The Consequences of Alcohol Abuse in Seminole County Florida - Research Paper Example

? The Consequences of Alcohol Abuse in Seminole County Florida Overview Created in the year 1913, Seminole County is an integral part of Florida. TheSeminole County’s population was 422,718 in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The Seminole County Along with the entire state of Florida is facing a common issue i.e. alcohol abuse, which is affecting the society intensely and its people. It is affecting the entire nation as well along with its economy. The major objective of the paper is to highlight the etiology and the various effects of the alcohol abuse on the nation and the people and the paper would also underline the programs undertaken by the national communities to solve the issue of alcohol abuse. Etiology, Prevalence and Effect of the Alcohol Abuse in the Nation and in the Seminole County Florida The Etiology of the Alcohol Abuse The alcohol abuse is commonly recognized as a medical problem. The exact reason behind the alcohol abuse is yet not confirmed. Alcohol abuse is also known as alcoholism and it basically rises due to the surroundings and the alcohol practices in the family or friends. But in most of the cases, the reason behind alcoholism is a psychiatric problem such as, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, isolation, poverty, and shyness among others. The other reason for alcohol abuse can be the acceptance and the desire to feel the same outcomes repeatedly due to the alcohol intake (HelpGuide, 2011). Prevalence of Alcohol Abuse According to the survey among the students of Florida in 2006, it was noticed that 58.4% students have tested alcohol at least once in their life time. The report also stated that the rate of consumption of alcohol among the students of the middle school was 40.4% and for the students of the high school the rate was 72.0%. Comparing this report with the 2010 statistics, it was observed that the usage of alcohol is relatively lower than the year 2006. The statistics for the Seminole County students have revealed that prevalence of indulgent drinking reduced by 1.5% points among the students of middle school and among the ‘high school students’ the reduction was 3.4% points. This survey was done in relation to the youth of Florida and their alcohol habits (Florida Department of Children & Families, 2006; Florida Department of Children & Families, 2010). The Effects of Alcohol Abuse on the Health of the Nation The effects of the alcohol abuse have a huge impact on the health of the nation. The economy of a country gets affected by the cost for alcoholism. Alcohol abuse creates problems in the families worldwide, and it also affects the country and its economy. The families of the sufferer spend a lot for the diseases caused by the alcohol abuse. A survey in the US says that the cost for drunk driving is wasting a considerable part of the economy of the country, also many people died due to such act. The other affect on the nation is the social and the medical cost for the alcohol abuse, as alcoholism can damage the society and its properties. Even in the workplace the alcohol abused employees affect the environment of the office. And the organization also generally has to pay the medical cost for the alcohol abused employee. Not only the costs, the alcoholism also affects the employment and the job potential. Due to the alcoholism an employee can harm the process of a work in the work place. The increase in alcoholism would increase the violence in the society. Alcohol abuse has become a threat to the nation all over the world (MacPherson, 2007). The Aggregate Population at Risk Alcoholism or alcohol abuse is a problem which involves not only a particular group of people rather affects almost everyone in the society. Alcoholism is a threat to the society and it includes the users as well as the non users of alcohol. In a particular society the effect of alcoholism is active for the dependent users and the effect is passive for the non users. Whenever a person drinks heavily his or her family, friends, and child get affected. When a person is consuming alcohol in the workplace the non drinkers might have to face problem for the person and his activities. When a person drinks and drives, the people on the streets are at risk. Basically, the alcohol abuse does not only harm the alcohol users, it also harms the non-users. The main affects of alcohol abuse is mostly seen in the young people. The young people of the world at times face problems regarding health conditions and they also face problems regarding their social activities. The young people may start consuming alcohol even earlier than the age of 18, and often they grow the habit and the urge for the consumption of alcohol from a very early age. Mainly the history of the society and the family put a heavy impact on the alcohol dependency, which is really harmful for the individual as well as for the society and the coming young generation (Saunders & Rey, 2011). The Extent of Alcohol Abuse In the society the diseases like AIDS, heart problem, diabetes and depression among others are considered as harmful diseases, but alcohol abuse is a problem in the society which can cause each of the above mentioned diseases. Alcohol abuse affects the family, friends, co-employees and the society among others. An alcohol abuse causes the accidents