Alcoholism

Alcoholism and its effects on the human body have an involved history. Although no one knows when and how alcohol was first created, it was prohibited in the U.S. in the 1920's. It was prohibited when the legislature passed the 18th amendment in 1919; which stated that importation, exportation, transportation, and sale of any sort of alcoholic beverage was illegal. When the 1930's came, the pressure of people's protests of no more alcohol built up so much that both Democratic and Republican Parties advocated repeal on the amendment. In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt became president and made alcohol legal once again with the 21st amendment. Alcoholism is an addiction in which the brain is intoxicated and cannot make good decisions. First, alcohol affects the body by absorbing into the bloodstream, "about twenty percent of the alcohol is absorbed directly into the blood through the stomach walls and eighty percent is absorbed into the bloodstream through the small intestine." By drinking alcohol on a full stomach it takes longer for the small intestine to absorb it. Alcoholism can start at an early age, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism "The average age when a youth will try alcohol is 11 years for boys and 13 years for girls..." Abuse can also cause major health problems including birth defects and other problems regarding the social, public, and economic parts of someone's life. The history of alcoholism has led to interesting discoveries on how harmfully alcohol affects the body. Since alcoholism is known around the world, rehabilitation centers and AA organizations were set up to cure the addiction and help people get back to there normal lives.

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