulation of GABA transmission ( 16 ). Long-term exposure to alcohol causes adaptive changes in several neurotransmitters, including GABA, glutamate, and norepinephrine, among many others. Discontinuation of alcohol ingestion results in the nervous system hyperactivity and dysfunction that characterizes alcohol withdrawal ( 15 , 16 ). Acting on several types of brain receptors, glutamate represents one of the most common excitatory neurotransmitters. As one of the major inhibitory neurotransmitters, GABA plays a key role in the neurochemical mechanisms involved in intoxication, tolerance, and withdrawal. This brief review can offer only a very simplified overview of the complex neurobiological basis of alcohol use disorder. For deeper, more detailed analysis of this specific topic, the reader is encouraged to consult other reviews ( 15 , 16 ).

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms may include anxiety, tremors, nausea, insomnia, and, in severe cases, seizures and delirium tremens. Although up to 50% of individuals with alcohol use disorder present with some withdrawal symptoms after stopping drinking, only a small percentage requires medical treatment for detoxification, and some individuals may be able to reduce their drinking spontaneously. Medical treatment may take place either in an outpatient or, when clinically indicated, inpatient setting. In some cases, clinical monitoring may suffice, typically accompanied by supportive care for hydration and electrolytes and thiamine supplementation. For those patients in need of pharmacological treatment, benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, lorazepam, oxazepam, and midazolam) are the most commonly used medications to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effect of the GABA neurotransmitter at the GABA A receptor. Notably, benzodiazepines represent the gold standard treatment, as they are the only class of medications that not only reduces the severity of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome but also reduces the risk of withdrawal seizures and/or delirium tremens. Because of the potential for benzodiazepine abuse and the risk of overdose, if benzodiazepine treatment for alcohol withdrawal syndrome is managed in an outpatient setting, careful monitoring is required, particularly when combined with alcohol and/or opioid medications ( 17 ).

a-2 agonists (e.g., clonidine) and β-blockers (atenolol) are sometimes used as an adjunct treatment to benzodiazepines to control neuro-autonomic manifestations of alcohol withdrawal not fully controlled by benzodiazepine administration ( 18 ). However, because of the lack of efficacy of a-2 agonists and β-blockers in preventing severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome and the risk of masking withdrawal symptoms, these drugs are recommended not as monotherapy, but only as a possible adjunctive treatment.

Of critical importance to a successful outcome is the fact that alcohol withdrawal treatment provides an opportunity for the patient and the health care provider to engage the patient in a treatment program aimed at achieving and maintaining long-term abstinence from alcohol or reductions in drinking. Such a treatment may include pharmacological and/or psychosocial tools, as summarized in the next sections.

PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

U.s. food and drug administration–approved pharmacological treatments.

Development of novel pharmaceutical reagents is a lengthy, costly, and expensive process. Once a new compound is ready to be tested for human research use, it is typically tested for safety first via phase 0 and phase 1 clinical studies in a very limited number of individuals. Efficacy and side effects may then be further tested in larger phase 2 clinical studies, which may be followed by larger phase 3 clinical studies, typically conducted in several centers and are focused on efficacy, effectiveness, and safety. If approved for use in clinical practice, this medication is still monitored from a safety standpoint, via phase 4 postmarketing surveillance.

Only three drugs are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in alcohol use disorder. The acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor disulfiram was the first medication approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder by the FDA, in 1951. The most common pathway in alcohol metabolism is the oxidation of alcohol via alcohol dehydrogenase, which metabolizes alcohol to acetaldehyde, and aldehyde dehydrogenase, which converts acetaldehyde into acetate. Disulfiram leads to an irreversible inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase and accumulation of acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance. Although additional mechanisms (e.g., inhibition of dopamine β-hydroxylase) may also play a role in disulfiram’s actions, the blockade of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity represents its main mechanism of action. Therefore, alcohol ingestion in the presence of disulfiram leads to the accumulation of acetaldehyde, resulting in numerous related unpleasant symptoms, including tachycardia, headache, nausea, and vomiting. In this way, disulfiram administration paired with alcohol causes the aversive reaction, initially proposed as a remedy for alcohol use disorder by Rush ( 11 ) in 1784. One challenge in conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled alcohol trial of disulfiram is that it is easy to break the blind unless the “placebo” medication also creates an aversive reaction when consumed with alcohol, which would then provide the same mechanism of action as the medication (e.g., the placebo and disulfiram would both have the threat of an aversive reaction). Open-label studies of disulfiram do provide support for its efficacy, as compared to controls, with a medium effect size ( 19 ), as defined by Cohen’s d effect size ranges of small d = 0.2, medium d = 0.5, and large d = 0.8 ( 20 ). The efficacy of disulfiram largely depends on patient motivation to take the medication and/or supervised administration, given that the medication is primarily effective by the potential threat of an aversive reaction when paired with alcohol ( 21 ).

The next drug approved for treatment of alcohol use disorder was acamprosate; first approved as a treatment for alcohol dependence in Europe in 1989, acamprosate has subsequently been approved for use in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Although the exact mechanisms of acamprosate action are still not fully understood, there is evidence that it targets the glutamate system by modulating hyperactive glutamatergic states, possibly acting as an N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor agonist ( 22 ). The efficacy of acamprosate has been evaluated in numerous double-blind, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses, with somewhat mixed conclusions ( 23 – 26 ). Although a meta-analysis conducted in 2013 ( 25 ) indicated small to medium effect sizes in favor of acamprosate over placebo in supporting abstinence, recent large-scale trials conducted in the United States ( 27 ) and Germany ( 28 ) failed to find effects of acamprosate distinguishable from those of a placebo. Overall, there is evidence that acamprosate may be more effective in promoting abstinence and preventing relapse in already detoxified patients than in helping individuals reduce drinking ( 25 ), therefore suggesting its use as an important pharmacological aid in treatment of abstinent patients with alcohol use disorder. The most common side effect with acamprosate is diarrhea. Other less common side effects may include nausea, vomiting, stomachache, headache, and dizziness, although the causal role of acamprosate in giving these side effects is unclear.

A third drug, the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone, was approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence by the FDA in 1994. Later, a monthly extended-release injectable formulation of naltrexone, developed with the goal of improving patient adherence, was also approved by the FDA in 2006. Naltrexone reduces craving for alcohol and has been found to be most effective in reducing heavy drinking ( 25 ). The efficacy of naltrexone in reducing relapse to heavy drinking, in comparison to placebo, has been supported in numerous meta-analyses ( 23 – 25 ), although there is less evidence for its efficacy in supporting abstinence ( 25 ). Fewer studies have been conducted with the extended-release formulation, but its effects on heavy drinking, craving, and quality of life are promising ( 29 , 30 ). Common side effects of naltrexone may include nausea, headache, dizziness, and sleep problems. Historically, naltrexone’s package insert has been accompanied by a risk of hepatotoxicity, a precaution primarily due to observed liver toxicity in an early clinical trial with administrating a naltrexone dosage of 300 mg per day to obese men ( 31 ). However, there is no published evidence of severe liver toxicity at the lower FDA-approved dosage of naltrexone for alcohol use disorder (50 mg per day). Nonetheless, transient, asymptomatic hepatic transaminase elevations have also been observed in some clinical trials and in the postmarketing period; therefore, naltrexone should be used with caution in patients with active liver disease and should not be used in patients with acute hepatitis or liver failure.

Additional pharmacological treatments approved for alcohol use disorder in Europe

Disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone have been approved for use in Europe and in the United States. Pharmacologically similar to naltrexone, nalmefene was also approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence in Europe in 2013. Nalmefene is a m- and d-opioid receptor antagonist and a partial agonist of the k-opioid receptor ( 32 ). Side effects of nalmefene are similar to naltrexone; compared to naltrexone, nalmefene has a longer half-life. Meta-analyses have indicated that nalmefene is effective in reducing heavy drinking days ( 32 ). An indirect meta-analysis of these two drugs concluded that nalmefene may be more effective than naltrexone ( 33 ), although whether a clinically relevant difference between the two medications really exists is still an open question ( 34 ). Network meta-analysis and microsimulation studies suggest that nalmefene may have some benefits over placebo for reducing total alcohol consumption ( 35 , 36 ). The approval of nalmefene in Europe was accompanied by some controversy ( 37 ); a prospective head-to-head trial of nalmefene and naltrexone could help clarify whether nalmefene has added benefits to the existing medications available for alcohol use disorder. Last, nalmefene was approved in Europe as a medication that can be taken “as needed” (i.e., on days when drinking was going to occur). Prior work has also demonstrated the efficacy of taking naltrexone only on days that drinking was potentially going to occur ( 38 ).

In addition to these drugs, a GABA B receptor agonist used to treat muscle spasms, baclofen, was approved for treatment of alcohol use disorder in France in 2018 and has been used off label for alcohol use disorder for over a decade in other countries, especially in other European countries and in Australia ( 39 , 40 ). Recent human laboratory work suggests that baclofen may disrupt the effects of an initial priming dose of alcohol on subsequent craving and heavy drinking ( 41 ). Meta-analyses and systematic reviews examining the efficacy of baclofen have yielded mixed results ( 35 , 39 , 42 ); however, there is some evidence that baclofen might be useful in treatment of alcohol use disorder among individuals with liver disease ( 43 , 44 ). Evidence of substantial heterogeneity in baclofen pharmacokinetics among different individuals with alcohol use disorder ( 41 ) could explain the variability in the efficacy of baclofen across studies. The appropriate dose of baclofen for use in treatment of alcohol use disorder remains a controversial topic, and a recent international consensus statement highlighted the importance of tailoring doses based on safety, tolerability, and efficacy ( 40 ).

Promising pharmacological treatments

Numerous other medications have been used off label in the treatment of alcohol use disorder, and many of these have been shown to be modestly effective in meta-analyses and systematic reviews ( 23 , 24 , 26 , 35 ). Systematic studies of these medications suggest promising findings for topiramate, ondansetron, gabapentin, and varenicline. The anticonvulsant drug topiramate represents one of the most promising medications in terms of efficacy, based on its medium effect size from several clinical trials [for a review, see ( 45 )], including a multisite clinical study ( 46 ). One strength of topiramate is the possibility of starting treatment while people are still drinking alcohol, therefore serving as a potentially effective treatment to initiate abstinence (or to reduce harm) rather than to prevent relapse in already detoxified patients ( 45 ). Although not approved by the FDA, it is worth noticing that topiramate is a recommended treatment for alcohol use disorder in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ( 47 ). A concern with topiramate is the potential for significant side effects, especially those affecting cognition and memory, warranting a slow titration of its dose and monitoring for side effects. Furthermore, recent attention has been paid on zonisamide, another anticonvulsant medication, whose pharmacological mechanisms of actions are similar to topiramate but with a better tolerability and safety profile ( 48 ). Recently published and ongoing research focuses on a potential pharmacogenetic approach to treatment in the use of topiramate to treat alcohol use disorder, based on the possibility that both efficacy and tolerability and safety of topiramate may be moderated by a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs2832407) in GRIK1, encoding the kainate GluK1 receptor subunit ( 49 ). Human laboratory studies ( 50 ) and treatment clinical trials ( 51 ) have also used a primarily pharmacogenetic approach to testing the efficacy of the antinausea drug ondansetron, a 5HT 3 antagonist, in alcohol use disorder. Overall, these studies suggest a potential role for ondansetron in alcohol use disorder, but only in those individuals with certain variants of the genes encoding the serotonin transporter 5-HTT and the 5-HT 3 receptor. The anticonvulsant gabapentin has shown promising results in human laboratory studies and clinical trials ( 52 – 54 ), although a more recent multisite trial with an extended-release formulation of the medication did not have an effect of gabapentin superior to that of a placebo ( 55 ). Although the latter findings might be related to potential pharmacokinetic issues secondary to the specific formulation used, it is nonetheless possible that gabapentin may be more effective in patients with more clinically relevant alcohol withdrawal symptoms ( 52 ). Several human laboratory studies support a role for varenicline, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist approved for smoking cessation, in alcohol use disorder [for a review, see ( 56 )], and two of three clinical trials also support its efficacy on alcohol outcomes ( 57 – 59 ), especially in heavy drinkers who are males ( 59 ) and in male and female alcohol-dependent individuals who are also smokers ( 60 ). Additional details on the FDA-approved medications and other medications tested in clinical research settings for the treatment of alcohol use disorder are summarized in Table 2 .

FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; AMPA, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid; NMDA, N -methyl- d -aspartate; PO, per os (oral); IM, intramuscular; HT, serotonin.

The medications and targets described above have shown promising results in phase 2 or phase 3 medication trials. However, owing to the development of novel neuroscience techniques, a growing and exciting body of data is expanding the armamentarium of targets currently under investigation in animal models and/or in early-phase clinical studies. Pharmacological approaches with particular promise for future drug development include, but are not limited to the following [for recent reviews, see, e.g., ( 56 , 61 – 68 )]: the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole, which has multiple pharmacological actions (mainly on dopamine and serotonin receptors), the antihypertensive alpha-1 blocker drugs prazosin and doxazosin, neurokinin-1 antagonism, the glucocorticoid receptor blocker mifepristone, vasopressin receptor 1b antagonism, oxytocin, ghrelin receptor antagonism, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonism, and pharmacological manipulations of the nociception receptor (We are intentionally using a general pharmacological terminology for the nociceptin receptor, given that it is unclear whether agonism, antagonism, or both may represent the best approach.). New medications development is particularly important for the treatment of comorbid disorders that commonly co-occur among individuals with alcohol use disorder, particularly affective disorders, anxiety disorders, suicidality, and other substance use disorders. This aspect of alcohol use disorder is relevant to the fact that addictive disorders often present with significantly more severe symptoms when they coexist with other mental health disorders ( 69 ). Likewise, there is evidence that pharmacotherapy is most effective when implemented in conjunction with behavioral interventions ( 70 ), and all phase 2 and phase 3 medication trials, mentioned above, have included a brief psychosocial behavioral treatment in combination with medication.

BEHAVIORAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

Evidence-based treatments.

A wide range of behavioral and psychological treatments are available for alcohol use disorder, and many treatments are equally effective in supporting abstinence or drinking reduction goals ( 71 – 74 ). Treatments with the greatest evidence of efficacy range from brief interventions, including motivational interviewing approaches, to operant conditioning approaches, including contingency management and the community reinforcement approach, to cognitive behavioral treatments, including coping skills training and relapse prevention, and to acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches. Twelve-step facilitation, which was designed specifically to connect individuals with mutual support groups, has also been shown to be effective ( 75 ). In addition, harm reduction treatments, including guided self-control training and controlled drinking interventions, have been successful in supporting drinking reduction goals ( 70 ).

Meta-analyses and systematic reviews have found that brief interventions, especially those based on the principles of motivational interviewing, are effective in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. These interventions can include self-monitoring of alcohol use, increasing awareness of high-risk situations, and training in cognitive and behavioral techniques to help clients cope with potential drinking situations, as well as life skills training, communication training, and coping skills training. Cognitive behavioral treatments can be delivered in individual or group settings and can also be extended to the treatment of families and couples ( 72 , 73 ).

Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being used to target alcohol use disorder and show evidence of efficacy in a variety of settings and formats, including brief intervention formats ( 76 ). Active ingredients include raising present moment awareness, developing a nonjudgmental approach to self and others, and increasing acceptance of present moment experiences. Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions are commonly delivered in group settings and can also be delivered in individual therapy contexts.

Computerized, web-based, and mobile interventions have also been developed, incorporating the principles of brief interventions, behavioral and cognitive behavioral approaches, as well as mindfulness and mutual support group engagement; many of these approaches have demonstrated efficacy in initial trials ( 77 – 79 ). For example, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has developed the Take Control computerized intervention that includes aspects of motivational interviewing and coping skills training and was designed to provide psychosocial support (particularly among those assigned to the placebo medication) and also to increase adherence and retention among individuals enrolled in pharmacotherapy trials ( 80 ).

Mutual support group (e.g., A.A. and SMART) attendance and engagement have been shown to be associated with recovery from alcohol use disorder, even in the absence of formal treatment ( 81 ). However, selection biases (e.g., people selecting to attend these groups) raise difficulties in assessing whether other factors that are associated with treatment effectiveness may be the active ingredients for improving outcomes among those who attend mutual support groups. For example, individuals who are highly motivated to change might be more likely to attend mutual support groups. Likewise, mutual support groups often provide individuals with increased social network support for abstinence ( 82 ). Motivation to change and having a social network that supports abstinence (or reductions in drinking) are both factors that are associated with greater treatment effectiveness ( 83 ).

As noted above, most behavioral and psychological treatments are equally effective with small effect size differences [Cohen’s d = 2.0 to 0.3 ( 20 )] between active treatments ( 84 – 88 ). Behavioral interventions have also been shown to be as effective as pharmacotherapy options, with a 16-week cognitive behavioral intervention shown to be statistically equivalent to naltrexone in reducing heavy drinking days in a large randomized trial ( 27 ). One of the challenges of examining behavioral interventions in randomized trials is that intervention blinding and placebo controls cannot be implemented in most contexts, other than in computerized interventions. Furthermore, the general therapeutic factors common to most behavioral interventions (e.g., therapist empathy and supportive therapeutic relationship) in treatment of alcohol use disorder are as powerful as the specific therapeutic targets of specific behavioral interventions (e.g., teaching skills in a cognitive behavioral treatment) in facilitating behavioral change ( 89 ).