on the road, domestic violence, and many other problems (World Health Organization, 2011). Not only monitory, there are several health problems related to the alcoholism such as, vomiting, gastrointestinal pain, nausea, and bloating among others. Basically use of alcohol starts with ‘experimentation’. The youth starts using alcohol in certain special occasion such as marriages, birthdays or any family get together, and this experimentation transforms into a regular consumption. It also depends on the habit of the parents or anyone in the family or in the friend circle, which affects the children’s attitude towards life. To maintain one’s status at times, people consume alcohol. The young male of the society is more into alcoholism as they start consuming alcohol as a symbol of ‘growing up’, and they become dependent on the alcohol. Alcohol harms the women as well. Due to high consumption of alcohol in women the effect can be on the pregnancy, job life or in the domestic responsibilities. Women get more affected than men due to their body structure and for their less tolerance power (World Health Organization, 2011). Effects of the Alcohol Abuse The alcohol abuse has a huge impact on the society as well as on the health of the victims. The effects of alcoholism involve increased skin temperature. It causes vomiting, vision problem and dizziness as well. Alcoholism also causes lack of consciousness, and it weakens the respiratory system which can cause death. Other effects of alcoholism are poor concentration and attention, it affects the normal way of doing regular activities, and it causes inflated emotions. Alcohol abuse also causes the loss of memory and blackouts. In a long-term perspective, the alcoholism affects the body, the brain, and the muscles among others. Alcohol abuse also makes it tough for the victims to socialize in a normal manner (Florida Institute of Technology, 2010). The People Who Are Affected For Alcohol Abuse in Seminole County According to the report of the youth survey of the Seminole County, it can be noticed that the 36.7% of the population is at the risk of alcoholism. This 36.7% population of the Seminole County is at the risk of losing the normal lifestyle, and they would suffer from a mental misbalance, loss of memory, sudden blackouts, and the extreme risk under alcohol abuse can be death. Most of the affected people are the youths and the students. The high school students are more affected as they are into more consumption of alcohol. According to the survey done in Florida by Health Council of East Central Florida, regarding abuse of the youths stated that the 52.9% students have tried alcohol once in their life, occasionally. The survey also stated that the consumption of alcohol in the middle school students is 35.9% and in the high school the rate is 65.5%. In the Seminole County, the 28.6% students have reported to consume alcohol (Health Council of East Central Florida, 2010). In a youth survey, it was found that the youth of Seminole County had given a mixed response which includes drugs, self mutilation, gangs, runaway, anger, isolation violence and teen sex among others as negative aspects of the society which force them to get dependent on the alcoholism. The youth of Seminole county has also mentioned the positive aspects by which they remove their stress, which includes sports, meditation, writing, reading, exercise, and music among others. Basically the unaware youths are being the victim of the alcoholism, which is spoiling their normal life (Health Council of East Central Florida, 2010). The Cost to the Society for Alcoholism Almost in every year, alcoholism results in various costs to the society for the effects done by the alcohol abuse, which affects the economy of the nation as well. The affects of alcoholism can be monitory as well as physical and social. The cost to the society involves the cost related to the problems regarding alcohol. The cost of alcohol abuse can be guessed but it cannot be determined exactly. The cost to the society for alcoholism includes, cost for health, which involves the cost regarding the treatment of the abused person, the hospital stays, and the medicines among others, the cost regarding the loss of productivity in the workplace due to the alcohol abused person. The other cost to the society is the drunken driving cost, where the alcohol abused person harms the people of the society by killing or injuring them. It is often regarded as crime towards the society. A survey in the US proved many people had died due to the alcohol abuse. And the other cost to the society is the prevention cost, where a certain amount from the economy of the nation has been allotted to take necessary measures to stop alcohol abuses. The other reason for cost to society is the premature deaths of a person due to the alcohol abuse. The premature death of a person in the society results in to the cost for life to the person in the society. These are the various costs to the society due to the alcohol abuse in the Seminole County (More, 2008). The National Community Programs to Solve Alcohol Abuse There are various organizations as well as the national institutes which are conducting several campaigning against the alcohol abuse. The Community Service Division of the University of Florida Police Department has taken certain steps against the alcoholism by assuring alcohol safety. The department has decided to measure the level of the alcohol in an individual through a vapor while driving. This would reduce the rate of alcohol abuse in the society. