The alcohol, a drug which is responsable for the depression of the central nervous system, causes behaviour and psycological modifications, besides serious metabolical effects.Its consumption in excess can cause problems such as violence, suicide, traffic accidents, quimical dependence and other health problems like, for example, underfeeding, liver diseases, stomach diseases, heart diseases, respiratoy diseases, neurological diseases and reproductive system diseases.Alcohol consumption also interferes in the fetal development and increases the risk of several types of cancer. (INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESERACH ON CANCER, 1988; PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2005).

The harmful effects of alcohol are not dependent of the kind of beverage and they are caused by the consumed amount of alcohol (ethanol).

Besides the above mentioned consequences, the consumption of alchool, for a long time, depending on the amount, frequency and circunstances, can cause a dependence which is called alcoholism. On that way, the improper consum of alcohol, joined to its social acceptance, is an important problem of public health and cause raised costs for society and involves medical, psycological, professional and familiar issues. (UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO, 2005).

The alcoholic beverages have few or none nutrients.They include: -fermented beverages: beer, wine, which volum of alcohol (ethanol) varies from 4 to 7% and from 10 to 13%, respectivelly-destiled beverages: such as rum, whisky, vodka, that have from 30 to 50% of alcohol. Each gram of ethanol has 7 calories (Kcal) (WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FUND, 1997).

The alcohol depletes the body of the complex B Vitamins and also of C Vitamins, affectiving negatively the nutricional situation of people. People that is dependent of alcohol, which food is usually faulty, can have diseases like Beriberi and Scurvy, caused, repectivelly for the deficiency of B1Vitamin and C Vitamin and other need-fulness diseases (SIMONE, 1994).

On the other side, consumers of great amounts of alcohol usually have modifications in the liver and loose the capacity of utilizing the alcohol as an energy supplier. Additionaly, many alcohol consumers feed themselves improperly, what explains why those people, that drink more destiled beverages, many times are thin. (JAMES, 1993; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2000 d).

The alcohol has been joined to many cases of cancer, although the devices of that action haven’t been explained yet. In 1988, the International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) classified the alcohol like a carcinogenous for mouth cancer, pharynx cancer, larynx cancer, esophagus cancer and liver primarium cancer. The register of cancer among drinkers is preoccupier, because of the topic action of the alcohol itself in the musoca and because of the chimical aditives that have a cancerigenous action, which are inside the process of beverage production. (WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION, 1997; FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO (UFRRJ, 2005).

Supplemently, the studies show that the risk of breast cancer is also associated to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. (LONGNECKER, 1994; WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FUND, 1997).
The alcohol regular consum in the amount of 3 to 4 doses or more, a day, increases the risk of hypertension and cerebral vascular accident, of mouth cancer, throat cancer, esophagus cancer, colon cancer and also the risk of liver cancer, as a consequence of liverwort cirrhosis.(JAMES, 1993; INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESERACH ON CANCER, 1988; WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FUND, 1997); this risk increases if associated to other harmful habits, like tobaccoism.

The alchool can cause dependence and affects the mental, neurological and emotional functions. The regular ingestion of alcoholic beverages induces to the forgtfulness and increases the risk of madness.

A great proportion of accidents, hurts and deaths at home, at work and in the roads involve people affected by alcohol. In Brazil, the alcohol is associated to most of the cases of domestic violence and to the cronical unemployment. (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1999a). Reports of São Paulo show that about 50% of death caused by motor accident are connected to the alcohol consumption.(WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1999b). Those values are compared with the valuation of North America and Europe where 30% of homicides, 45% of deaths caused by burning and 40% of accidents in the roads have a relation with alcohol. (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1995a, 1995b; 2000c).

Another study, in São Paulo, has identified the “bar fighting” or the alcohol as the main reasons for 12,6% of homicides. (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1999a). One other study, in Salvador, Bahia, has verified that one in four drivers related that they had car accidents and from those, 38% addimited having drunk before the accident. (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1999b).
The present numbers of death by homicide in Brazil are about 40.000 each year and 30.000 are deaths caused by motor accident. Those averages are very high in comparison with other countries. In fact, this is the highest average in the world. (MURRAY e LOPEZ, 1996).

The alchool consumption is considered by doses. The amount of Ethanol contained in each dose varies among the countries: In Brazil, for example, each dose of alcoholic beverage represents 14g of Ethanol while in Australia this value is 10g. For calculating the amount of Ethanol consumed for each person, it’s necessary to consider other aspects, besides the number of doses.The alcohol contents of beverages varies not just among the different kinds of beverages, in accordance with their process of production, as well among beverages of the same kind.
The board below examplifies the estimation of the equivalent dose of alcohol for three kinds of beverages:

A recent research made by the National Institute of Cancer (INCA) showed that the predominance of medium daily consum of alcohol considered of risk (more than two doses a day for men and more than one dose a day for women) among the researched population (15 or older, resident in 15 Brazilian Capitals and in the Federal District) varied from 4,6% to 12,4%. Among men and women there was a variation from 5,4% to 21,6% and from 1,7% to 8,1%, respectively. (BRASIL, 2004e)

For those evidences, politics referrent to the alcohol consum engagement shall consider the social and the nutritional effects, too. (EDWARDS et al, 1994).

The advertisement and publicity control that incitates the alcohol consum, the prohibition of the selling of alcoholic beverages for youngers than 18, preview in the Children and Teenagers Statute,the punishment of people that drive with levels of Ethanol up the limit stipulated by law, and the educatory actions that explain the population and that protect youth of the habbit of alcoholic beverage consum are important aspects that protect health that have been developed by Brazilian state. (BRAZIL, 1990).

Comentários

Adicionar novo Busca

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."