Promising future behavioral treatments and neuromodulation treatments

With respect to behavioral treatments, there are numerous opportunities for the development of novel mobile interventions that could provide treatment and recovery support in near real time. This mobile technology may also extend the reach of treatments to individuals with alcohol use disorder, particularly in rural areas. On the basis of a contextual self-regulation model of alcohol use ( 90 ), it is critical to address the immediate situational context alongside the broader social, environmental, and familial context in which an individual experiences the world and engages in momentary decision-making. Ambulatory assessment, particularly tools that require only passive monitoring (e.g., GPS, heart rate, and skin conductance) and real-time support via mobile health, could provide immediate environmental supports and could extend the reach of medications and behavioral treatments for alcohol use disorder. For example, a mobile device could potentially signal a high-risk situation by indicating the geographic location (near a favorite drinking establishment) and the heart rate (increased heart rate when approaching the establishment). The device could provide a warning either to the individual under treatment and/or to a person supporting that individual’s recovery. In addition, developments in alcohol sensing technology (e.g., transdermal alcohol sensors) could greatly increase rigor of research on alcohol use disorder and also provide real-time feedback on alcohol consumption levels to individuals who are attempting to moderate and/or reduce their alcohol use.

Recent advances in neuromodulation techniques may also hold promise for the development of novel treatments for alcohol use disorder. Deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial electrical stimulation (including transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial alternating current stimulation), and real-time neurofeedback have recently been tested as potential treatments for addiction, although evidence in favor of these treatments is currently uncertain and focused mostly on intermediate targets (e.g., alcohol craving) ( 91 ). These techniques attempt to directly target specific brain regions and addiction-related cognitive processes via surgically implanted electrodes (deep brain stimulation), electrical currents or magnetic fields applied to the scalp (transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation, respectively), or individual self-generated modulation via feedback (neurofeedback). Although robust large scale trials with double-blind, sham controls, and long-term follow-ups of alcohol behavior change and relapse have not been conducted ( 91 ), the heterogeneity of alcohol use disorder suggests that targeting one specific neural region may be insufficient to treat such a complex disorder, with its multiple etiologies and diverse clinical courses ( 92 ).

Factors contributing to the effectiveness of treatments

Numerous models have examined factors that predict treatment readiness, treatment engagement, and treatment outcomes for alcohol use disorder. The transtheoretical model of change proposes that an individual’s own readiness to change his or her drinking behavior may have an impact on treatment engagement and effectiveness ( 93 ). The dynamic model of relapse proposes the involvement of multiple interacting biological, psychological, cognitive, emotional, social, and situational risk factors that are static and dynamic in their association with treatment outcomes ( 83 ). Neurobiological models of addiction focus on the brain reward and stress system dysfunction that contributes to the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder, that is, the “addiction cycle” ( 15 , 16 ). The alcohol and addiction research domain criteria (AARDoC) ( 92 ), which have been operationalized in the addictions neuroclinical assessment ( 94 ), focus on the following three domains that correspond to particular phases in the addiction cycle: incentive salience in the binge/intoxication phase, negative emotionality in the withdrawal/negative affect phase, and executive function in the preoccupation/anticipation phase. Within each domain of the AARDoC, the addictions neuroclinical assessment proposes constructs that can be measured at multiple levels of analysis, such as craving in the incentive salience domain, negative affect and emotion dysregulation in the negative emotionality domain, and cognitive impairment and impulsivity in the executive function domain. The AARDoC acknowledge that environmental and contextual factors play a role in alcohol use disorder and treatment outcomes. Moreover, because of the heterogeneity of alcohol use disorder, the significance of these domains in causing alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related problems will vary among individuals.

Each of the abovementioned theoretical models proposes factors that may affect treatment effectiveness; however, many of the constructs proposed in each of these models are overlapping and likely contribute to the effectiveness of alcohol use disorder treatment across a range of populations and settings. A heuristic model combining components from each of these models is shown in Fig. 1 . Specifically, this model highlights the precipitants of alcohol use that are influenced by the neurobiological adaptations proposed in the addiction cycle (indicated by bold font) and additional contextual factors (regular font) that decrease or increase the likelihood of drinking in context, depending on whether an individual uses effective coping regulation in the moment. The domains supporting alcohol use/coping regulation (negative emotionality, executive function, incentive salience, and social environment) may interact to predict alcohol use or coping regulation in the moment. For example, network support for abstinence could improve decision-making and decrease likelihood of drinking. Conversely, experiences of physical pain are associated with increases in negative affect and poorer executive function, which could both increase likelihood of drinking. Both of these examples require environmental access to alcohol and a desire to drink alcohol. Treatment effectiveness will depend on the extent to which a particular treatment targets those risk factors that are most likely to increase or decrease the likelihood of drinking for each individual, as well as the personal resources that each individual brings to treatment and/or that could be enhanced in treatment. A functional analysis of contextual risk and protective factors can be critically important in guiding treatment.

Risk factors proposed in the AARDoC, including incentive salience, negative emotionality, executive function, and social environmental factors, are shown in black bold font encircling alcohol use. Contextual risk factors, including decision-making, self-efficacy, pain, craving, etc., are shown in black font in colored boxes. Risk and protective factors overlap with alcohol use and interact in predicting coping regulation and alcohol use among individual patients.

For example, there is considerable heterogeneity in treatment response to naltrexone, which may vary in efficacy in some individuals. Recent studies conducted to determine whether certain patients may benefit more from naltrexone have yielded mixed findings ( 95 ). Promising evidence suggests that individuals with the OPRM1 A118G G (Asp40) allele may have a better response to naltrexone ( 96 – 98 ); however, a prospective study of medication response among individuals stratified by presence of the Asp40 allele did not provide support for the genotype by treatment interaction ( 99 ), and recent human laboratory studies have not confirmed the hypothesized mechanisms underlying the pharmacogenomic effect ( 100 ). Initial evidence suggests that naltrexone may be more effective in reducing heavy drinking among smokers ( 101 ) and among those with a larger number of heavy drinkers in their social networks ( 102 ). With respect to reinforcement typologies, recent work has found that naltrexone may be more effective among those who tend to drink alcohol for rewarding effects ( 103 ), and acamprosate may also be more effective for individuals who drink to relieve negative affect ( 104 ).

GAPS IN SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Heterogeneity of individuals with alcohol use disorder.

This review has briefly summarized the treatments currently available for alcohol use disorder that are relatively effective, at least in some patients. Many new treatments are also being developed, and some of them seem promising. Nevertheless, numerous gaps in scientific knowledge remain. Notably, most people who drink alcohol do not develop an alcohol use disorder, most people with alcohol use disorder do not seek treatment, and most of those who do not seek treatment “recover” from alcohol use disorder without treatment ( 2 ). Very little is known about factors, particularly neurobiological, genetic, and epigenetic factors, that predict the transition from alcohol use to alcohol use disorder, although basic science models suggest that a cycle of neuroadaptations could be at play ( 15 , 16 ). We also lack a basic understanding of how individuals recover from alcohol use disorder in the absence of treatment and what neurobiological, psychological, social, and environmental factors are most important for supporting recovery from alcohol use disorder. Gaining a better understanding of recovery in the absence of treatment, particularly modifiable psychological, neurobiological, and epigenetic factors, could provide novel insights for medications and behavioral treatment development. Among many other factors, special attention is needed in future studies to shed light on the role of sex and gender in the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder and on the response to pharmacological, behavioral, and other treatments.

The heterogeneity of alcohol use disorder presents a major challenge to scientific understanding and to the development of effective treatments for prevention and intervention ( 92 ). For example, a DSM-5 diagnosis of alcohol use disorder requires 2 or more symptoms, out of 11, over the past year. That requirement equates to exactly 2048 potential symptom combinations that would meet the criteria of alcohol use disorder. An individual who only meets criteria for tolerance and withdrawal (i.e., physiological dependence) likely requires a very different course of treatment from an individual who only meets the criteria for failure to fulfill role obligations and use of alcohol in hazardous situations. Gaining a better understanding of the etiology and course of alcohol use disorder, as well as identifying whether different subtypes of drinkers may respond better to certain treatments ( 103 , 104 ), is critical for advancing the science of alcohol use disorder prevention and treatment. Alternative conceptualizations of alcohol use disorder may also aid in improving our understanding of the disorder and reducing heterogeneity. For example, the pending International Classification of Diseases , 11th edition, will simplify the diagnosis of alcohol dependence to requiring only two of three criteria in the past 12 months: (i) impaired control over alcohol use; (ii) alcohol use that dominates over other life activities; and (iii) persistence of alcohol use despite consequences. The diagnosis will be made with or without physiological dependence, as characterized by tolerance, withdrawal, or repeated use to prevent or alleviate withdrawal ( 105 ). It remains to be seen whether simplification of the criteria set will narrow our conceptualization or potentially increase heterogeneity of this disorder among those diagnosed with alcohol dependence.

Placebo effect

An additional challenge to development of pharmacological treatments for alcohol use disorder is the high placebo response rates seen in drug trials ( 106 ). The tendency for individuals to have a good treatment response when assigned to placebo medication reflects both the high probability of recovery without treatment and the heterogeneity in the disorder itself. Many people who enter treatment are already motivated to change behavior, and receiving a placebo medication can help these individuals continue the process of change. Gaining a better understanding of which kinds of individuals respond to placebo and of the overall physiological and behavioral complexities in the placebo response is critical to identifying those individuals who will benefit the most from active medication. More generally, very little is understood about how motivation to change drinking behavior may influence the efficacy of active medications, particularly via adherence mechanisms. Additional research on targeted (i.e., as needed) dosing of medications, such as nalmefene and naltrexone ( 32 , 38 ), would be promising from the perspective of increasing adherence to medications and also raising awareness of potentially heavy drinking occasions.

Recent developments in pharmacological and behavioral approaches

In addition to gaining a better understanding of the disorder and who benefits from existing treatments, the examination of molecular targets for alcohol use disorder could open up multiple innovative directions for future translational research on the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Recent research has identified many targets that might be important for future medication trials ( 67 ). For example, most of the medication development efforts in past decades have focused on pathways and targets typically related to reward processing and positive reinforcement. While important, this approach ignores the important role of stress-related pathways (e.g., corticotropin release factor and other related pathways) in negative reinforcement and in the later stages of alcohol use disorder, which is often characterized by physical dependence, anxiety, and relief drinking [for reviews, see ( 15 , 16 )]. Furthermore, it is also becoming more and more apparent that other promising targets may be identified by looking at the brain not as an isolated system but rather as an organ with bidirectional interactions with peripheral systems. Examples of the latter approach include the growing evidence suggesting a potential role of inflammation and neuroinflammation and of the gut-liver-brain axis in the neurobiological mechanisms that regulate the development and/or maintenance of alcohol use disorder ( 107 – 109 ). Moving medications development from phase 1 to phase 2 and 3 trials has also been a difficulty in the field. Future directions that might improve translation of basic science into clinical practice include the broader use of human laboratory models and pilot clinical trials ( 110 ), as well as expanding the outcomes that might be targeted in phase 2 and phase 3 trials to include drinking reduction outcomes ( 111 , 112 ).

New directions for behavioral treatment development include a greater focus on identifying effective elements of behavioral treatments and on the components of treatment that are most critical for successful behavior change ( 89 , 113 ). Studies investigating the effects of specific treatment components are critical for refining treatment protocols to more efficiently target the symptoms of alcohol use disorder. Continued development of mobile health interventions will also help with disseminating treatment to a wider range of individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder.

Translation of addiction science to clinical practice

Last, but not the least, there is also a critical need for more research on dissemination and implementation, given the fact that many treatment programs still do not incorporate evidence-based practices, such as cognitive behavioral skills training, mindfulness-based interventions, and medications. Both pharmacological and behavioral treatments for alcohol use disorder are markedly underused; the recent Surgeon General’s report Facing Addiction in America ( 114 ) highlights the fact that only about 1 in 10 people with a substance use disorder receives any type of specialty treatment. Therefore, basic science and human research efforts will need to be accompanied by translational approaches, where effective novel medications and precision medicine strategies are effectively translated from research settings to clinical practice. Greater integration of alcohol screening and medication in primary care and other clinical settings, as well as research on best methods for implementation, has great potential for expanding access to effective treatment options ( 115 ). Because the heterogeneity of alcohol use disorder makes it highly unlikely that one single treatment will work for all individuals, it is important to provide a menu of options for pharmacological and behavioral therapies to both clinicians and patients. Reducing the stigma of alcohol use disorder and moving toward a public health approach to addressing this problem may further increase the range of acceptable treatment options.

Acknowledgment

Funding: This research was supported by a grant from NIAAA (R01 AA022328) awarded to K.W. (principal investigator). R.Z.L. is funded by NIAAA. L.L. is jointly funded by NIAAA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (ZIA-AA000218). The content of this review does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. Author contributions: K.W. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. K.W., R.Z.L., and L.L. provided additional text and edits. All authors approved the final draft. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or in the materials cited herein. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors.

REFERENCES AND NOTES

Binge drinking is a growing public health crisis − a neurobiologist explains how research on alcohol use disorder has shifted

Assistant Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology, Penn State

Disclosure statement

Nikki Crowley receives funding from The National Institutes of Health, The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences endowment funds.

Penn State provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

View all partners

With the new Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black ” in U.S. theaters as of May 17, 2024, the late singer’s relationship with alcohol and drugs is under scrutiny again. In July 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her flat in north London from “death by misadventure” at the age of 27. That’s the official British term used for accidental death caused by a voluntary risk.

Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.416%, more than five times the legal intoxication limit in the U.S. – leading her cause of death to be later adjusted to include “alcohol toxicity” following a second coroner’s inquest.

Nearly 13 years later, alcohol consumption and binge drinking remain a major public health crisis , not just in the U.K. but also in the U.S.

Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report binge drinking at least once a week, with an average of seven drinks per binge episode . This is well over the amount of alcohol thought to produce legal intoxication, commonly defined as a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08% – on average, four drinks in two hours for women, five drinks in two hours for men.

Among women, days of “heavy drinking” increased 41% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels , and adult women in their 30s and 40s are rapidly increasing their rates of binge drinking , with no evidence of these trends slowing down. Despite efforts to comprehend the overall biology of substance use disorders, scientists’ and physicians’ understanding of the relationship between women’s health and binge drinking has lagged behind.

I am a neurobiologist focused on understanding the chemicals and brain regions that underlie addiction to alcohol . I study how neuropeptides – unique signaling molecules in the prefrontal cortex , one of the key brain regions in decision-making, risk-taking and reward – are altered by repeated exposure to binge alcohol consumption in animal models.

My lab focuses on understanding how things like alcohol alter these brain systems before diagnosable addiction, so that we can better inform efforts toward both prevention and treatment.

The biology of addiction

While problematic alcohol consumption has likely occurred as long as alcohol has existed, it wasn’t until 2011 that the American Society of Addiction Medicine recognized substance addiction as a brain disorder – the same year as Winehouse’s death. A diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder is now used over outdated terms such as labeling an individual as an alcoholic or having alcoholism.

Researchers and clinicians have made great strides in understanding how and why drugs – including alcohol, a drug – alter the brain. Often, people consume a drug like alcohol because of the rewarding and positive feelings it creates, such as enjoying drinks with friends or celebrating a milestone with a loved one. But what starts off as manageable consumption of alcohol can quickly devolve into cycles of excessive alcohol consumption followed by drug withdrawal.

While all forms of alcohol consumption come with health risks, binge drinking appears to be particularly dangerous due to how repeated cycling between a high state and a withdrawal state affect the brain. For example, for some people, alcohol use can lead to “ hangxiety ,” the feeling of anxiety that can accompany a hangover.

Repeated episodes of drinking and drunkenness, coupled with withdrawal, can spiral, leading to relapse and reuse of alcohol. In other words, alcohol use shifts from being rewarding to just trying to prevent feeling bad.

It makes sense. With repeated alcohol use over time, the areas of the brain engaged by alcohol can shift away from those traditionally associated with drug use and reward or pleasure to brain regions more typically engaged during stress and anxiety .

All of these stages of drinking, from the enjoyment of alcohol to withdrawal to the cycles of craving, continuously alter the brain and its communication pathways . Alcohol can affect several dozen neurotransmitters and receptors , making understanding its mechanism of action in the brain complicated.

Work in my lab focuses on understanding how alcohol consumption changes the way neurons within the prefrontal cortex communicate with each other. Neurons are the brain’s key communicator, sending both electrical and chemical signals within the brain and to the rest of your body.

What we’ve found in animal models of binge drinking is that certain subtypes of neurons lose the ability to talk to each other appropriately. In some cases, binge drinking can permanently remodel the brain. Even after a prolonged period of abstinence, conversations between the neurons don’t return to normal .

These changes in the brain can appear even before there are noticeable changes in behavior . This could mean that the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction may take root well before an individual or their loved ones suspect a problem with alcohol.

Researchers like us don’t yet fully understand why some people may be more susceptible to this shift, but it likely has to do with genetic and biological factors, as well as the patterns and circumstances under which alcohol is consumed.

Women are forgotten

While researchers are increasingly understanding the medley of biological factors that underlie addiction, there’s one population that’s been largely overlooked until now: women.

Women may be more likely than men to have some of the most catastrophic health effects caused by alcohol use, such as liver issues, cardiovascular disease and cancer . Middle-aged women are now at the highest risk for binge drinking compared with other populations.

