Friday 20 April 2012

What is the disadvantages on drinking and smoking


  • The Disadvantages of Smoking & Drinking
  • Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes both carry an array of adverse health risks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five deaths in the United States is caused from the effects of smoking, while the consumption of alcohol is responsible for the deaths of more than 79,000 people in the United States each year. The damages caused by these two habits are documented to do damage to the body and can lead to heart disease, cancer and stroke. The detrimental effects of smoking and drinking are numerous
  • An excessive amount of consumption of alcohol often leads to alcoholic liver disease. This disease can be fatal. Some of the effects of this disease include cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis C and steatosis. Drinking heavily for only a few days in a row can even result in the development of steatosis, an early symptom of alcoholic liver disease. It is the most common liver disorder related to alcohol. Hepatitis results from a person who chronically indulges in excessive amounts of alcohol and can be deadly. It causes an inflammation of the liver with symptoms including vomiting, nausea, fever and abdominal pain.
  • The smoking of cigarettes has serious ramifications for the human liver. When smoking is done in conjunction with excessive consumption of alcohol, the smoking will increase the damage that alcohol has on the liver. Smoking itself activates chemicals within the human body created from the chemicals in cigarettes. They suppress the oxygen levels which are linked to lipid peroxidation. This allows fibrosis of the liver to develop
  • According to the American Heart Association, excessive consumption of alcohol can cause many detrimental effects on the human heart. The alcohol can increase the fat levels in the blood throughout the body and can cause the person to develop high blood pressure, as well as heart failure. Additionally, because the calorie count in alcohol is very high, consumption of a large amount can increase the caloric intake of the person who is over-consuming and lead to obesity. Obesity puts a lot of strain on the heart. There is also a risk with those who consume an excess of alcohol to suffer a stroke and even sudden cardiac death.
  • Cigarette smoking is a huge cause of coronary heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. According to the American Heart Association, the smoking of cigarettes is the most common cause of preventable death in the United States. These deaths commonly occur from heart disease directly linked to smoking. The smoking of cigarettes increases the building up of fats within the arteries while at the same time it causes a decrease in the good cholesterol levels. It also increases the risk of developing strokes and aneurysms.
  • Alcoholic beverages are imbibed across the world. For some they serve as a uniting commonality for socializing, while others partake in tasty alcohol-containing drinks to reach altered states of consciousness, or to get drunk. The paradox of enjoying alcoholic beverages is that it comes with benefits and risks not just to your physical health but also other significant domains of your life, including work and relationships. The key to staying on the side of gleaning the advantages of alcohol use resides in safe, moderate consumption.
  • The cardiovascular system includes your heart, circulatory and neurological systems, and cardiovascular disease is the primary killer of American men and women. Cardiovascular diseases can impact your arteries and heart, blood vessels leading to major organs or your brain, and include damage to any of these systems that can lead to stroke or heart attack. People free of cardiovascular complications actually can protect this system with moderate alcohol consumption. According to Harvard Health Publications, moderate alcohol use raises the high-density lipoprotein, or good cholesterol, level in your bloodstream, which plays a role in reducing the risk of clots in your blood vessels.
  • Moderate alcohol consumption in healthy adults can be cardio-protective, but excessive alcohol consumption or alcohol use if you have existing heart disease increases your risk of heart complications. Continued alcohol use if you have high blood pressure can lead to blockage in the arteries from the brain, causing a sudden or severe disruption in the brain blood supply, or stroke. Excess alcohol consumption also increases the chance of chronic high blood pressure, which impacts the functionality of your heart.
  • Type 2 diabetes, a form of chronic metabolic disease due to poor insulin production, can result from differing contributing factors, like poor diet, pancreatic complications or obesity. Studies indicate that the risk of developing diabetes is reduced with regular, moderate alcohol consumption, but the exact benefit of alcohol on blood glucose management warrants ongoing research. Gallstones develop in the gallbladder and can result from too much cholesterol in the diet. Alcohol might minimize the risk of cholesterol accumulation that leads to gallstones. Consequently, excess alcohol consumption also can cause complications in blood glucose management if you have diabetes and poor liver functions that increase the risk of gallstones.
  • The psychological impact of drinking alcohol presents with a wide-range of consequences depending on your drinking pattern. Alcohol abuse occurs when you engage in drinking that is unsafe and harmful to others. Binge drinking is a form of alcohol abuse. Blackouts or alcohol poisoning resulting from over-consumption are serious residual effects of alcohol abuse. Alcoholism develops over time as you require more beverages to achieve the intoxicating results, when you experience withdrawal symptoms when you do not drink, and when you engage in unsafe behaviors that impact yourself and others. Alcoholism and abuse often result in loss of relationships, loss of employment, vehicular accidents or violence.
  • A standard alcohol beverage is one 12 oz. beer, one 5 oz. glass of wine, or one 1.5 oz. glass of 80 proof distilled spirits, notes MayoClinic.com. Moderate alcohol consumption for a man equates to no more than two standard drinks a day and for women it is the equivalent of one standard drink a day. If you do not currently drink alcoholic beverages, do not start, because you can obtain heart healthy benefits through other dietary means. If you have a problem with drinking alcohol, seek professional help to prevent long-term health and psychological complications.
The Disadvantages of Smoking & Drinking thumbnailThe Advantages & Disadvantages of Drinking Alcoholic Beverages

No comments:

Post a Comment