Alcohol is a drug. In fact it is a narcotic drug and the only one that can be legally and freely purchased on the open market. All other narcotics must be obtained from a doctor by prescription. In turn, a record is kept of every prescription signed by a physician in order that the authorities can check to see just how much of these various drugs he prescribes for his patients. If a doctor is prescribing too much of a narcotic for a particular patient, he soon hears from the authorities. They want to know “why” and “what” the circumstances are. If a doctor has a good reason, fine, but if he doesn’t, then he is in trouble for misuse of narcotics. This, then, is the kind of hold placed on every narcotic substance—except alcohol.
Alcohol is a Depressant
For a number of reasons alcohol is a particularly insidious and deceptive substance. One is that it gives the user the impression that he has had a bit of a lift. He gets a feeling of well-being, mastery of the situation, power and adequacy. This is why a person who tends to feel inadequate, overburdened or overpowered by circumstances is prone to use alcohol in excess. He seeks to compensate with this narcotic drug because of the apparent lift it gives him, a feeling of superiority, grandeur, an on-top-of-the-world outlook, and a measure of release being the major effects.
However, the moment alcohol is imbibed it goes for the nervous system. It has a particular affinity for the cells of the brain and immediately begins to exert a deleterious effect on them, and contrary to what a person thinks and feels about himself, he is actually beginning to deteriorate in his performance.
Alcohol has no stimulating effect. Rather, the opposite is true. For example, it depresses reaction time, that is, the length of time it takes a person to do something about a situation that requires action. After one pint of beer, which has only one ounce of alcohol, an individual’s reaction time is prolonged six times. After two pints of beer, containing two ounces of alcohol, a person’s reaction time is prolonged eleven times.
The meaning of this is clear. A man thinks he can manage his car after a couple of beers, but if he is driving down the street and a child steps out from between parked cars, it takes eleven times longer than normal for him to put his foot on the brake and stop his car. The tragic result too often is that the child loses its life.
Thus alcohol, while imparting a feeling of mastery over circumstances, actually impairs a person’s judgment and ability to react quickly in adverse situations.
Auto fatalities: The New York State Department of Health in conjunction with Cornell University examined all fatal injuries due to auto accidents in New York City. It was found that alcohol was a contributing factor in 73% of all fatalities. A similar survey in nearby Westchester County discovered that it was the determining factor in 79% of all drivers killed in single-car crashes. Similarly a study in Middlesex County, NJ, disclosed that alcohol was involved in 41.2% of all violent deaths in the county. In fact, “drunk driving is proving to be even deadlier than what we previously knew. The latest traffic death statistics released this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), using a new method of calculation, show that 17,448 people were killed last year in alcohol-related traffic crashes. This number represents nearly 800 more deaths than previously estimated. Sadly, it also represents an increase over the 17,380 people killed in such crashes in the year 2000. Additional statistics show that more than half a million others are injured in crashes involving alcohol” (MADD update).
Dangers Galore
Suicides: The eleventh leading cause of violent deaths in the US is suicide. Throughout the fifty states it is estimated that alcohol is directly responsible in at least one-fourth of these.
Addiction: Besides exerting such effects on mental processes by depressing the activity of the brain, alcohol also often leads to addiction, chemical dependence, on it. One out of every nine who commences the use of alcohol ends up with a serious drinking problem or becomes an alcoholic. Total abstinence is the only way to be sure that you (or someone to whom you introduce its use) will not be the one in nine who will wind up at the degraded end of the spectrum of alcohol users.
Long-term drinking can cause many physical problems. For example:
• Alcohol-related liver disease. More than 2 million Americans suffer from alcohol-related liver disease. Some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. Its symptoms include fever, jaundice, and abdominal pain. Alcoholic hepatitis can cause death.
• Cancer. Long-term heavy drinking increases the risk of developing certain forms of cancer, especially cancer of the esophagus, mouth, throat, and voice box. Women are at slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer if they drink two or more drinks per day.
Danger to the unborn: Alcohol can cause a range of birth defects, the most serious being fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Children born with alcohol-related birth defects can have lifelong learning and behavior problems. Those born with FAS have physical abnormalities, mental impairment, and behavior problems. Scientists do not know exactly how much alcohol it takes to cause alcohol-related birth defects.
Broken homes: Alcohol is a potent factor in divorce and poverty. Breadwinners, who should be supporting their families, often spend much of their wages on strong drink once they have become hooked. Violence in the home and spousal and child abuse is often linked to chemical use.
The Spiritual Dimension
There is one final consideration. Paul speaks in strong terms about stumbling a weaker brother. There are people who, because you take a drink, may feel that they too can take a drink harmlessly. However they may be among those who end up an alcohol abuse statistic. This is one more reason to take a position of abstinence.
After all, our Lord Jesus Christ came “that [we] might have life, and that [we] might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). All that we need in order to enjoy this life is found in Him. If we are finding our sufficiency in Him, we don’t need these ancillary things. And how can those of us whose bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit of God subject them to an influence which from the very beginning is degrading, and which may in time lead to spiritual shipwreck?
Written by Charles Taylor