When women consume even moderate levels of alcohol, their risk for various cancers goes up, including digestive, breast and pancreatic cancer , among other health problems – and even death. So the worsening rates of alcohol use disorder in women prompt the need for a greater focus on women in the research and the search for treatments.

Yet, women have long been underrepresented in biomedical research.

It wasn’t until 1993 that clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health was required to include women as research subjects. In fact, the NIH did not even require sex as a biological variable to be considered by federally funded researchers until 2016. When women are excluded from biomedical research, it leaves doctors and researchers with an incomplete understanding of health and disease, including alcohol addiction.

There is also increasing evidence that addictive substances can interact with cycling sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone . For instance, research has shown that when estrogen levels are high, like before ovulation, alcohol might feel more rewarding , which could drive higher levels of binge drinking. Currently, researchers don’t know the full extent of the interaction between these natural biological rhythms or other unique biological factors involved in women’s health and propensity for alcohol addiction.

Looking ahead

Researchers and lawmakers are recognizing the vital need for increased research on women’s health. Major federal investments into women’s health research are a vital step toward developing better prevention and treatment options for women.

While women like Amy Winehouse may have been forced to struggle both privately and publicly with substance use disorders and alcohol, the increasing focus of research on addiction to alcohol and other substances as a brain disorder will open new treatment avenues for those suffering from the consequences.

For more information on alcohol use disorder, causes, prevention and treatments, visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism .

• Amy Winehouse
• Binge drinking
• Neurobiology
• Intoxication
• Alcohol consumption
• Alcohol use
• Alcohol use disorder
• COVID-19 pandemic

Clinical Education Strategy & Risk Project Officer

Senior Research Fellow - Women's Health Services

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer - Marketing

Assistant Editor - 1 year cadetship

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Alcohol and Your Brain: The Latest Scientific Insights

Want to protect your brain here's what you need to know about alcohol consumption..

Posted March 18, 2024 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• What Is Alcoholism?
• Find a therapist to overcome addiction
• Transient memory loss, “blackouts,” and hangovers related to alcohol consumption are brain health risks.
• Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
• Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
• The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear.

Depending on who you ask, you might be told to drink a few glasses of red wine a day or to avoid alcohol altogether. The reasons for such recommendations are many, but, by and large, they tend to stem from a study someone read about or saw reported in the news.

So why is it so hard to know whether alcohol is good or bad for us—especially for our brains? In this post, we’ll explore the current science and some practical ideas on how to approach the topic.

What Is Alcohol Anyway?

When people talk about drinking “alcohol,” they’re almost always referring to the consumption of ethanol. Ethanol is a natural product that is formed from the fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. It’s found in a wide range of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin.

Evidence for human consumption of alcohol dates back over 10,000 years. Consumption of alcohol has and continues to serve major roles in religious and cultural ceremonies around the world. But unlike most food products, in the last century, alcohol has been wrapped up in nearly perpetual controversy over its moral effects and health implications.

How Does Alcohol Impact the Brain?

As anyone who’s consumed alcohol knows, ethanol can directly influence brain function. Ethanol is classified as a “depressant” because it has a generally slowing effect on brain activity through activation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathways.

In an acute sense, consumption of alcohol can lead to uninhibited behavior, sedation, lapses in judgment, and impairments in motor function. At higher levels, the effects can progress to coma and even death.

The Known Brain-Damaging Effects of Excess Alcohol

There is no debate here: Excessively high levels of alcohol consumption over short periods of time are toxic and potentially deadly, specifically because of its effects on the brain.

One critical fact to understand about the overall and brain-specific effects of alcohol is that the entirety of the debate around the risk/benefit ratio concerns mild to moderate alcohol consumption. As it relates to the effects of high amounts of alcohol on the body and brain, the research is consistent: It’s a very bad choice.

High amounts of alcohol use are causal risk factors in the development of disease in the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain (including the brains of children in utero). In fact, 1 in 8 deaths in Americans aged 20-64 is attributable to alcohol use. When it comes to adults, excessive alcohol use can cause multiple well-defined brain issues ranging from short-term confusion to dementia .

What Is “Excessive” or “High” Alcohol Use?

Key to the nuance in the conversation about alcohol use are definitions. Across the board, “excessive” or “high” alcohol use is linked to worse overall and brain health outcomes. So what does that mean?

While definitions can be variable, one way to look at this is the consumption of 4 or more drinks on an occasion (for women) and 5 or more for men. Additionally, excess alcohol is defined as drinking more than 8 drinks a week (women) and 15 a week (men), or consuming alcohol if you are pregnant or younger than age 21.

Beyond this, by definition, consuming enough alcohol to cause a “brownout,” “blackout,” hangover, or other overt brain symptomatology is evidence that the alcohol you’ve consumed is creating problems in your brain. Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism ) is also a clear issue for the brain. It has been linked to a higher risk for dementia, especially early-onset dementia in a study of 262,000 adults, as well as to smaller brain size .

Is There a “Safe” Amount of Alcohol for the Brain?

In a highly publicized article from Nature Communications , researchers looked at brain imaging data from nearly 37,000 middle-aged to older adults and cross-referenced their brain scans with their reported alcohol consumption. The findings were profound: People who drank more alcohol had smaller brains, even in people drinking only one or two alcoholic beverages a day.

Conversely, other recent data suggest a lower risk for dementia in people consuming a few alcoholic beverages a day. This includes a 2022 study showing that in around 27,000 people, consuming up to 40 grams of alcohol (around 2.5 drinks) a day was linked to a lower risk for dementia versus abstinence in adults over age 60. A much larger study of almost 4 million people in Korea noted that mild to moderate alcohol consumption was linked to a lower risk for dementia compared to non-drinking.

How Do We Make Sense of This Data?

When it comes to the bottom line as it relates to alcohol consumption and brain health, the data are rather solid on some fronts, and a bit less so on others. There’s also the potential for confounding variables, including the fact that many people like to drink alcohol to enjoy and enhance social bonds (which we know are beneficial for the brain). Here’s a summary of what the most recent research is telling us.

• Experiencing transient memory loss, “blackouts,” or hangovers related to alcohol consumption is overt evidence of threats to brain health.
• The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear, but it seems unreasonable to start alcohol use for brain health.

Austin Perlmutter, M.D. , is a board-certified internal medicine physician and the co-author of Brain Wash .

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

• Search Menu
• Sign in through your institution
• Author Guidelines
• Submission Site
• Open Access
• About Alcohol and Alcoholism
• About the Medical Council on Alcohol
• Editorial Board
• Advertising and Corporate Services
• Journals Career Network
• Self-Archiving Policy
• Dispatch Dates
• Contact the MCA
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

Article Contents

Introduction, the role of appetite regulation in alcohol dependence and craving, influence of transcription factors on endocrinological mechanisms in alcohol dependence, epigenetic gene regulation in alcohol dependence, conclusion and perspectives, acknowledgements.

• < Previous

Biological Mechanisms in Alcohol Dependence—New Perspectives

• Article contents
• Figures & tables
• Supplementary Data

Thomas Hillemacher, Biological Mechanisms in Alcohol Dependence—New Perspectives, Alcohol and Alcoholism , Volume 46, Issue 3, May-June 2011, Pages 224–230, https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agr026

• Permissions Icon Permissions

Neurobiological research in alcohol dependence has led to a new understanding of this addictive disease. While some important mechanisms like alterations in the mesolimbic reward system or changes in the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenocortical axis have been well studied, other possible neurobiological mechanisms are still unrevealed. This applies for the role of specific neuroendocrinological pathways like the appetite-regulating system and the modification of gene expression, particularly the influence of genetic variants of transcription factors or epigenetic mechanism like DNA methylation or histone acetylation. This review describes the current knowledge regarding these factors, focusing particularly on the role of appetite- and volume-regulating hormones, the role of genetic variants of specific transcription factors and the function of epigenetic alterations in the genomic sequence of candidate genes for alcohol dependence. A further understanding of the influence of transcription factors and epigenetic regulation may help to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms in the neurobiology of alcohol dependence.

Research on neurobiological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of alcohol dependence in recent years has led to a fundamental change in the understanding of this disease as a neurobiological disorder. Therefore, studies have shown that particularly alcohol seeking behaviour is closely associated with changes in dopaminergic transmission in the mesocorticolimbic brain circuits ( Soderpalm et al. , 2009 ; Tupala and Tiihonen, 2004 ). But also other central nervous systems like the opioid system ( Mendez and Morales-Mulia, 2008 ; Rodriguez-Arias et al. , 2010 ), glutamatergic- and GABA-ergic neurotransmission ( Bleich and Hillemacher, 2009 ; Colombo et al. , 2004 ; Heinz et al. , 2009 ), the serotonergic system ( Johnson, 2004 ) and changes in neuroendocrinological function have been described ( Clarke et al. , 2008 ; Hillemacher et al. , 2007a ; Kiefer and Wiedemann, 2004 ). Beside changes in neurotransmission and endocrinology, studies also focused on genetic and epigenetic alterations in alcohol dependence, describing a series of candidate genes for alcohol dependence ( Bleich and Hillemacher, 2009 ; Ducci and Goldman, 2008 ; Gelernter and Kranzler, 2009 ). This review will focus on recent research regarding changes of appetite-regulating hormones in alcohol dependence and the importance of alterations in gene transcription due to epigenetic mechanisms and altered function on transcription factors.

Recent investigations have focused on the role of the appetite-regulating system in alcohol dependence ( Kiefer and Wiedemann, 2004 ; Pelchat, 2002 ). Regarding neuroendocrinological alterations of appetite-regulating neuropeptides, leptin and ghrelin have received most attention ( Addolorato et al. , 2006 ; Kiefer et al. , 2001a , b ; Kraus et al. , 2005 ). However, other appetite-regulating pathways have also been investigated in the context of alcohol dependence, which are not in the focus of this review. These include, e.g. gut-liver–brain pathways including alterations in the secretion of insulin and other appetitive hormones like, for example thyroid hormones. For further discussion of these pathways see e.g. Ronis et al. , 2007 , and Leggio, 2009 .

Leptin is an adipocytokine secreted by white adipose cells. While leptin has numerous ways of action (and probably still not all unrevealed up to now), one main mechanism seems to be the action in the arcuate nucleus of the mediobasal hypothalamus. There, leptin inhibits the action of neurons expressing the appetite-stimulating neuropeptide agouti-related peptide and neuropeptide Y, and activates the appetite-reducing transmitters POMC (proopiomelanocortin) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (for review on the action of leptin, see Schwartz and Porte, 2005 ). First studies by Kiefer et al. (2001a , c ) described an increase of leptin plasma levels in alcohol-dependent patients being associated with elevated alcohol craving measured by a visual analogue scale. Other studies showed that leptin plasma concentrations were elevated during chronic alcohol consumption ( Nicolas et al. , 2001 ) with a normalization during abstinence ( Wurst et al. , 2003 ). Using a large study sample of 189 alcohol-dependent patients at the beginning of alcohol detoxification, we were able to confirm this previous data for both genders, finding a highly significant association between leptin serum levels and alcohol craving measured by the Obsessive Compulsive Dinking Scale ( Hillemacher et al. , 2007a ). While pathophysiology behind the association between leptin and craving remain unrevealed and speculative, one important hypothesis focuses on the influence of leptin on activating secretion of POMC, which through posttranslational modification leads to different active derivates, including adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and β-endorphines ( Muschler et al. , 2010 ). Both ACTH, influencing the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis and β-endorphines, affecting the mesolimbic reward system, have been closely linked with craving and anxiety in alcohol dependence ( Junghanns et al. , 2003 ; Kiefer et al. , 2002 ; Kiefer and Wiedemann, 2004 ).

Adiponectin and resistin

Also other adipocytokines like adiponectin and resistin have been subject to recent research. Recent pre-clinical and clinical studies showed an increase of both serum levels under alcohol intake ( Pravdova et al. , 2007 ; Sierksma et al. , 2004 ). In a first study, we analysed a sample of 88 patients at admission for alcohol detoxification and after 1 week of withdrawal treatment in comparison to 89 healthy controls ( Hillemacher et al. , 2009b ). Findings of this study showed that the extent of alcohol craving, obtained using the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS), was associated negatively with adiponectin serum levels in male alcoholic patients on a significant level. Adiponectin and resistin levels were both significantly elevated in patients with alcohol dependence at both dates (admission and after 1 week of treatment) compared with the healthy control group. In the course of withdrawal and early abstinence, adiponectin decreased significantly during the 7-day period while resistin serum levels showed a slight, not significant increase. These findings provide first evidence that also other adipocytokines may be involved in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence and alcohol seeking behaviour. However, the pathophysiology behind these findings remains unclear. It fits well that adiponectin, known to act as an opponent of leptin in appetite regulation, is inversely associated with craving. Several studies showed effects of adiponectin on the CNS ( Kos et al. , 2007 ) by an involvement in the central nervous appetite regulation via enhancement of the AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) activity in the arcuate hypothalamus ( Kadowaki et al. , 2008 ; Qi et al. , 2004 ). It can be hypothesized that these effects on the hypothalamic level may influence mesolimbic neurotransmission and therefore alcohol craving, while profound studies are necessary to back up this hypothesis.

Furthermore, the gastrointestinal and also appetite-regulating peptide ghrelin has received attention regarding a possible role in the neurobiology of alcohol dependence. This appetite-regulating neuropeptide is expressed in specialized cells in the pancreas and stomach and exerts different mechanisms of action. The main mechanisms of action seem to be the stimulation of the expression of growth hormone and the activation of the cholinergic-dopaminergic reward link in the brain reward system ( Inui et al. , 2004 ; Jerlhag, 2008 ; Jerlhag et al. , 2006 ; Mondal et al. , 2005 ). Preclinical studies have also focused on a possible role of ghrelin antagonists in the treatment of alcohol-dependent behaviour with promising results for further pharmacological approaches ( Jerlhag et al. , 2009 ), which has also been discussed in more detail in a recent review by Leggio (2010) . Although the role of ghrelin in the central nervous reward system is well studied in animals, results regarding humans are contradictory ( Addolorato et al. , 2006 ; Kim et al. , 2005 ; Kraus et al. , 2005 ). While Kraus et al . described elevated ghrelin serum levels in alcohol-dependent patients at the beginning of alcohol withdrawal, Addolorato et al . found lowered ghrelin levels in actively drinking alcoholics. Similar results were described by Badaoui et al. (2008 ), who found decreased plasma grhelin levels as well as lowered ghrelin levels in fundic biopsies in alcohol-dependent patients. Additionally, findings from the Addolorato study showed a positive association between ghrelin serum levels and alcohol craving. In an own investigation regarding different types of alcohol dependence by using Lesch's typology of alcohol dependence ( Lesch and Walter, 1996 ), we found a trend for an association between ghrelin and craving scores particularly in patients of Lesch's type 1 ( Hillemacher et al. , 2007c ). Furthermore, a previous investigation described elevated ghrelin serum levels in abstinent patients ( Kim et al. , 2005 ), which may poin to long-lasting disturbance of ghrelin metabolism in alcohol dependence. Taken together, human studies on alterations of ghrelin metabolism in alcohol dependence are contradictory and dificult to intepret, as most of these studies investigated different patients groups (e.g. psychiatric patients vs. internal patients) and settings and at variable time-points of withdrawal/abstinence.

Many factors influencing protein transcription have been identified in the past. One of these is the influence of transcription factors, adhering to the DNA and promoting or inhibiting mRNA transcription. However, little is known regarding the role of transcription factors in the regulation and expression of transmitters relevant for addictive behaviour. One recent investigation from our group focused on the role of the CAG trinucleotide repeat of the androgen receptor (AR). The AR, located on chromosome Xq11-12, belongs to a family of ligand-activated nuclear transcription factors. Two isoforms of the AR have been identified (AR-A, AR-B), both encoded by the same gene ( Wilson and McPhaul, 1994 ; Zhou et al. , 1994 ). Testosterone or dihydrotestosterone binds to the testosterone-binding domain of the AR, building a complex ( Mooradian et al. , 1987 ). This complex binds to the DNA, acting as a transcription factor for various transmitters, including leptin and POMC (Fig.  1 ).

Influence of gene transcription on leptin and POMC metabolism. AR, androgen receptor; POMC, proopiomelanocortin; ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone.

However, the function of the AR is regulated partially by a trinucleotide CAG repeat in the encoding sequence of the receptor gene ( Chamberlain et al. , 1994 ). A higher number of CAG repeats inhibit the possibility of the AR–testosterone complex to bind to the DNA and so inhibits the activating role on mRNA transcription. Clinically, the expansion (>40) of the CAG repeat has been associated with neurological diseases (i.e. Kennedy's disease) ( La Spada et al. , 1991 ) and impaired sperm production ( Tut et al. , 1997 ). A relatively small number of CAG repeats in the AR gene is associated with a higher risk of depression ( Seidman et al. , 2001 ), adrenopausal symptoms ( Härkönen et al. , 2003 ), prostate cancer, benign prostate hyperplasia, young-onset rheumatoid arthritis and with a lower risk of infertility ( Westberg et al. , 2001 ). So, it can be hypothesized that genetic differences regarding the number of CAG repeats in the encoding sequence of the AR (which as described above is important for the transcription of relevant transmitters for addictive behaviour like POMC and leptin) may influence (a) the risk of alcohol dependence in general or (b) may be associated with alcohol craving. In a first study, we investigated 112 male alcohol-dependent patients and 50 healthy controls regarding the number of CAG repeats ( Lenz et al. , 2009 ). We found no significant difference in terms of CAG repeat length comparing patients with controls, which leads to the assumption that the CAG repeat length is not generally associated with the risk of alcohol dependence. However, we found a significant negative association between the number of repeats and the extent of alcohol craving, measured with the OCDS. A lower number of CAG repeats, leading to a higher binding capacity of the transcription factor, are associated with elevated craving scores in our population. This result leads to the question in which way the investigated polymorphism of the AR influences alcohol craving and whether there is a flexible link between the static genetic model of the CAG repeats and alcohol-seeking behaviour.