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has taken several measures to stop the alcohol abuse in the society. They have taken certain strategies regarding the prevention of alcoholism, i.e. school strategies, where they would be educating the students in a normative manner, and they would also make them aware of the value of the family, society and culture. The association has taken another strategy to support the extracurricular activities by the youth of the nation such as, youth leadership, skill building, and intensive programs among others. The institution has taken strategy to support the relationship between the family and the individual, which would ensure the discipline, monitoring the activities of the children, a good family bonding, and various personal skills. Even certain legal actions have been taken to reduce the alcohol abuse in the society by ensuring the minimum age of drinking, reduction of the availability of alcohol socially as well as commercially and increase in excise among others (Benjamin, 2011). The Service Given By the National Communities The service provided by the national communities is primary, as it would directly influence the victims of alcohol abuse. The programs taken to stop alcoholism would help the youth and the affected people due to alcoholism to recover. The corrective measures would also help the non-users of alcohol as they are passively affected due to the alcoholism and in this way the programs are also serving secondarily (University of Florida Police Department, 2011). Effectiveness of the Existing Programs The programs and the measures taken by various National Communities are really effective for the present generation. These programs have reduced the rate of the alcoholism to an extent. Comparing the youth survey of Florida in 2000 with 2010, it can be stated that the rate of alcoholism has reduced from 41% to 27% which is proved by the given statistics. Thus, it can be observed that the programs done by the communities are quite effective (Norman, 2010). Conclusion Alcohol abuse has over the years become a severe cause of concern for the Seminole Country, Florida along with the entire nation of the US. From the above analysis, it can be observed that alcohol abuse has been creating a significant effect on the youths of the affected areas, which in turn is creating an adverse affect on the future of the nation as the youths are often considered as the future. Alcohol abuse also affects the society and the economy of the nation. In this regards, the national communities are providing a significant helping hand to eradicate the bane of alcohol abuse from the Seminole Country, Florida as well as the entire nation and their efforts have started to provide rich dividends as can be seen from the reduction in the rate of alcoholism among the youths in Florida according to the recent survey. In future as well, not only the national communities but the other relevant authorities also have to step forward to sustain an alcohol abuse free county. References Benjamin, R. M. (2011). National prevention strategy: America’s plan for better health and wellness. US: DIANE Publishing. Florida Department of Children & Families. (2006). 2006 Florida youth substance abuse survey. Retrieved from http://seminolepreventioncoalition.org/seminole06.pdf Florida Department of Children & Families. (2010). 2010 Florida youth substance abuse survey. Retrieved from http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/samh/publications/fysas/10Survey/2010FYSASStateReportFinal.pdf Florida Institute of Technology. (2010). Substance dependency is a disease. Retrieved from http://www.fit.edu/caps/articles/facts.php HelpGuide. (2011). Alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Retrieved from http://helpguide.org/mental/alcohol_abuse_alcoholism_signs_effects_treatment.htm Health Council of East Central Florida. (2010). Seminole county youth survey results. Retrieved from http://seminoleyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2010%20Seminole%20County%20Youth%20Survey%20Results.pdf MacPherson, N. (2007). The effect of alcoholism on earning capacity. Retrieved from http://www.economica.ca/ew03_2p1.htm More, J. (2008). Alcohol abuse and its effects on the economy. Retrieved from http://www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com/blog/index.php/2008/09/08/alcohol-abuse-and-its-effects-on-the-economy/ Norman, R. (2010). The 2010 Florida youth substance abuse survey numbers released Thursday. Retrieved from http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/the-2010-florida-youth-substance-abuse-survey-numbers-to-be-released-this-afternoon Saunders, J., & Rey, J. (2011). Young people and alcohol: impact, policy, prevention, treatment. US: John Wiley & Sons. University of Florida Police Department. (2011). Alcohol levels and presumed impairment. Retrieved from http://police.ufl.edu/csd/csd_safetytips_alcoholsafety.asp U.S. Census Bureau, (2010). Seminole County, Florida. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12117.html World Health Organization. (2011). Spectrum of alcohol use and abuse in society. Retrieved from http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Facts_and_Figures_ch4.pdf Read More