The International Day for the Prevention of Drug Abuse, established by the United Nations – 26 June – is an opportunity to remind people of the dangers of drugs and to educate them about prevention and treatment options for addiction.
Today, we would like to draw particular attention to drugs that are legal and, because of this and their availability and social acceptance, have very negative effects on a wide scale.
We are, of course, talking about alcohol – a highly addictive psychotropic depressant that affects the central nervous system – cognitive functions, emotions, perception, i.e. it corresponds to the characteristics attributed to other narcotic substances.
However, many people who use alcohol are still unaware of the huge health and life risks it entails. However, in relation to alcohol – as with other psychoactive substances – there are almost identical mechanisms of addictive thinking and functioning, the stages of development of addiction and its symptoms are also similar.
Contrary to prevailing opinions – there is no so-called ‘safe dose’ of alcohol for the human body. “From the first glass, alcohol begins to affect the human brain, starting a number of disease processes, including cancer! The realisation that alcohol is a tissue poison that can lead to severe diseases and irreversible changes in the human body, including the brain, would perhaps stop many people from reaching for it. Alcohol contains many psychoactive substances, the most dangerous of which is acetaldehyde, which is formed by the breakdown of alcohol in the human body. It is a highly toxic psychoactive substance affecting, among other things, the central nervous system, leading the abuser to psychological dependence and physical dependence, hitting the central nervous system, and also causing a number of cardiovascular diseases.”
Psychological and social risks
People who drink alcohol are much more likely to experience, for example, social isolation, depressive states, relationship crises or suicidal thoughts. Intense drinking can lead to temporary or permanent psychotic disorders.
“Even a single consumption of alcohol can lead to severe health damage associated with, inter alia, increased accidents or risky behaviour (driving, working with machines or at height, becoming a victim or perpetrator of sexual abuse with the possibility of infection), conflicts with the law and good manners (…) Chronic drinking can lead to adaptive changes in the brain and thus to serious health damage: mood changes and fluctuations, irritability, insomnia, impaired learning and adaptability to changing realities. Abstinence syndromes may occur (muscle tremors, increased sweating, general malaise, sleep difficulties, irritability, accelerated heart rate, hypertension, dilated pupils, diarrhoea) sometimes complicated by delirium (disturbance of consciousness with hallucinations) or seizures
(…) Alcohol is also toxic to internal organs, mainly the gastrointestinal tract (liver, intestinal pancreas), the endocrine system (e.g. dysregulates sexual rhythms e.g. menstruation, reduces fertility) and the circulation (heart muscle damage – cardiomyopathy, hypertension, cardiac dysrhythmia). Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is associated with the risk of birth defects and poorer psycho-physical development of the child.”
Alcohol causes more social harm than other drugs
Researchers from ISCD and EMCDDA measured the harm of 20 psychoactive substances on a scale of 1 – 100 in 16 areas of harm – including mortality, loss of health, addiction, loss of relationships, friendships, crime, economic costs, and family break-ups.
Alcohol was found to be the most socially harmful psychoactive substance – ahead of heroin, crack, methamphetamine or cocaine.
“According to WHO data, worldwide, 3 million deaths each year are the result of harmful alcohol consumption, accounting for 5.3% of all deaths. In other words, every 10 seconds or so, someone dies from drinking alcohol. This is more than the total number of people who die each year from AIDS, tuberculosis and violence.”
One of society’s biggest misconceptions is the cry of “cheers” referring to toasting and drinking a poisonous substance. Even a few glasses of wine a week makes the brain age faster – according to a 2022 study of 36,000 people, a person who drinks even small amounts of alcohol regularly has a brain 10 years older than non-drinking peers. Alcohol causes brain cells to die, destroying stem cells used primarily to form new neural connections. “Some symptoms of brain damage appear even after the first drinks. Babbled speech, difficulty moving, blurred vision in front of the eyes, memory deficits – these are just some of the ailments.”
Choose conscious experiencing. Feel and celebrate important occasions, beautiful moments, instead of becoming desensitised to them. When you drink, you’re not really experiencing anything. Have fun, go on a romantic date with a loved one, invite friends to a party, relax after a hard week – subtract the alcohol from it and see the difference – feel it all fully.
Do you see this as a possibility?
How difficult is it for you to do this?
Or are you already one step too far gone to be able to quit without specialist support?
When life gets difficult – seek real help. We are waiting for you at the Crisis Intervention Centre in Lublin, 6A Probostwo Street: 81 466 55 46
24-hour helpline for people in crisis: 733 588 900
Helpline for children and young people (daily 14:00-22:00): 789 777 981