In further analysis, however, we were able to show that this association is at least partially mediated by the appetite-regulating peptide leptin ( Lenz et al. , 2010 ). We found both, a significant ( P  < 0.001) association between a lower number of CAG repeats and leptin serum levels and an association (also P  < 0.001) between leptin serum levels and OCDS score. Using a path analysis the study showed that ∼40% of the association between CAG repeats and craving are mediated via leptin, probably by influencing leptin mRNA transcription (Fig.  2 ).

Function of CAG repeats in the encoding sequence of the AR on leptin transcription and craving.

There are only few studies on the role of transcription factors in alcohol dependence. A recent study of Kiefer et al. (2010 ) investigated the role of a single nucleotide polymorphism, rs13273672, an intronic SNP in the gene for GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA4). GATA4 has been described to modulate gene transcription of atrial natriuretic peptide. Interestingly, in this study the investigated SNP in the gene of GATA4 was associated with relapse in alcohol-dependent patients. Therefore, it can be supposed that genetic variations in GATA4 may influence the risk of relapse in alcohol dependence via modulation of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) plasma levels, similar to the described polymorphism of the AR and its influence on craving via leptin plasma levels.

Evidently, these first studies on the role of transcription factors in alcohol dependence should not been over interpreted. However, they provide an interesting new approach to further understand alterations in gene regulation and transcription in alcohol dependence. Furthermore, genetic variants in the encoding sequence of transcription factors like the AR, which are able to influence transcription of different relevant neuropeptides, may have a more important impact for addictive behaviour than genetic variants of solitary candidate genes.

Mechanisms of epigenetic modification

Besides the influence of transcription factors on gene description, epigenetic mechanisms also have to be taken into account .It is known that the long-term regulation of gene expression is influenced by epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and chromatin restructuring, providing a molecular memory of gene and environmental interactions ( Rodenhiser and Mann, 2006 ). Disruption of the heritable methylation patterns in DNA can lead to alterations in chromatin structure and alterations in gene expression ( Smith and Crocitto, 1999 ). Disturbances of the epigenetic control—and particularly of DNA methylation—have been discussed to play a role in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders such as eating disorders ( Frieling et al. , 2007 ), depression ( Hillemacher et al. , 2007b ), schizophrenia ( Abdolmaleky et al. , 2005 , 2006 ; Bleich et al. , 2007 ), drug addiction ( Renthal and Nestler, 2008 ) and alcohol dependence ( Bleich et al. , 2006 ; Bönsch et al. , 2005 ).

DNA methylation influences gene transcription by binding a methyl group to a CpG island in the genomic sequence. CpG sequences are spread throughout the genome and are mostly methylated, whereby CpG islands in the promoter regions of genes are usually less methylated. In the majority of cases, a higher methylation of the genomic sequence leads to an inactivation of the referring gene, while less methylation leads to activation ( Doerfler, 1983 ; Egger et al. , 2004 ; Holliday, 1987 ). Methyl groups bound to the genomic sequence reduce the DNA-binding capacity for transcription factors and so lower the transcription ability of the referring gene. However, in some cases methyl groups do not only reduce the DNA-binding capacity but also are able to enhance transcription factors’ attachment to promoter regions. For example, methyl-binding proteins (Mbs1-4 and MeCP2) bind specially methylated CpG islands exclusively ( Lopez-Serra et al. , 2006 ). MeCP2 activates histone methyltransferases and histone acetylases that is followed by a reduction of gene expression. This means that MeCP2 can be regarded as a mediator between those two epigenetic phenomenona—methylation and acetylation ( Fuks et al. , 2003 ; Nan et al. , 1998 ; Rodenhiser and Mann, 2006 ).

Research on epigenetic alterations in alcohol dependence

Regarding alcohol dependence, several studies showed changes of promotor-specific DNA methylation of several candidate genes. One of these candidate genes investigated lately is the alpha synuclein gene. Studies have shown that the expression of alpha synuclein is enhanced in different brain areas of rats whose alcohol preference is inbred ( Liang et al. , 2003 ). Alpha synuclein is known to be involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission ( Perez et al. , 2002 ), which has been suggested to be a main mechanism mediating withdrawal and craving associated with alcohol dependence. An increased expression of alpha synuclein mRNA has been described in alcohol-dependent patients, with a correlation to obsessive alcohol craving ( Bönsch et al. , 2004 ). Further studies showed an elevated DNA methylation in the promoter region of the alpha synuclein gene, investigating peripheral mononuclear cells of patients with alcohol dependence compared with healthy controls. It can be hypothesized that this described DNA hypermethylation in the promoter regions of the alpha synuclein gene leads to a down-regulation of alpha synuclein expression, followed by a disturbed dopaminergic neurotransmission ( Bönsch et al. , 2005 ).

Another topic in the field of epigenetic alterations in alcohol dependence has been changes in the methylation of the promoter region of HERP (homocysteine-induced endoplasmatic reticulum protein). HERP is an endoplasmatic reticulum resident membrane protein, which regulates Ca 2+ homeostasis and thus protects endothelial and neuronal cell integrity against oxidative stress. A recent study described an elevated promoter DNA methylation within the HERP gene in peripheral blood cells of patients with alcohol dependence. Also, HERP mRNA expression was lowered in this study sample, compared with healthy controls ( Bleich et al. , 2006 ). Furthermore, HERP mRNA expression was negatively correlated with its promoter methylation ( Bleich et al. , 2006 ). This association was reproduced in cell culture experiments incubating neuronal cells with homocysteine ( Lenz et al. , 2006 ). In these cell experiments, it was shown that amino acid response element and cyclic-AMP response element-binding protein act as important transcription factors for the expression of HERP. Taken together, these findings may lead to the hypothesis that suppressed expression of HERP under conditions of chronic alcohol consumption may be partially responsible for an elevated rate of seizures, vascular incidents, and other neurological damages.

Also, neuroendocrinological changes due to alcohol dependence might be regulated at least partially by epigenetic mechanisms. However, little is known about epigenetic regulation of endocrinological changes in alcohol dependence. A recent study showed alterations of the promoter-related DNA methylation of ANP and vasopressin precursor genes and the related mRNA expression of these genes in patients at the beginning of alcohol detoxification ( Hillemacher et al. , 2008 ). Findings of this investigation showed significantly decreased promoter-related DNA methylation of ANP and significantly elevated promoter-related DNA methylation of vasopressin in peripheral blood cells of the patients group, compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, DNA methylation of ANP was significantly correlated with the extent of craving measured with the OCDS.

A recent investigation focused on alterations of DNA methylation in the promoter region of the DAT (dopamine transporter) gene ( Hillemacher et al. , 2009a ). DAT is responsible for the reuptake of dopamine from the synaptic gap and has therefore a crucial importance for dopaminergic neurotransmission. Findings of this study show a significant hypermethylation in the sequence of the DAT promoter in alcohol-dependent patients compared with the healthy control group, and a negative association between DAT methylation and alcohol craving measured with the OCDS.

Other studies focused on alterations of DNA methylation of the genomic sequence of the N -methyl- d -aspartate 2b receptor subtype (NR2B). An animal study showed recently that chronic but not acute alcohol consumption in mice leads to a hypomethylation of specific areas in the genomic sequence of the NR2B, leading to a receptor up-regulation ( Marutha Ravindran and Ticku, 2005 ). A human study, investigating DNA from peripheral blood cells, showed a significant association between high life time drinking and high daily alcohol intake with lower DNA methylation of NR2B in alcohol-dependent patients undergoing alcohol withdrawal ( Biermann et al. , 2009 ). These studies showed that the up-regulation of NR2B in alcohol dependence may be at least partially explained by modification of genomic DNA methylation.

Another recent investigation regarding epigenetic alterations in alcohol dependence focused on epigenetic alterations in the genetic sequence of the polypeptide pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). POMC is modified post-translationally into several active hormones but particularly into ACTH, which plays an important role in the regulation of the HPA axis. Dysfunction of the HPA axis due to alcohol consumption ( Richardson et al. , 2008 ) and in alcohol-dependent patients has been shown in various investigations ( Junghanns et al. , 2003 ; Rasmussen et al. , 1998 ). Muschler et al . recently showed that the DNA methylation status in the gene sequence of POMC at single CpG sites differ between patients with alcohol dependence and healthy controls and identified a specific cluster of CpG islands showing a significant association with alcohol craving ( Muschler et al. , 2010 ). These results may be considered a hint towards the hypothesis that epigenetic alterations — and particularly changes in DNA methylation — may contribute to the described dysregulation of the HPA axis in alcoholism.

While the knowledge about the role of epigenetic alterations (due to changes in DNA methylation or histone modifications) and the importance of altered function of transcription factors in alcohol dependence is still limited and must be regarded with caution, the described recent investigations open a new and intriguing field for research. Most investigations performed up to now have been association studies so that the pathophysiology behind still remains hypothetical. However, changes in gene transcription — by epigenetic modifications or altered function of transcription factors — may be important to understand interactions between genetic and environmental factors for the genesis and maintenance of alcohol-seeking behaviour.

While epigenetic alterations and particularly changes in DNA methylation are discussed in a wide range of psychiatric disorders ( Abdolmaleky et al. , 2005 ; Frieling et al. , 2010 ; Hillemacher et al. , 2007b ), they may be of special interest in alcohol dependence for two specific reasons: compared with other psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia or depression, in alcohol dependence a particular agent — ethanol — can be associated with changes in DNA methylation, e.g. by alterations in the homocysteine pathway ( Bleich and Hillemacher, 2009 ; Bleich et al. , 2004 ). Furthermore, these epigenetic alterations may not only be of importance in alcohol dependence but also may contribute to the genesis of alcohol associated malignant diseases like live cancer or colorectal cancer ( Baylin, 2005 ; Giovannucci et al. , 1995 ; Herceg and Hainaut, 2007 ; McCabe and Caudill, 2005 ; Seitz and Stickel, 2007 ; Zhang et al. , 2007 ).

While the described studies are not more than a first step towards a further understanding of the role of epigenetic alterations and the importance of transcription factors in alcohol dependence they provide an important field for further investigations. This may lead to a further understanding of gene–environment interactions in the neurobiology of alcoholism and possibly to more effective therapeutical options in the future.

The subject of this review has been presented in the plenary lecture of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA) Nordmann Award Meeting, held at Heidelberg (Germany), 17–18 September 2010. The speaker was Thomas Hillemacher, M.D., as the recipient of the 2010 Nordmann Award. The plenary lecture was co-chaired by Otto M. Lesch, M.D. (introducer) and Helmut K. Seitz, M.D., Ph.D., A.G.A.F. (discussant). Some of our studies reported in this review were supported by the ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)’. The author would like to thank all of his colleagues that he has had the pleasure of working with, both at the University Hospital Erlangen (Erlangen, Germany) and at the Hannover Medical School (Hannover, Germany). Especially, the author would like to thank Stefan Bleich, M.D., who was his mentor during most part of his scientific career, and Helge Frieling, M.D., Johannes Kornhuber, M.D., Annemarie Heberlein, M.D., Marc A.N. Muschler, M.D., Julia Wilhelm, M.D. and Bernd Lenz, M.D.

Google Scholar

• alcohol dependence
• dna methylation
• transcription factor
• epigenetics

Email alerts

Citing articles via.

• Recommend to your Library

Affiliations

• Online ISSN 1464-3502
• Copyright © 2024 Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press
• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Choosing an Alcohol Rehab Treatment Program

Aa and other peer support groups for alcohol addiction, alcoholism and alcohol abuse, staying social when you quit drinking.

• Vaping: The Health Risks and How to Quit

Women and Alcohol

• Binge Drinking: Effects, Causes, and Help

Helping Someone with a Drug Addiction

• Online Therapy: Is it Right for You?
• Mental Health
• Health & Wellness
• Children & Family
• Relationships

Are you or someone you know in crisis?

• Bipolar Disorder
• Eating Disorders
• Grief & Loss
• Personality Disorders
• PTSD & Trauma
• Schizophrenia
• Therapy & Medication
• Exercise & Fitness
• Healthy Eating
• Well-being & Happiness
• Weight Loss
• Work & Career
• Illness & Disability
• Heart Health
• Childhood Issues
• Learning Disabilities
• Family Caregiving
• Teen Issues
• Communication
• Emotional Intelligence
• Love & Friendship
• Domestic Abuse
• Healthy Aging
• Aging Issues
• Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
• Senior Housing
• End of Life
• Meet Our Team

How do I stop drinking?

Set goals and prepare for change, cutting back vs. quitting alcohol altogether, alcohol addiction treatment options, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, get support, find new meaning in life, plan for triggers and cravings, handling setbacks in your recovery, how to help someone stop drinking, overcoming alcohol addiction.

Are you ready to quit drinking or cut down to healthier levels? These tips can help you get started on the road to recovery.

Overcoming an addiction to alcohol can be a long and bumpy road. At times, it may even feel impossible. But it’s not. If you’re ready to stop drinking and willing to get the support you need, you can recover from alcoholism and alcohol abuse—no matter how heavy your drinking or how powerless you feel. And you don’t have to wait until you hit rock bottom; you can make a change at any time. Whether you want to quit drinking altogether or cut down to healthier levels, these guidelines can help you get started on the road to recovery today.

Most people with alcohol problems do not decide to make a big change out of the blue or transform their drinking habits overnight. Recovery is usually a more gradual process. In the early stages of change, denial is a huge obstacle. Even after admitting you have a drinking problem, you may make excuses and drag your feet. It’s important to acknowledge your ambivalence about stopping drinking. If you’re not sure if you’re ready to change or you’re struggling with the decision, it can help to think about the costs and benefits of each choice.

Evaluating the costs and benefits of drinking

Make a table like the one below, weighing the costs and benefits of drinking to the costs and benefits of quitting.

Once you’ve made the decision to change, the next step is establishing clear drinking goals. The more specific, realistic, and clear your goals, the better.

Example #1: My drinking goal

• I will stop drinking alcohol.
• My quit date is __________.

Example #2: My drinking goal

• I will stop drinking on weekdays, starting as of __________.
• I will limit my Saturday and Sunday drinking to no more than three drinks per day or five drinks per weekend.
• After three months, I will cut back my weekend drinking even more to a maximum of two drinks per day and three drinks per weekend.

Do you want to stop drinking altogether or just cut back? If your goal is to reduce your drinking, decide which days you will drink alcohol and how many drinks you will allow yourself per day. Try to commit to at least two days each week when you won’t drink at all.

When do you want to stop drinking or start drinking less? Tomorrow? In a week? Next month? Within six months? If you’re trying to stop drinking, set a specific quit date.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

How to accomplish your goals

After you’ve set your goals to either stop or cut back your drinking, write down some ideas on how you can help yourself accomplish these goals. For example:

Get rid of temptations. Remove all alcohol, barware, and other alcohol-related paraphernalia from your home and office.

Announce your goal. Let friends, family members, and co-workers know that you’re trying to stop or cut back on drinking. If they drink, ask them to support your recovery by not doing so in front of you.

Be upfront about your new limits. Make it clear that drinking will not be allowed in your home and that you may not be able to attend events where alcohol is being served.

Avoid bad influences. Distance yourself from people who don’t support your efforts to stop drinking or respect the limits you’ve set. This may mean giving up certain friends and social connections.

Learn from the past. Reflect on previous attempts to stop or reduce your drinking. What worked? What didn’t? What can you do differently this time to avoid pitfalls?

Whether or not you can successfully cut back on your drinking depends on the severity of your drinking problem. If you’re an alcoholic—which, by definition, means you aren’t able to control your drinking—it’s best to try to stop drinking entirely. But if you’re not ready to take that step, or if you don’t have an alcohol abuse problem but want to cut back for personal or health reasons, the following tips can help:

Set your drinking goal. Choose a limit for how much you’ll drink, but make sure your limit is not more than one drink a day if you’re a woman, two drinks a day if you’re a man—and try to have some days each week when you won’t drink alcohol at all. Write your drinking goal down and keep it where you will frequently see it, such as on your phone or taped to your refrigerator.

Keep a record of your drinking to help you reach your goal. For 3 to 4 weeks, write down every time you have a drink and how much you drink. Reviewing the results, you may be surprised at your weekly drinking habits.

Cut down drinking at home. Try to limit or remove alcohol from your home. It’s much easier to avoid drinking if you don’t keep temptations around.

Drink slower. When you drink, sip slowly and take a break of 30 minutes or one hour between drinks. Or drink soda, water, or juice between alcoholic drinks. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, so make sure you eat food when you drink.

Schedule one or two alcohol-free days each week. Then, try to stop drinking for one week. Make a note about how you feel physically and mentally on these days—recognizing the benefits may help you to cut down for good.

