Substance abuse has been a crutch on humanity and a massive social problem since the beginning of human existence. Noticed and made illegal in the early 20th century, and now one of the most widely abused substances today, alcohol is a major cause for concern in contemporary society. The total cost of alcohol use by youth in America – including traffic crashes, violent crime, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning, and treatment – is more than $58 billion annually, making alcohol abuse among young people the severe social crisis it is today. Eighty percent of high school seniors have used alcohol, and approximately 2/3 reported that they could buy their own alcoholic beverages, even though it is illegal to purchase and possess alcohol under the age of 21 in all 50 states. (Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1999) Sadly, this trend continues to worsen as high school students spread their wings, soon landing in the epicenter for social binge drinking, college.
             Since alcohol is so easily saturates every cell and organ of the body, the physical effects of chronic alcohol abuse are wide-ranging and complex. Large doses of alcohol invade the body's fluids and interfere with metabolism in every cell. Alcohol damages the liver, the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, and the heart. Alcoholics who do not quit drinking decrease life expectancy by ten to fifteen years. (Presley, 2002) Alcohol consumption can also cause impaired vision, impair sexual function, slow circulation, cause malnutrition, cause water retention, lead to pancreatitis and skin disorders, dilate blood vessels near the skin, weaken bone and muscles, and decreases immunity.
             Consumed in substantial amounts, alcohol's toxicity may be because it acts as a foreign substance in the body's metabolism. The short-term expression of this toxicity is felt as a hangover. The long-term toxicity may ...