Some people are able to stop drinking on their own or with the help of a 12-step program or other support group (see below for links). Others need medical supervision in order to withdraw from alcohol safely and comfortably. Which option is best for you depends on how much you’ve been drinking, how long you’ve had a problem, the stability of your living situation, and other health issues you may have.

The first step is usually to consult your primary care doctor or GP. Your doctor might consider the following six factors before offering a treatment referral:

• Your risk of withdrawal.
• Your physical health history and current conditions.
• Your mental health history and co-occurring disorders .
• Your readiness to change.
• Your risk for relapse.
• Your current level of support social and living situation.

Examples of alcohol treatment programs

• Intensive inpatient service is a short-term option if you need professional medical attention as you recover from intense withdrawal symptoms.
• Residential treatment involves living at a treatment facility while undergoing intensive treatment during the day. Depending on your specific needs, a stay in a residential facility can last a single month or several months.
• Partial hospitalization   programs (PHP) are for people who require ongoing medical monitoring but have a stable living situation to return to at the end of the day. Also known as “day treatment,” these programs require you to spend at least 20 hours per week in a clinical environment.
• Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) focus on relapse prevention and can often be scheduled around work or school. An IOP might require you to commit to between 9 and 19 hours of treatment, such as group therapy, each week.
• Therapy (Individual, Group, or Family) can help you identify the root causes of your alcohol use, repair your relationships, and learn healthier coping skills and how to deal with triggers that could cause you to relapse.

There’s no magic bullet or single treatment that works for everyone. Everyone’s needs are different, so it’s important that you find a program that feels right to you. Any alcohol addiction treatment program should be customized to your unique problems and situation. Read: Choosing an Alcohol Rehab Treatment Program to learn more.

When you drink heavily and frequently, your body becomes physically dependent on alcohol and goes through withdrawal if you suddenly stop drinking.

The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal range from mild to severe, and include:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Anxiety and restlessness
• Stomach cramps and diarrhea
• Trouble sleeping or concentrating
• Elevated heart rate and blood pressure

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually start within hours after you stop drinking, peak in a day or two, and improve within five days. But in some alcoholics, withdrawal is not just unpleasant—it can be life threatening.

Coping with alcohol withdrawal symptoms safely

If you’re a long-term, heavy drinker, you may need medically supervised detoxification. Detox can be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital or alcohol treatment facility, where you may be prescribed medication to prevent medical complications and relieve withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor or an addiction specialist to learn more.

Seek emergency medical help if you experience any of the following withdrawal symptoms:

• severe vomiting
• confusion and disorientation
• hallucinations
• extreme agitation
• seizures or convulsions

The symptoms listed above may be a sign of a severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens, or DTs. This rare, emergency condition causes dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing, so it’s important to get to the hospital right away.

Whether you choose to tackle your alcohol addiction by going to rehab, getting therapy, or taking a self-directed treatment approach, support is essential. Don’t try to go it alone. Recovering from alcohol addiction or abuse is much easier when you have people you can lean on for encouragement, comfort, and guidance.

Support can come from family members, friends, counselors, other recovering alcoholics, your healthcare providers, and people from your faith community.

Lean on close friends and family – Having the support of friends and family members is an invaluable asset in recovery. If you’re reluctant to turn to your loved ones because you’ve let them down before, consider going to couples counseling or family therapy.

Build a sober social network – If your previous social life revolved around alcohol, you may need to make some new connections. It’s important to have sober friends who will support your recovery. Try taking a class, joining a church or a civic group, volunteering , or attending events in your community.

Make meetings a priority – Join a recovery support group, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) , and attend meetings regularly. Spending time with people who understand exactly what you’re going through can be very healing. You can also benefit from the shared experiences of the group members and learn what others have done to stay sober.

[Read: Support Groups: Types, Benefits, and What to Expect]

While getting sober is an important first step, it is only the beginning of your recovery from alcohol addiction or heavy drinking. Rehab or professional treatment can get you started on the road to recovery, but to stay alcohol-free for the long term, you’ll need to build a new, meaningful life where drinking no longer has a place.

Five steps to a sober lifestyle

• Take care of yourself. To prevent mood swings and combat cravings, concentrate on eating right and getting plenty of sleep. Exercise is also key: it releases endorphins, relieves stress, and promotes emotional well-being.
• Build your support network. Surround yourself with positive influences and people who make you feel good about yourself. The more you’re invested in other people and your community, the more you have to lose—which will help you stay motivated and on the recovery track.
• Develop new activities and interests. Find new hobbies, volunteer activities, or work that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose. When you’re doing things you find fulfilling, you’ll feel better about yourself and drinking will hold less appeal.
• Continue treatment. Your chances of staying sober improve if you are participating in a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous, have a sponsor, or are involved in therapy or an outpatient treatment program.
• Deal with stress in a healthy way. Alcohol abuse is often a misguided attempt to manage stress. Find healthier ways to keep your stress level in check, such as exercising, meditating, or practicing breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques.

Cravings for alcohol can be intense, particularly in the first six months after you quit drinking. Good alcohol treatment prepares you for these challenges, helping you develop new coping skills to deal with stressful situations, alcohol cravings, and social pressure to drink.

Avoiding drinking triggers

Avoid the things that trigger your urge to drink. If certain people, places, or activities trigger a craving for alcohol, try to avoid them. This may mean making major changes to your social life, such as finding new things to do with your old drinking buddies—or even giving up those friends and finding new ones .

[Read: Staying Social When You Quit Drinking]

Practice saying “no” to alcohol in social situations. No matter how much you try to avoid alcohol, there will probably be times where you’re offered a drink. Prepare ahead for how you’ll respond, with a firm, yet polite, “no thanks.”

Managing alcohol cravings

When you’re struggling with alcohol cravings, try these strategies:

Talk to someone you trust: your sponsor, a supportive family member or friend, or someone from your faith community.

Distract yourself until the urge passes. Go for a walk, listen to music, do some housecleaning, run an errand, or tackle a quick task.

Remind yourself of your reasons for not drinking. When you’re craving alcohol, there’s a tendency to remember the positive effects of drinking and forget the negatives. Remind yourself of the adverse long-term effects of heavy drinking and how it won’t really make you feel better, even in the short term.

Accept the urge and ride it out, instead of trying to fight it. This is known as “urge surfing.” Think of your craving as an ocean wave that will soon crest, break, and dissipate. When you ride out the craving, without trying to battle, judge, or ignore it, you’ll see that it passes more quickly than you’d think.

The three basic steps of urge surfing:

• Assess how you’re experiencing the craving. Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands in a relaxed position. Take a few deep breaths and focus your attention inward. Allow your attention to wander through your body. Notice the part of your body where you’re experiencing the craving and what the sensations are like. Tell yourself what it feels like. For example, “My craving is in my mouth and nose and in my stomach.”
• Focus on one area where you’re experiencing the urge. How do the sensations in that area feel? For example, perhaps you feel hot, cold, tingly, or numb? Are your muscles tense or relaxed? How large an area is involved? Describe the sensations to yourself and any changes that occur. “My mouth feels dry and parched. There is tension in my lips and tongue. I keep swallowing. As I exhale, I can imagine the smell and tingle of a drink.”
• Repeat on each part of your body that’s experiencing the craving. What changes occur in the sensations? Notice how the urge comes and goes. You’ll likely notice that after a few minutes the craving has gone. The purpose of urge surfing is not to make cravings disappear, but to experience them in a new way. However, with practice, you’ll learn how to ride your cravings out until they go away naturally.

Alcohol recovery is a process—one that often involves setbacks. Don’t give up if you relapse or slip. A drinking relapse doesn’t mean you’re a failure or that you’ll never be able to reach your goal. Each drinking relapse is an opportunity to learn and recommit to sobriety, so you’ll be less likely to relapse in the future.

What to do if you slip:

• Get rid of the alcohol and get away from the setting where you lapsed.
• Remind yourself that one drink or a brief lapse doesn’t have to turn into a full-blown relapse.
• Don’t let feelings of guilt or shame keep you from getting back on track.
• Call your sponsor, counselor, or a supportive friend right away for help.

Alcohol abuse and addiction doesn’t just affect the person drinking—it affects their families and loved ones, too. Watching a family member struggle with a drinking problem can be as heartbreakingly painful as it is frustrating. But while you can’t do the hard work of overcoming addiction for your loved one, your love and support can play a crucial part in their long-term recovery.

Talk to the person about their drinking. Express your concerns in a caring way and encourage your friend or family member to get help. Try to remain neutral and don’t argue, lecture, accuse, or threaten.

Learn all you can about addiction. Research the kinds of treatment that are available and discuss these options with your friend or family member.

Take action. Consider staging a family meeting or an intervention, but don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation. Offer your support along each step of the recovery journey.

Don’t make excuses for your loved one’s behavior. The person with the drinking problem needs to take responsibility for their actions. Don’t lie or cover things up to protect someone from the consequences of their drinking.

Don’t blame yourself. You aren’t to blame for your loved one’s drinking problem and you can’t make them change.

For more , read Helping Someone with a Drinking Problem .

Support organizations

Most of these organizations have worldwide chapters:

Women for Sobriety  – Organization dedicated to helping women overcome addictions. (Women for Sobriety, Inc.)

Alcoholics Anonymous  – Learn more about the 12 steps and find a support meeting in your area. (Alcoholics Anonymous)

SMART Recovery  – Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) is a program that aims to achieve abstinence through self-directed change. (SMART Recovery)

Al-Anon and Alateen  – Support groups for friends and families of problem drinkers. (al-anon.alateen.org)

Professional resources and helplines for alcohol treatment and recovery

Search SAMHSA’s  Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator

Find support services for alcohol addiction  – NHS

Finding Quality Addiction Care   – Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction

More Information

• Intervention: Help a loved one overcome addiction - Tips on holding a successful intervention. (Mayo Clinic)
• Rethinking Drinking - Tools to help you check your drinking patterns, identify signs of a problem, and cut back. (National Institutes of Health)
• What is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families - Learn about treatment options and what you can do. (SAMHSA)
• Overcoming Addiction: Find an effective path toward recovery - Find an effective path toward recovery. Special health report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health Publishing)
• Friedmann, P. D., Saitz, R., & Samet, J. H. (1998). Management of Adults Recovering From Alcohol or Other Drug Problems: Relapse Prevention in Primary Care. JAMA, 279(15), 1227–1231. Link
• Pettersen, H., Landheim, A., Skeie, I., Biong, S., Brodahl, M., Oute, J., & Davidson, L. (2019). How Social Relationships Influence Substance Use Disorder Recovery: A Collaborative Narrative Study. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 13, 1178221819833379. Link
• Kelly, Thomas M., and Dennis C. Daley. “Integrated Treatment of Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders.” Social Work in Public Health 28, no. 3–4 (2013): 388–406. Link
• Magill, Molly, and Lara A. Ray. “Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment with Adult Alcohol and Illicit Drug Users: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 70, no. 4 (July 2009): 516–27. Link
• O’Farrell, T. J., K. A. Choquette, and H. S. Cutter. “Couples Relapse Prevention Sessions after Behavioral Marital Therapy for Male Alcoholics: Outcomes during the Three Years after Starting Treatment.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 59, no. 4 (July 1998): 357–70. Link
• Grant, Bridget F., Frederick S. Stinson, Deborah A. Dawson, S. Patricia Chou, Mary C. Dufour, Wilson Compton, Roger P. Pickering, and Kenneth Kaplan. “Prevalence and Co-Occurrence of Substance Use Disorders and Independent Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.” Archives of General Psychiatry 61, no. 8 (August 2004): 807–16. Link
• Drake, Robert E. “Co-Occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Schizophrenia” 26, no. 2 (2002): 4. Link
• “A Prospective Assessment of Reports of Drinking to Self-Medicate Mood Symptoms with the Incidence and Persistence of Alcohol Dependence.” Accessed July 15, 2021. Link
• ScienceDaily. “Self-Medication of Anxiety Symptoms with Drugs or Alcohol Associated with Increased Risk of Developing Substance Use Disorders.” Accessed July 15, 2021. Link
• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• About the ASAM Criteria . (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2023, from Link
• ASAM – All Documents . (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2023, from Link
• Mutschler, C., Junaid, S., Tellez, C., Franco, G., Gryspeerdt, C., & Bushe, J. (2022). Community‐based residential treatment for alcohol and substance use problems: A realist review. Health & Social Care in the Community , 30 (2). Link

More in Addiction

A guide to alcohol addiction treatment services

The different options and how they work

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of a drinking problem

Cutting down on alcohol doesn’t have to mean losing your social life

The health risks in young people and how to quit

The hidden risks of drinking

Binge Drinking

Help if you have trouble stopping drinking once you start

Supporting a loved one’s recovery from drug abuse

Professional therapy, done online

BetterHelp makes starting therapy easy. Take the assessment and get matched with a professional, licensed therapist.

Help us help others

Millions of readers rely on HelpGuide.org for free, evidence-based resources to understand and navigate mental health challenges. Please donate today to help us save, support, and change lives.

Essay on Alcohol Addiction

Many substances, both legal and illegal, have the potential to cause addiction. Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance worldwide and can potentially cause addiction. The topic of alcohol addiction is important because it highlights the problems associated with the drug and how they can be prevented. The topic can also help people understand how alcohol affects the body and brings about both positive and negative effects. Understanding how the habit develops, how it affects the body, and methods of treatment can be applied in counseling alcohol addicts to enable them to make better decisions regarding the habit. This paper will discuss alcohol addiction, including the description and category of alcohol as a drug, its street names, routes of administration, its mechanism of action, and effect on the body, potential dangers, and long-term effects. Finally, it will explore some of the treatment options for alcohol dependence.

Category and Description of Alcohol

Alcohol can be described as a liquid chemical substance found in some beverages, such as beer, wine, and spirits. Chemically alcohol can be described as an organic compound made of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Alcohol belongs to a class of drugs known as central nervous system depressants (CNS Depressants). The drugs in this category slow the operations of the body and the brain (AICP, 2022). This implies that when an individual is under the influence of alcohol, one tends to act slower than when sober. Its effects on the nervous system may also be manifested as a loss of balance where an individual under the influence of alcohol staggers. As part of the nervous system, alcohol affects an individual’s ability to make sound judgments. This factor may lead to violence or accidents when one operates machinery or a vehicle under alcohol.

Alcoholic beverages can be classified as either distilled or fermented alcoholic drinks. Fermented alcoholic drinks are manufactured by fermenting sugars in the presence of yeast. The yeasts metabolize the sugars to produce ethanol, the active compound in alcoholic drinks. Fermented alcoholic drinks can be divided into two groups, including wines and beers (Alcoholrehabguide, 2022). Beers are manufactured through the fermentation of starch-containing products. Before these starch-containing grains are fermented with alcohol, they are first to split enzymatically by mashing, malting, and diastase. Wines are manufactured through the fermentation of sugars in fruit juices. Beers can be said to be brewed and fermented, and wines only fermented. Distilled alcohols are also referred to as spirits and are manufactured by fermenting sugars or starch before distilling them to obtain a beverage with high alcoholic content (Alcoholrehabguide.org, 2022). Irrespective of the mode of manufacturing alcoholic beverages, all have similar effects on the body but depend on the alcoholic content consumed.

Common Street Names

Alcohol has many street names, which often depend on the brand and category. This implies that the street names for the alcohol may change with localities because of varying brands supplied in different regions. In the United States, the common nicknames for alcohol used in the street include liquid courage, vino, hooch, sauce, hard stuff, moonshine, redneck wine, 12oz curl, tummy buster, oats soda, liquid bread, draft, or suds (American Addiction Center, 2022). Some of these names are modern, while others have been present for many years, with some limited to small circles and others used in relatively vast regions.

Route of Administration of Alcohol

Unlike other substances usually administered through many routes, alcohol is only administered orally. However, it can bring similar effects when administered intravenously, inhaled, or rectally. When administered orally, alcohol needs to be taken in a relatively larger quantity than other drugs for its effects to be felt (Mayo Clinic, 2022). However, the quantity that brings the effect depends on many factors, including weight, alcoholic content in a drink, level of addiction, and the overall health of individuals. People who have taken alcohol for long periods are more likely to take more to feel its effects because they have developed alcohol tolerance. People with high body mass index would require a relatively high dose of alcohol for its effect to be felt compared to those with relatively low body mass index. Alcoholic beverages with higher alcohol content are also likely to take effect on an individual compared to that with low alcoholic content. Therefore, people can be affected differently by alcohol even when the quantity consumed is the same.

Mechanism of Action

After alcohol is ingested, it is immediately absorbed into the blood circulation to the brain through the blood. In the brain, alcohol enhances the action of GABA or Y-aminobutyric acid neurotransmitters (The Scripps Research Institute, 2022). The neural transmitter inhibits the action of the central nervous system. Other neural transmitter systems affected by alcohol in the nervous system include serotonin, acetylcholine, glycine, and glutamate. The pleasure that individual experiences after consuming alcohol are because it increases the level of dopamine in the brain. When alcohol is broken down in the body, a compound called acetaldehyde is produced as the by-product. It is responsible for hangover symptoms such as headaches because it is poisonous to the body. The major reason people consume alcohol is the pleasure associated with abnormally high levels of dopamine. When one stops taking alcohol after using it for a long period, the neurotransmitter used to be high in the central nervous system decreases, causing withdrawal symptoms (The Scripps Research Institute, 2022). People addicted to alcohol usually use the drug to avoid withdrawal symptoms, which can sometimes be serious, requiring medical intervention.

Effects on the Body

Alcohol has many health effects on the body. When one takes too much alcohol, the risk of motor vehicle crashes increases. In addition, alcohol consumption increases the risk of burns, drowning, and falls. Taking too much alcohol may lead to poisoning when its level in the blood goes beyond a certain level. Another health problem associated with increased consumption of alcohol is engagement in risky behaviours such as unprotected sex, resulting in sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and unwanted pregnancy (CDC.gov, 2022). Taking alcohol also increases the risk of serious health conditions, including cardiac arrest, because of a temporary increase in blood pressure.

Potential Dangers and Long-term Effects

Consumption of alcohol for a long period can cause permanent damage to the body. According to CDC.gov (2022), one of the long-term effects of alcohol consumption is the development of liver cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver hardens and becomes fibrous, making it unable to perform its functions effectively. Alcohol weakens the heart muscle, which may lead to heart disease when consumed over an extended period. It can also cause other cardiovascular diseases, such as permanent high blood pressure, increasing the risk of stroke. Alcohol is also known to compromise the immune system increasing, making the addict prone to getting sick. Many types of cancers, including cancer of the rectum, colon, liver, voice box, esophagus, throat, mouth, and breast, have also been associated with long-term consumption of alcohol (CDC.gov, 2022). These diseases compromise an individual’s lifespan and quality of life.

Alcohol has also been implicated in various mental problems. Long-term consumption of alcohol has been associated with poor learning and memory, resulting in conditions such as dementia. Young people who consume alcohol for too long while in school may perform poorly in academics due to poor brain function associated with intoxication. Alcohol also increases the risk of anxiety and depression. After consuming alcohol for a long period, a person develops a dependence disorder, where a person can stay without alcohol in the blood (CDC.gov, 2022). Alcohol dependence disorder comes with many other problems, including waste of finances and family breakup.

Treatment Methods

Non-pharmacological treatment of alcoholism.

The treatment of alcohol drinking depends on the needs of the patient. It may be accomplished as an outpatient program, group or individual counseling, or a brief intervention. The main goal of alcoholism treatment is to enhance the patient quality of life. One method of treatment involves withdrawal and detoxication. Withdrawal involves the addicted individual stopping taking alcohol which takes approximately seven days (Mayo Clinic, 2022). If the withdrawal symptoms are severe, the patient may be prescribed a sedative to ease the symptoms. After the alcohol is completely eradicated from the body, the patient can begin living a normal life, but one must not return to it to avoid further addiction.

Individuals who have developed alcohol-drinking behaviour for too long may need behavioral therapy done by a specialist. The intervention may include a treatment plan and making the patient learn new skills. The patient is taught behavior change and goal-setting techniques at the treatment center. The patient can also be provided with manuals guiding them on how they can help themselves when alone. One is also required to be visiting the treatment center occasionally for follow-up care (Mayo Clinic, 2022). The patient continues with the treatment until he or she can finally stop taking alcohol completely.

Another type of treatment for alcoholics is psychological counseling. Counseling can be done in groups or as individuals, and its main aim is to enable the patient to realize the problem of alcoholism. The therapists provide recovery support to the patient. Psychological counseling may sometimes involve the family members of the patients. Family members, including parents, marriage partners, and older children, can help the patient during recovery (NIH.gov, 2022). Psychological counseling mainly focuses on providing emotional support to the patient.

Pharmacological Treatment of Alcoholism

Alcohol disorder can be treated using oral medications to help the patient from quitting the habit. One such medication is disulfiram which makes the patient hate alcohol (NIH.gov, 2022). The drug acts by causing undesirable effects on patients when they ingest alcohol. Some of the effects of drugs when an individual consumes alcohol include headaches, vomiting, nausea, and flushing (Mayo Clinic, 2022). It is important to note that disulfiram does not eliminate the urge to drink and its effectiveness relies on discouraging the patient from consuming alcohol to avoid the negative side effects. This implies that if the patient stops taking the drug and drinking, there will be no effect. This makes it less effective as the patient can always skip the drug for a few days and drink.

Other drugs that can also discourage an individual from consuming alcohol include acamprosate and naltrexone, which makes alcohol not bring the good feelings associated with it. When an individual is taking the drug, one is likely to consume less amount because it will not bring the desired effect. One benefit associated with this drug is that it can help eliminate the urge to drink because one would not expect any reward from doing so. Acamprosate can also eliminate the urge to drink as it combats cravings associated with consuming alcohol for a long time (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Acamprosate and naltrexone are more effective in treating alcohol disorders in that they eliminate the urge to drink.

Other drugs can be administered as injections. Among such drugs is Vivitrol which is administered intramuscularly or intravenously. One advantage of this drug is that its effect lasts longer, and the patient only needs a single injection monthly. It is also advantageous in that it eliminates the temptations of not taking oral medications to take alcohol. Vivitrol works like naltrexone and can therefore eliminate the urge to drink (Mayo Clinic, 2022). The use of medications is preferable in extreme situations when an individual is unable to stop drinking alcohol and can work best with used together with non-pharmacological interventions such as those already discussed.

Continuous support for people who have recovered from alcohol is also important to ensure that they do not relapse. Individuals who have managed to quit alcohol even for a long period may relapse if they encounter emotional turmoil in life. For example, some people relapse when they lose a loved one or job. This makes it necessary to treat the psychological problems that are risk factors for alcoholism. Some of the disorders that need to be addressed include anxiety and depression. They can be treated pharmacologically using medications or non-pharmacologically through psychotherapy. Spiritual support can also help in recovery and avoiding relapse. Sometimes, people relapse to alcoholism because of walking with people who drink (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Joining spiritual organizations not only provide emotional support but can also help in switching the company of friends to minimize the risk of relapsing. Many religious organizations have seminars that teach people better lifestyles, including not avoiding drug abuse. Spending time with people can also reduce some of the risk factors for alcoholism, such as depression and anxiety, through socialization.

In conclusion, alcohol is one of the most abused drugs in the world, with a presence in many non-muslim countries. The drug is absorbed immediately after ingestion and taken to the brain through blood, where it depresses the central nervous system. People take alcohol because of the pleasure from the increased level of dopamine. The negative effects of alcohol on the body and social lives of individuals outweigh the short-term pleasure it produces. It has been implicated in many health problems, including chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis, heart disease, cancers, and other ailments of the digestive system. It is also associated with many avoidable accidents, such as motor vehicle crashes, drownings, and workplace injuries. The treatment for alcoholism includes both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, both aiming at helping an individual overcome alcohol dependence. Reducing alcohol intake or quitting it completely improves an individual’s quality of life by reducing the risk of many social, health, and financial problems associated with it.

AICP (2022).7 drug categories. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.theiacp.org/7-drug-categories

Alcoholrehabguide.org (2022). Types of Alcohol. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/types/

American Addiction Centre (2022). Slang Terms for Alcohol & Drunkenness. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://alcohol.org/alcoholism/street-slang-terms-drunk-drink/

CDC.gov (2022). Alcohol Use and Your Body. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm

Mayo Clinic (2022)Alcohol Use Disorder. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20369250

NIH.gov (2022).Treatment of Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/treatment-alcohol-problems-finding-and-getting-help

Stefan, N., Häring, H. U., & Cusi, K. (2019). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: causes, diagnosis, cardiometabolic consequences, and treatment strategies.  The lancet Diabetes & endocrinology ,  7 (4), 313-324.

The Scripps Research Institute (2022).The Effects of Alcohol on the Brain. Retrieved on November 7, 2022, from, https://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20020225/koob2.html

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Related Essays

Artificial limbs essay, how banks profit from the water crisis, malpractice apology research paper, effect of environment on health, the spread of the influenza virus, summary of ethical standards, popular essay topics.

• American Dream
• Artificial Intelligence
• Black Lives Matter
• Bullying Essay
• Career Goals Essay
• Causes of the Civil War
• Child Abusing
• Civil Rights Movement
• Community Service
• Cultural Identity
• Cyber Bullying
• Death Penalty
• Depression Essay
• Domestic Violence
• Freedom of Speech
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• Human Trafficking
• I Believe Essay
• Immigration
• Importance of Education
• Israel and Palestine Conflict
• Leadership Essay
• Legalizing Marijuanas
• Mental Health
• National Honor Society
• Police Brutality
• Pollution Essay
• Racism Essay
• Romeo and Juliet
• Same Sex Marriages
• Social Media
• The Great Gatsby
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• Time Management
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Violent Video Games
• What Makes You Unique
• Why I Want to Be a Nurse
• Send us an e-mail

Essay on Alcoholism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Alcoholism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Alcoholism

Understanding alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a serious issue. It is a disease where a person cannot control their desire to drink alcohol. They keep drinking even when it causes harm.

Alcoholism can be caused by genetics, environment, and mental health. Some people are more prone to it because of their family history. Others might start drinking due to stress or depression.

The Effects

Alcoholism can lead to health problems like liver disease. It can also cause problems at work, school, or with relationships. It’s important to seek help if you or someone you know is struggling.

250 Words Essay on Alcoholism

Introduction.

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a chronic disease characterized by an inability to control or abstain from alcohol use despite its negative consequences. It is a pervasive global issue with significant health, social, and economic implications.

Causes and Risk Factors

The etiology of alcoholism is multifaceted, involving a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. Genetic predisposition accounts for about 50% of the risk for AUD, with certain genes influencing how alcohol affects the body and brain. Environmental factors such as cultural norms, peer pressure, and stress can also contribute to the onset of alcoholism.

Impacts and Consequences

The impacts of alcoholism are far-reaching. Physiologically, it can lead to liver disease, cardiovascular problems, and neurological damage. Psychologically, it can result in depression, anxiety, and increased risk of suicide. Socially, it can disrupt relationships, lead to job loss, and contribute to social isolation.

Treatment and Prevention

Treatment for alcoholism typically involves a combination of medication, therapy, and support groups. Prevention strategies include education about the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, early intervention for at-risk individuals, and policies to limit alcohol availability.

Alcoholism is a complex disease with a multitude of contributing factors and consequences. Understanding its causes, impacts, and treatment options is key to addressing this pervasive issue. As future leaders, we must advocate for effective prevention strategies and accessible treatment services to combat alcoholism.

500 Words Essay on Alcoholism

Alcoholism, also known as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is a chronic disease characterized by an inability to control or abstain from alcohol use despite its negative repercussions. It is a multifaceted disease, with complex interactions between genetic, environmental, and psychological factors.

Genetic Underpinnings of Alcoholism

Scientific research has established a strong genetic component to alcoholism. Certain genes can make individuals more susceptible to alcohol addiction, demonstrating that alcoholism is not merely a result of personal weakness or lack of willpower. It is estimated that genetics accounts for about 50% of the risk for AUD. However, having a genetic predisposition does not guarantee the development of alcoholism, indicating the significant role of environmental factors.

Environmental Factors and Alcoholism

Environmental influences play a critical role in shaping an individual’s risk for alcoholism. These include cultural attitudes towards drinking, peer pressure, stress, early exposure to alcohol, and a history of physical or emotional abuse. Socio-economic status and mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, also contribute to the risk. Understanding the interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental factors can help in developing effective prevention strategies.

The Psychological Impact of Alcoholism

Alcoholism inflicts significant psychological damage. It can lead to a range of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and increased risk of suicide. Furthermore, alcoholism can negatively impact cognitive functions, impair judgment, and lead to behavioral changes. It is also closely linked to social problems, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and other forms of crime.

Treatment and Recovery

Alcoholism is a treatable disease, with various therapeutic strategies available. These include behavioral treatments, medications, and mutual-support groups. Behavioral treatments aim to change drinking behavior through counseling, while medications can help to manage withdrawal symptoms and prevent relapse. Mutual-support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous provide a supportive community for individuals recovering from alcoholism.

Prevention is Better than Cure

Prevention strategies are crucial in combating alcoholism. These include enforcing age restrictions on alcohol sales, regulating alcohol advertising, providing education about the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, and implementing screening programs to identify individuals at risk.

Alcoholism is a complex, multifaceted disease that requires a comprehensive approach for its prevention and treatment. Understanding its genetic, environmental, and psychological dimensions can inform effective strategies to combat this pervasive public health issue. While alcoholism is a serious disease, recovery is possible with the right support and treatment. Therefore, it is essential to foster a supportive environment for those struggling with this disorder, free from stigma and judgment.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Alcohol
• Essay on Albert Einstein
• Essay on Vehicle Pollution

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Evidence of causal effect of major depression on alcohol dependence: Findings from the psychiatric genomics consortium

Add to collection, downloadable content.

• Other Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, VA CT Healthcare Center, West Haven, CT, United States
• Other Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
• Other Affiliation: Statistical Genetics, QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia
• Other Affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Other Affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Other Affiliation: Translational Neurogenomics, QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia
• Other Affiliation: Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia
• Other Affiliation: Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia
• Other Affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Other Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, United States
• Other Affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
• Other Affiliation: Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
• Affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Genetics
• Other Affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
• Background Despite established clinical associations among major depression (MD), alcohol dependence (AD), and alcohol consumption (AC), the nature of the causal relationship between them is not completely understood. We leveraged genome-wide data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) and UK Biobank to test for the presence of shared genetic mechanisms and causal relationships among MD, AD, and AC.Methods Linkage disequilibrium score regression and Mendelian randomization (MR) were performed using genome-wide data from the PGC (MD: 135 458 cases and 344 901 controls; AD: 10 206 cases and 28 480 controls) and UK Biobank (AC-frequency: 438 308 individuals; AC-quantity: 307 098 individuals).Results Positive genetic correlation was observed between MD and AD (rgMD-AD = + 0.47, P = 6.6 × 10 -10 ). AC-quantity showed positive genetic correlation with both AD (rgAD-AC quantity = + 0.75, P = 1.8 × 10 -14 ) and MD (rgMD-AC quantity = + 0.14, P = 2.9 × 10 -7 ), while there was negative correlation of AC-frequency with MD (rgMD-AC frequency =-0.17, P = 1.5 × 10 -10 ) and a non-significant result with AD. MR analyses confirmed the presence of pleiotropy among these four traits. However, the MD-AD results reflect a mediated-pleiotropy mechanism (i.e. causal relationship) with an effect of MD on AD (beta = 0.28, P = 1.29 × 10 -6 ). There was no evidence for reverse causation.Conclusion This study supports a causal role for genetic liability of MD on AD based on genetic datasets including thousands of individuals. Understanding mechanisms underlying MD-AD comorbidity addresses important public health concerns and has the potential to facilitate prevention and intervention efforts.
• genome-wide association
• major depression
• Mendelian randomization
• Alcohol consumption
• genetic correlation
• alcohol dependence
• https://doi.org/10.17615/mzef-4706
• https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719000667
• In Copyright
• Psychological Medicine
• National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH, (U01MH109536)
• Cambridge University Press

This work has no parents.

Select type of work

Master's papers.

Deposit your masters paper, project or other capstone work. Theses will be sent to the CDR automatically via ProQuest and do not need to be deposited.

Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters

Deposit a peer-reviewed article or book chapter. If you would like to deposit a poster, presentation, conference paper or white paper, use the “Scholarly Works” deposit form.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deposit your senior honors thesis.

Scholarly Journal, Newsletter or Book

Deposit a complete issue of a scholarly journal, newsletter or book. If you would like to deposit an article or book chapter, use the “Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters” deposit option.

Deposit your dataset. Datasets may be associated with an article or deposited separately.

Deposit your 3D objects, audio, images or video.

Poster, Presentation, Protocol or Paper

Deposit scholarly works such as posters, presentations, research protocols, conference papers or white papers. If you would like to deposit a peer-reviewed article or book chapter, use the “Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters” deposit option.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Analytical Essay

Introduction, works cited.

For along time now, drug and alcohol abuse in the society has been a problem that affects the youth and the society at large. The youth in the society get engaged in abusing substances that they feel all help them forget their problems. This paper highlights the problems of drug abuse and alcohol drinking among the youth in the society.

Alcohol is a substance that contains some elements that are bring about physical and psychological changes to an individual. Being a depressant, alcohol affects the nervous system altering the emotions and perceptions of individuals. Many teenager abuse alcohol and other drug substances due to curiosity, the need to feel good and to fit in their different groups. Drinking alcohol should not be encouraged because it usually affects the health of the youth.

It puts their health at a risk. Drinking youth are more likely to engage in irresponsible sexual activities that may result in unexpected pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, teenagers who drink are more likely to get fat while complicating further their health conditions. Moreover, the youth drinking are at a risk of engaging in criminal activities hence being arrested (Cartwright 133).

According to the Australian Psychological Society, a drug can be a substance that brings about physical or psychological changes to an individual (2). Youngsters in the in the community take stuffs to increase enjoyment or decrease the sensational or physical pain. Some of the abused drugs by the youth in the society include marijuana, alcohol, heroine and cocaine.

The dangers of drug abuse are the chronic intoxication of the youth that is detrimental to their societies. Much intake of drugs leads to addiction that is indicated by the desire to take the drugs that cannot be resisted.

The effect of alcohol and other hard drugs are direct on the central nervous system. Alcohol and drug abuse is linked to societal practices like, partying, societal events, entertainment, and spirituality. The Australian Psychological Society argues that the choice of a substance is influenced by the particular needs of the substance user (3).

However, the effects of drug abuse differ from one individual to another. The abuse of drugs becomes a social problem whenever the users fail to meet some social responsibilities at home, work, or school. This is usually the effect when the substances are used more than they are normally taken. Additionally, when the use of substances is addictive, it leads to social problems (Cartwright 135).

Drug and alcohol abuse among the youth in the society should be discouraged and voided at all costs. The youth are affected and the society is affected. The productive young men and women cannot perform their social duties. One way in which the abuse of drugs and alcohol can be avoided in the society is through engaging the youth in various productive activities. This will reduce their idle time while keeping them busy (Cartwright 134).

They will not have enough time for drinking. Additionally, they will have fewer problems to worry about. They should also be educated and warned about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse both to their health and to the society. Since alcohol and substance abuse is related to increased crime in the society, its reduction will lead to reduced crime rates and economic growth.

The Australian Psychological Society. Alcohol, and Other Drugs . Australian Psychological society. Web.

Cartwright, William. Costs of Drug Abuse to the Society. The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics , 1999. 2, 133-134.

• The Mechanisms of Action of Anti-depressants, Neuroleptics and Anti-manic Drugs
• Drug and Substance Abuse
• 21st Century Guiding Principles for the Location of Foods In a Supermarket: Maximizing Profit or Maximizing Health
• Underage Drinking and Teen Alcohol Abuse
• Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse
• On the Issue of Drunk Driving
• The Connection Between Drugs and Crime
• Why Employers Should Hire Ex-Felons
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, July 22). Drug and Alcohol Abuse. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-and-alcohol-abuse/

"Drug and Alcohol Abuse." IvyPanda , 22 July 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/drug-and-alcohol-abuse/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Drug and Alcohol Abuse'. 22 July.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Drug and Alcohol Abuse." July 22, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-and-alcohol-abuse/.

1. IvyPanda . "Drug and Alcohol Abuse." July 22, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-and-alcohol-abuse/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Drug and Alcohol Abuse." July 22, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-and-alcohol-abuse/.

248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students

Alcohol is controversial: on the one hand, it harms people, but on the other hand, it generates much profit and is challenging to ban entirely. If you’re looking for alcohol topics for discussion, you’re at the right place! Here is a list of research questions about alcoholism, the effects of alcohol consumption and addiction, and other drug and alcohol essay topics.

🍷 TOP 7 Alcohol Topics for Discussion

🏆 best alcohol topics for essay, 🎓 most interesting topics about alcohol, 👍 good alcohol research topics & essay examples, 💡 simple topics & research questions about alcohol, 🌶️ hot alcohol topics for discussion, 📌 easy alcohol essay topics, ✍️ alcohol essay topics for college, ❓ alcohol research questions.

• Drug and Alcohol Abuse among Young People
• Alcoholism: Causes, Risk Factors, and Symptoms
• Drunk Driving Essay: Effects, Dangers, and Prevention of Drinking and Driving
• Alcohol Taking by the Teenagers
• Alcohol Use Disorder: Case Conceptualization
• Social Problems Related to Alcohol and Drugs
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Workplace
• Canadians’ Reaction to Alcohol as a Newly-Invented Illicit Drug The possible reaction of Canadians to alcohol, if it was a newly-invented illicit drug, will differ depending on their personal characteristics and external circumstances.
• Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drugs: Use Consequences Although tobacco, alcohol, and drugs cause severe physical and mental health problems and spoil a person’s social life, the image created for them contributes to harm devaluation.
• Addiction in “Dragged High on Alcohol” Documentary The “Dragged High on Alcohol” documentary is about an alcohol addict Ryan, and the film crew follows him and his family, showing how Ryan experiences his addiction.
• Teen Alcohol Consumption Reduction Plan in Long Island Alcohol consumption in adolescence is associated with a high risk of developing suicidal tendencies, unwanted pregnancy, and drug use.
• Fair Trade: Japan – Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages The WTO indicted Japan for what it described as a violation of the internal taxation and regulations as stipulated in the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade 1994.
• Tobacco and Alcohol Should Not Be Allowed to Be Advertised Although tobacco and alcohol are legal substances, their advertisement should be regulated because it is associated with teenage smoking and drinking.
• Whip Whitaker’s Alcoholic Addiction and Its Influence on His Life In this case study, the author dwells on the alcoholic addiction of Whip Whitaker, a fictional character, alongside the impact of this addiction on his way of doing things.
• The Alcohol Consumption Rate in Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire is among the counties in the UK with the highest rates of alcohol consumption. This prevalence is caused by its culture and lack of effective social support.
• Alcohol Addiction and Its Adverse Effects on the Victim and Family Alcoholism is known to have numerous adverse effects. Alcoholics have wives, husbands, children and other close relatives who are mindful of their welfare.
• Applied Ethics: Moral Standards of Alcoholic Parents The work aims to discuss the topic of ethics, the moral values which people are supposed to follow, considering the case of Mary, whose parents are alcoholics.
• The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a severe disease that has dangerous affects on the fetus and on a born child.
• History of Alcohol in Europe Europe and the United States recorded diverse historical developments regarding the distribution, quality, and consumption of alcohol.
• The Power of Alcohol: Human Inability to Control Demands Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drinks which are available for people. Alcohol has a variety of face, and people cannot even guess how they can be dependent on alcohol.
• Drug Abuse and Alcohol-Related Crimes in Adolescents The current paper focuses on the topic of drug abuse and alcohol-related crimes among teenagers, showing that substances remain the most notable factor in juvenile crime.
• Causes and Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Drug addiction is a psychological and physical disorder that affects the brain of an individual. It is caused by dependence on drugs, alcohol, and specific behaviors.
• Reflection Paper on Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help group that assists alcohol addicts to break from the drinking habits and stay sober. This paper is a reflection of one of such meetings.
• Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Program Successful addiction treatment is comprised of three aspects, constructing the addiction treatment: body, mind, and soul.
• Drugs and Alcohol Influence on Drivers Excessive amounts of alcohol and drugs deprive the driver of conscious control over the vehicle, leading to catastrophic consequences.
• Effects of Alcohol on Pregnant Women This paper is set out to shed light on the effects of alcohol on expectant women since they are the ones who are at great risk compared to their male counterparts.
• Alcohol Negative Effects on Vital Parts of Human Body The paper discusses alcohol abuse. Although alcohol seems harmless to many people, it has a significant negative effect on various vital parts of the human body.
• Tone and Voice in Paisley’s “Alcohol” and Lockward’s “My Husband Discovers Poetry” In the poem, “My Husband Discovers Poetry,” and the song “Alcohol,” there are numerous poetic stylistic devices that are used.
• Alcohol Drinking and Ethical Decision-Making People should be prepared to make sacrifices and account for their actions if they expect good results since all good things cost heavily.
• Genetic and Environmental Factors Causing Alcoholism and Effects of Alcohol Abuse The term alcoholism may be used to refer to a wide range of issues associated with alcohol. Simply put, it is a situation whereby an individual cannot stay without alcohol.
• Overconsumption of Alcohol by a Customer The paper discusses who should be held accountable for the accidents resulting from overconsumption of alcohol by a customer served at a club, bar, or restaurant.
• Alcohol Oxidation to Aldehydes and Ketones Alcohol oxidation is vital during the synthesis of organic compounds, only bleach can directly oxidize some alcohols to carboxylic acids, ketones, or aldehydes.
• Alcohol Addiction in a 59-Year-Old Man: Case Study The case study concerns Juan, a 59-year-old commercial pilot who has come to visit a clinician at the urging of his son.
• The Effect of Prohibition Alcohol and Drug Use Although Prohibition reduced consumption in the initial period, it does not imply that it realized success; neither did it make the community better.
• Developments in Global Tobacco and Alcohol Policy WHO reports that about 8 million people die from smoking every year. Tobacco is a major cause of the emergence and development of multiple complications such as cancer, heart disease.
• Alcoholism: Causes, Symptoms and Negative Effects Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are associated with a broad range of medical, psychiatric, social, legal, occupational, economic, and family problems.
• Alcoholic Parents’ Effect on Adult Children While effects of being raised by alcoholics in adult children may vary, fear of failure, desire to control, and developing compulsive behaviors are prevalent characteristics.
• Personal Relationship With Alcohol Abuse Given that alcohol abuse affects myriad families, ruining people’s health and harming social life, it is still a sensitive and critical issue to consider.
• Alcohol Consumption and Sale Laws in the US Alcohol consumption and sale in the United States are regulated by several laws, each of which may vary depending on the state.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome The research study conducted by Mcgee indicated that the tendency towards being passive was more pronounced in children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome than their peers.
• How Alcohol Affects Nursing Babies?
• Alcohol Death and Its Effect on Family Life
• How Alcohol Depresses the Central Nervous System
• Alcohol Treatments and Rehabilitation Programs
• How Drinking Alcohol Affects the Brain
• Factors Affect University Students Alcohol Consumption
• How Does Alcohol Affect Our Society and Our Health?
• Alcohol Problems Among Young People in Britain
• Alcohol Around Kids From Childhood
• Alcohol Dependency Among Native Americans
• Alcohol and Its Effects on the Brain
• Alcohol-Related Car Accidents Examples
• Long-Term Effects and Societal Impacts of Alcohol Consumption
• Alcohol Consumption and Metabolic Syndrome
• Alcohol and Its Effects on the Body
• Alcohol Consumption During the European Union
• Australia and Alcohol Prohibition
• Alcohol and the Causes of Student Binge Drinking
• How Alcohol May Affect Human Behaviour
• Drug and Alcohol Use by Student-Athletes
• Arguments of “No Alcohol Safe To Drink…” by Ives The main idea of “No Alcohol Safe to Drink, Global Study Confirms” by Ives is that there can not be a healthy glass of wine and a moderate level of alcohol consumption.
• Alcoholic Yeast Fermentation and Optimal Conditions This laboratory report examines the dependence of bioethanol production on temperature, pH, stirring, and gas composition.
• National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors This paper will consider the fourth principle of the organization’s ethical code, which reads: “Working in a culturally diverse world.”
• Yeast Alcohol Dehydrogenase Structure Yeast alcohol dehydrogenase refers to a group of enzymes that are found in yeast and have a widespread application in the beer and wine industry where they facilitate the process of fermentation.
• Alcohol and Its Effects on Domestic Violence Alcohol was invented as a beverage drink just like the others, such as soda and juice. Of late, alcohol has been abused because people are consuming it excessively.
• 12-Step Mutual Support Groups and Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step mutual support groups are an effective treatment method for alcohol dependence that should only be used as a secondary or adjunctive treatment.
• Problem Drinking Treatments: A Comparison of Alcoholics Anonymous and Moderation Management This paper will contrast and compare Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Moderation Management (MM) and the programs that they offer.
• Alcoholics’ Rights for Organ Transplantation This essay seeks to answer the question as to whether it makes medical and ethical sense to accept organ transplantation within a family.
• Alcohol Addiction Group Manual The present manual offers key information about the formation of a psychotherapeutic group that is focused on addressing the problem of alcohol addiction.
• Alcohol Difference in the United States and Europe The types of alcohol and the patterns of its consumption vary across the countries. The attitude towards depends on the socio-political and the economic situation.
• The Importance of Religion in Understanding the History of Alcohol Although it emerged in specific ancient civilizations, the alcoholic drink gained a unique religious significance from the Ancient Period to the Middle Ages.
• Personality Versus Alcohol This dissertation examines the influences of alcohol on personality through a multidimensional study of numerous studies and experiments performed by scientists around the world.
• Alcohol and Wellness: How Alcohol Affects Human Wellness Wellness refers to deliberate actions to live healthy life by eating recommended foods and drinks respectively. This essay describes how alcohol affects human wellness.
• Sociology: “Alcoholics Anonymous” by Bill Wilson The book “Alcoholics Anonymous” gives a detailed analysis of the health challenges and decisions made by Bill Wilson. The narrator struggled with alcoholism for many years.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Alcohol Consumption The paper states that fetal alcohol spectrum disorders have severe implications for the well-being and health of individuals in all stages of their lives.
• Effects of Parent-Based Teaching of Alcohol Use The approach significantly impacts the struggle to prevent alcohol abuse but requires being informed on the appropriate mechanisms to employ.
• Alcohol in the Drugs and Behavior Context It is no secret that alcohol and human health are incompatible things. The most significant influence of alcohol falls on the cerebral cortex.
• Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Public Relations The campaign conducted by Alcohol and Drug Foundation is a vivid example of how the theories and practices of PR can help alter people’s behavior.
• Drugs and Behavior: History of Alcohol in America The ordinary colonial American drank roughly twice as much alcohol in 1770 as it does today—about three and a half gallons annually.
• ”US Wooed Alcohol Industry…” Rabin’s Article The article discusses the issue of conducting scientific research aimed at justifying moderate drinking and its benefits for health.
• Alcohol: The Legal Drinking Age There is no significant harm in making the legal drinking age 18. The punishment that those under 21 individuals face when caught taking alcohol affects their daily lives.
• Socialization and Causes of Alcohol Consumption The process of socialization is indispensable for integrating into society, realizing and understanding self-identity, and finding one’s place in modernity.
• Alcoholism: Medical & Philosophical Dimensions The news article considered in the paper is devoted to the changes on the way to which modern medicine is ethical in its aspirations.
• Parental Alcohol Abuse as a Family Issue Parental alcohol abuse is a serious problem in the community that impacts not only one individual but spreads to different social units.
• Alcohol Use Amongst Hispanic College Apprentices The results showed that less assimilated Hispanic percent of boys in the buffer zone could be at greater risk of alcohol addiction than Hispanic masculine apprentices.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Care Planning Tyler has had Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder since he was born while his mum was an alcoholic addict while pregnant.
• Statistical Study of Alcoholism Among Students This research paper investigates the relationship between workday alcohol consumption and several characteristics of students’ social, economic, and academic status.
• Alcohol Addiction and Its Effects on the Body and Specific Organs The more an individual use alcohol to cope with pain and adversity, the more the body adapts to it and becomes dependent on its effects.
• The Influence of Drugs and Alcohol on Date Rape While drugs can affect mental health and make the victim forget everything, the perpetrators indulge in alcohol abuse to escape the blame and deny non-consensual sex.
• The Alcoholics Anonymous Group Meeting Open and closed psychological support groups have at all times been an essential mechanism of maintaining a mentally healthy society.
• The 12-Step Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting’s Purpose and Stories Meetings consist of the opportunity to be heard without condemnation, and to learn from the experience of people who abstain from drinking alcohol for a while.
• COVID-19 Epidemic and Alcohol and Drug Addiction The sudden life changes during the COVID-19 epidemic make it difficult for people who suffer from alcohol and drug dependence to fight their addictions.
• Adolescent Addiction and Behavioral-Based Alcoholism Addiction to substances can be difficult to comprehend because, despite the progressively unfavorable consequences, addicted people take drugs and alcohol obsessively.
• Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health & Substance and Alcohol Abuse While substance use disorder can impose mental health challenges on those who consume drugs, COVID-19 affects the psychology of all humankind.
• Planned Change Process in Alcohol Addiction A social worker at a high school in a midwestern state should work with four teenagers who were suspended for two weeks for drinking alcoholic beverages at school.
• Alcohol Abuse and Self-Management Program The main self-management program for a high school student with alcohol addiction is to set long-term and intermediate goals, and the development of a reward system.
• Meaning of Alcoholics Anonymous The paper discusses Alcoholics Anonymous. It can be referred to as a fellowship of individuals who have decided to solve their drinking problem.
• Impaired Control, Impulsivity, and Alcohol Self-Administration Impaired control is a significant factor in the association between impulsiveness and alcohol consumption in both non-dependent and dependent drinkers.
• Alcohol Abuse: Causes and Solutions Alcohol abuse remains one of the key healthcare concerns around the globe, not least because addicts do not purely injure their own health.
• Health Professionals’ Perceptions of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Infants with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) symptoms tend to have psychological or physiological deviations.
• Alcohol Consumption and the Effects
• Drinking Motives and Alcohol Consumption
• How Does Alcohol Consumption Affect Social Attention
• Drug and Alcohol Use Among Adolescents
• Drinking Culture and Alcohol Consumption
• Alcohol Dependency and Its Effects on the Community
• Alcohol Advertisements and College Student Binge Drinking
• Alcohol and Native American Experience
• Alcohol Consumption and Maturity
• College Students and Alcohol Abuse
• Alcohol and the Central Nervous System
• How Alcohol Abuse Affects Aging People
• Alcohol Availability and Violence
• Alcohol Beverage Advertising Should Be Restricted
• How Alcohol Abuse Has Become Part of the Culture in Many Societies
• How Alcohol Causes Mental and Moral Changes
• Alcohol Consumption and Risky Sexual Behaviors
• Alcohol and the Destruction of Families
• Drugs and Alcohol Mask the Pain
• Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy and Low Birth Weight
• Responsibility and Brand Advertising in the Alcoholic Beverage Market The article indicates that the brand advertisements highlight alcohol consumption as socially acceptable, while media advocacy campaigns focus on the role of manufacturers.
• Evaluation Using GAS: Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Quitting alcoholism is not easy, but it can happen with a well-designed strategy and commitment from both the patient and the interventionist.
• Interaction of the Pharmaceuticals with Alcohol Intake It is important to establish the key value of healthy living based on the interaction with the pharmaceuticals and alcohol intake to avoid developing a dependency on the elements
• The Negative Effects of Drinking Alcohol While Pregnant The paper outlines the domains of child development and the negative effects of alcohol on the fetus, discusses the physical and mental impact of fetal alcohol on an individual.
• Alcoholics Anonymous Organization’s Role and Functions Alcoholics Anonymous unites millions of people. These individuals are alcohol addicts, and they cannot remove this substance from their lives.
• Alcohol Use Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder: The Case Study Thomas demonstrates at least four symptoms of alcohol use disorder and probably has borderline personality disorder, which prevents him from building long-term relationships.
• Reflections on Alcoholic Anonymous Meeting Alcoholics Anonymous is a nonprofessional and apolitical community that gathers members having problems with alcohol consumption worldwide and supplies them with mutual aid.
• Education Level and HIV Transmission Among Alcoholics in California This research highlights the objective elements and statistical information regarding the relationship between education level and HIV transmission among alcoholics in California.
• Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander People The paper evaluates the patterns of alcohol and other drug usage among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and drug-related harms.
• Qualitative Research of Alcoholism in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of alcohol consumed in the USA is drunk by adolescents, and 90% of it is consumed in the form of binge drinking.
• Researching of Pregnancy and Alcohol Abuse In order to address the issue of alcohol abuse during pregnancy, the interprofessional team should consider the current trends and recommendations on maternal alcohol consumption
• Alcohol Dependence as a Physical Dependence The paper aims at displaying an aspect of physical alcohol dependence, where alcohol dependence is shown in hardship-related issues in life.
• Substance and Alcohol Misuse among Adolescents Substance and alcohol misuse among adolescents is a considerable bother for the US healthcare system since adolescence is commonly known as a time for experimentation.
• Substance Abuse: Alcohol and Drugs in the Movie “Ray” The movie “Ray” by Taylor Hackford. In “Ray,” the issue of substance abuse helps understand the problems that a person faces when dealing with addiction.
• Alcoholism in Older Adults in America Based on the social, economic, and health problems of alcoholism, it is pertinent to adopt effective ways of minimizing its incidence in society.
• The American Alcohol Problem Studies have shown that, alcohol abuse leads to health complications whereby; the abusers develop digestive, psychological, mental and physical problems.
• Alcoholism: Analysis of Drinking-Related Disorders Drinking-related disorders refer to temperament peculiarities as well as social characteristics and require some proficient nursing elaboration.
• Alcohol Addiction: Assessing and Diagnosing the Client This paper considers the case of a 38-year-old welder, who has an alcohol addiction problem: the problem is assessed, diagnosed, and ways in which he can be helped are identified.
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Alcohol Addiction Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a highly adaptable approach to treating an array of disorders, and it has been used to address the needs of various patient groups.
• The Problem of Alcohol Addiction in Russia Russia now acknowledges alcohol addiction as a problem. The health impact of alcohol in Russia is most notable in its contribution to mortality through cardiovascular diseases.
• Impact of Alcohol Abuse on Breast Cancer Risk in Women This paper will examine the effects of alcohol abuse on the development of breast cancer in women to uncover its devastating consequences.
• Defining The Harm of Alcoholism Disease The paper aims to provide a report on the disease of alcoholism based on Čuček Trifkovič’s paper, followed by a comparison with three other studies.
• Alcohol Consumption: Negative Impacts This essay cross-examines the outcomes of alcohol consumption. The paper achieves its objective through carrying out research with specific methodology.
• Alcohol Abuse: External and Internal Perspectives This paper will examine the social costs of alcohol abuse problems, in particular, the external rise of violence and the private stigma surrounding addiction.
• Alcohol Abuse as It Pertains to High Risk Families The main objections of the promotion and prevention program are to ensure reduced substance abuse among young people to protect their health.
• Biopsychologic Model of Alcohol Consumption This work is devoted to alcohol dependence: the possible causes of occurrence, health risks, as well as the most effective methods of treatment are considered.
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are the spectrum of conditions caused by parental alcohol use during pregnancy that affects the world population’s health
• The Effects of Alcohol on Human Body and Mental State “Drinking: A Love Story” is the story about the relationship between a human and alcohol, the transformation of a person as an addict, and their way to sobriety.
• Dealing With Alcohol Abuse in Adolescents This research evaluates how the public can be incorporated in developing effective interventions aimed at dealing with alcohol abuse and binge drinking among youth.
• Alcohol Dependence in Modern Women Alcohol dependence has become a serious problem in modern women. It is explained by changing social roles, numerous responsibilities, and dissatisfaction with life.
• Exposure to Low Levels of Alcohol During Pregnancy There are no solid reasons for the mother to drink alcohol during pregnancy, and, as the safe dose is hard to establish.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Among Pregnant Women Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a severe disease that has dangerous affects on the fetus and on a born child. The abnormal features of this syndrome accompany a man throughout the life span.
• Alcohol Dehydrogenase Protein: Histrical Background and Analysis The alcohol dehydrogenase acts as an alcohol breaker to enable proper digestion of alcohol by the body organs. There is a theory of evolution on this type of protein.
• Paternal Exposure: Alcohol and Offspring Development The experiments related to the influence of fathers’ alcoholism on the development of their children allowed to conclude on the presence of several developmental disorders.
• Alcohol Addiction: Alcoholics Anonymous Program This article focuses on a twelve-step program that allows people with alcohol dependence to return to their normal lives.
• Hispanic Community: Alcohol & Substance Abuse Among the Female Gender Population This study will focus on alcohol and substance abuse among the female gender population proportion (12-20 years and 25-45 years) in the Hispanic community in California.
• Overcoming Chronic Alcoholism by Patients This work describes the problem of alcoholism, its stages and main symptoms, problems of diagnosis, psychological and physical treatment.
• Article Critique about Alcohol & Society The research efforts of recent years aimed to shed light on the interconnection between alcohol outcomes and socioeconomic factors.
• Alcohol and Depression Article by Churchill and Farrell The selected article for this discussion is “Alcohol and Depression: Evidence From the 2014 Health Survey for England” by Sefa Awaworyi Churchill and Lisa Farrell.
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Organizations The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of drugs and alcohol on the behavior of the employees and the relationships between business owners and their subordinates.
• Banning Alcohol From Mainstream Consumption
• Alcohol-Related Crimes, How Do We Tackle It
• Alcohol Disadvantages Examples
• Alcohol Use for Disease Control and Prevention
• Alcohol and Its Effects on Social Behavior
• Alcohol Benefits and Demerits
• Alcohol Consumption Among First Time Mothers
• Illegal Alcohol Sale and Consumption
• Alcohol and Its Effect on Society
• Alcohol: The World’s Favorite Drug
• Alcohol Abuse Among College Students at University of South Carolina
• How Alcohol Affects the Brain’s Size
• Alcohol Treatment Save Your Life
• Alcohol and Its Effects on Psychological and Physical Levels
• How Alcohol Affects the Internal Organs
• Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Dementia
• Alcohol and Its Physiological Effects
• Alcohol and Teenagers Alcoholic Beverage
• Why Should Not Reduce Alcohol Not A Concern For Authorities?
• Alcohol Consumption Among College Students
• Support Services and the Case Review: Drug and Alcohol Addiction The article presents a plan to help a 39-year-old patient living in Palm Beach treat his alcohol and drug addiction.
• College Experience and Alcohol Consumption Alcohol use is related to a high number of health problems in the United States. Current statistics show that more than 80% of college students drank on one or more occasions.
• The Money Factor in Drug and Alcohol Treatment A vast number of individuals fail to take up drug treatment because they are unable to raise the money that is required to enroll in such a program.
• Formation of the Alcoholics Anonymous Association Alcoholics Anonymous is an association of different people recuperating from alcoholism who come together to contribute their experiences about alcoholism and its effects.
• Global Trends Affecting a Local Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers Drug abuse is one of the greatest problems affecting the world today. Rehabilitation centers have been the best institutions in transforming the lives of drug addicts.
• Comparing a Behavioral and Chemical Addiction on the Example of Alcohol and Pornography This research examines two alcoholic treatments therapies of both inpatient and out patient addicts with an intention to assess the abuse consequences and monitor their effectiveness.
• The Problem of Teenage Alcoholism The problem of drinking alcohol among teens is an epidemic towards which they spend nearly 5.5 billion dollars a year.
• Alcohol Abuse Among Students: Reforming College Drinking A large number of works are devoted to the problem of alcohol abuse among students. One of them is Drinking in College: Rethinking a Social Problem by George Dowdall.
• Personal Issues: Marriage, Obesity, and Alcohol Abuse The actions of every person have a particular impact on society and its development, and this impact is sometimes underestimated.
• Anti-Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco Education Programs Many teachers understand that drugs and alcohol use among students is the major reason why many students do not accomplish their educational goals.
• Human Brain. Alcohol Effects on Frontal Lobe Impairment In this paper, various ways of influence of alcohol abuse on frontal lobe impairments are considered with special emphasis on direct frontal lobe impairments.
• Alcoholism and Its Effects: Beyond the Influence In the book “Beyond the Influence”, Ketcham et al. present their proof that the disease of alcoholism is a physiological disease rather than a psychological disorder.
• Alcohol Cessation in Pregnancy The problem of alcohol use during pregnancy attracts the attention of different researchers. The paper offers evidence-based concepts for promoting alcohol cessation.
• The Café Bar’s Employee Relations: Illegal Substance and Alcohol Use The Café Bar is committed to offering and preserving a secure and prolific work atmosphere, liberated from the unfavorable consequences of drugs and alcohol.
• Genetic Predisposition to Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol-Related Diseases The subject of genetics in alcohol dependence deserves additional research in order to provide accurate results.
• Temperament of Children in Alcoholic Families There are many factors that destabilize family relationships, and one of the most devastating problems is the alcohol addiction of one or both parents.
• Alcohol and Its Major Behavioral Effects Alcohol is most widely known for its effects on behavior, for which reason it is currently used as a legal recreational drug.
• Alcohol Abuse: the Economist Approach To an economist, the problem of alcohol abuse is viewed as an externality in both consumption and production. The value to consumers is greater than the value to society.
• The Alcohol Abuse Treatment Among the Elderly This paper delves into the issue of alcohol abuse among the elderly, its potential implications, the origin of the problem, and methods to resolve the issue.
• Alcohol Abuse’ Treatment Among the Elderly This research focuses on finding the best treatment for the problem of alcohol abuse among the elderly as it may pose serious health problems.
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Effectiveness The production and consumption of drugs is a core challenge in the modern world. It is the reason why there is an increased need for treatment of people affected by drug addiction.
• The Treatment of Alcohol Abuse of the Elderly This paper delves into the issue of alcohol abuse among the elderly, its potential implications, and examines what the current methods utilize to resolve the issue.
• The Treatment of Alcohol Abuse among the Elderly Alcohol abuse among the elderly is an issue that has raised concern among medical practitioners and society in general.
• Alcohol Advertisement and Its Impact on Consumption There is a need for restrictions in alcohol advertisements so that the vulnerable youth can be salvaged from underage drinking that risk interfering with their health and career life.
• “Adolescent Alcoholism and Drug Addiction” by Choate The article “Adolescent alcoholism and drug addiction: The experience of parents” revolves around the issue of drug addiction among teenagers and its effects on their families.
• Alcohol Marketing Failures and Successes On the surface, alcohol might seem to be the easiest product to market since its audience develops an acquired taste, and customers’ purchasing ability is restricted mostly by age.
• Alcohol Consumption in Children and Public Health Alcohol has long been a big concern for public health, especially its use by children. It negatively influences many aspects of life: health, education, and social relationships.
• Twelve-Step Programs: Alcoholics Anonymous This paper provides an overview of the most effective Twelve-Step Programs in the USA and a more detailed description of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
• Teratogenic Effects of Alcohol and Smoking The teratogen is an umbrella term for substances that can have adverse effects on an embryo. In the situation, a girl continues drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes despite being pregnant.
• Alcohol Intervention in the Primary Care Setting The paper will discuss and analyze scholarly research on the topic of alcohol intervention to analyze patient outcomes in the primary care setting.
• Miami-Dade Community Needs: Alcohol and Drug Addiction Miami-Dade is one of the counties in the state of Florida. The health needs of the people living in this county are supported using different initiatives and programs.
• Alcohol Culture World History Alcohol consumption is a rather widespread phenomenon, as the culture of liquor drinking exists in nearly every state of the world.
• Problem of the Alcohol Addiction in Modern Families The increasing cases of alcoholism, also known as addiction, have led to a rising concern and a research on its challenges and remedies.
• Manitoba Mothers and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Singal et al. focuse on a rather important problem of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy resulted in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in children.
• The Price Role in Alcohol and Cigarettes Consumption This essay is a presentation concerning the facts about price elasticity of demand and the key issues that relate to it. It determine, whether binge drinking is common among college students.
• Substance Abusers Alcoholics – Psychology Alcoholics suffer from a distinct physical yearning to take alcohol past their capability to manage it, irrespective of every law of common sense.
• Sociology: Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problem Drug prevention program is the process that devotes its efforts towards limiting the use of psychoactive substances and the development of associated problems.
• Alcohol Misuse in Teenagers: New Means to Address the Issue Despite the efforts of healthcare specialists, over the past few years, the rates of alcohol consumption in youth have grown impressively.
• Which Drug Is More Effective in the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal?
• How Alcohol Affects the Human Body?
• How Does Alcohol Makes You Drunk?
• Should Alcohol and Tobacco Advertisement Be Banned?
• Should the Alcohol Drinking Age Be Decreased?
• Should the Government Attempt to Reduce Current Levels of Alcohol Consumption?
• What Are the Positive and Negative Effects of Alcohol?
• What Effect Does Alcohol Have on a Person’s Health and Life Expectancy?
• Why Shouldn’t Teenagers Drink Alcohol?
• How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain?
• How Does Drugs and Alcohol Affect Teenage Brain Development?
• Why Alcohol Should Not Be Legal?
• How Much Alcohol Is Ok per Day?
• What Happens When You Drink Alcohol Every Day?
• What Is the Healthiest Alcohol?
• What Alcohol Is Considered Heavy Drinking?
• How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System?
• What Are the Benefits of Drinking Alcohol?
• What Is the Least Harmful Alcohol to Drink?
• Which Alcohol Is Lowest in Sugar?
• Which Alcohol Is Healthier: Vodka or Whiskey?
• How Much Alcohol Do Alcoholics Drink?
• Does Alcohol Change Your Body Shape?
• Does Alcohol Raise Blood Pressure?
• Does Alcohol Help You Sleep?
• What Are the Steps in Alcohol Production?
• How Is Alcohol Made Industrially?
• Which Material Is Used for Production of Alcohol?
• How Alcohol Is Produced by Fermentation?
• Which Enzymes Are Necessary for Alcohol Production?

Cite this post

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, September 9). 248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/alcohol-essay-topics/

"248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students." StudyCorgi , 9 Sept. 2021, studycorgi.com/ideas/alcohol-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) '248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students'. 9 September.

1. StudyCorgi . "248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/alcohol-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/alcohol-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "248 Alcohol Essay Topics & Research Titles for Students." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/alcohol-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Alcohol were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Alcohol — Alcohol: Informative Speech

Alcohol: Informative Speech

• Categories: Alcohol Drink

About this sample

Words: 482 |

Published: Mar 20, 2024

Words: 482 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 747 words

2 pages / 829 words

3 pages / 1399 words

1 pages / 503 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Alcohol

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH),-(CH2-CHOH)n-, is a linear polymer which means it shows negligible amounts of branching. PVOH is soluble in water, which is unusual for synthetic polymers, but this allows PVOH to be used in a lot of [...]

Liquor ban in Bihar was one of the important decisions taken by the Chief Minister of Bihar in the favour of weaker section of society of the state. This decision has helped in saving the income of poor people and utilized it in [...]

Tuscany wields a heavy, dense history and cultural identity; such to the extent that it is fiercely independent, and often considered to be a ‘nation within a nation’. As such, Tuscany’s viticultural practices have their own [...]

A coffee maker is a small appliance used to brew coffee. The most common one used in most households involves putting coffee grounds in a paper or metal funnel which is then set over a coffee pot. Water is then poured in the [...]

Genetically engineered crops appear to be safe to eat and do not harm the environment, according to a new analysis by the advisory group the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It is unclear whether the [...]

Canning is a process of preserving food in cans or jars in which the food is processed and edible for a long period of time. The food is stored in an airtight container which provides shelf life based on the preserved nutrition [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

By the numbers: There are now more daily marijuana users in the US than daily alcohol users

FILE - A man smokes marijuana in lower Manhattan outside the first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana in New York on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. Daily and near-daily marijuana use is now more common than similar levels of high-frequency drinking in the U.S., according to an analysis of survey data over four decades, according to research published Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in the journal Addiction. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

• Copy Link copied

New research based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, published Wednesday in the journal Addiction, compares Americans’ use of cannabis and alcohol over the past 40 years. Here are some of the findings and other notable numbers.

— An estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily in 2022, up from less than 1 million in 1992.

— An estimated 14.7 million used used alcohol daily or near daily in 2022, up from about 9 million in 1992.

— 42% of people who say they’ve used marijuana in the past month say they do so daily or near daily.

— 11% of alcohol users drink daily or near daily.

— 62 million Americans, about 20% of the U.S. population ages 12 and older, reported using marijuana at least once in the past year, according to the survey .

— About 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— 177 million Americans reported that they drank in the past year .

— 29.5 million Americans had an alcohol use disorder as of 2022.

— Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 U.S. states .