A woman who drinks a glass of alcohol

Alcohol has been used for centuries. We can go back to centuries before Christ and there was sign of use of alcohol. Alcohol is mostly used has a recreational way to relax, have fun and is associated to sports, dance, events etc. It is even associated with religion such as a replacement for the Christ’s blood etc. It is mostly used in a moderate way and 90% of the population can drink alcohol without being addicted.

What about the other 10%? There are 10% of the population who has problems with alcohol. 10% cannot seems to be a large number but if you translate it to Canada’s population. It becomes a large number of individuals with mild or severe alcohol problems. Alcohol is trickier as an addiction because it is legal and socially accepted compare to illegal drugs such cocaine, marijuana and heroin.  Alcohol can take a few years to become an addiction but there are always signs at the beginning where the individual is out of control on his drinking. When someone needs alcohol on a daily basis or the person’s alcohol intake is out of control.

What is even more dangerous is when the person mixes alcohol with certain types of medication. It creates some chemical reactions that can lead to serious health issues. It is not just that it amplifies the effect of the medication. It creates a totally different chemical reaction. This applies to street drugs like cocaine. The mix of cocaine and alcohol creates a chemical reaction called Cocaethylene which overwhelm the liver on breaking down the toxins and can lead to serious health problems or even death.

The last misconception is the Detox of alcohol is that alcohol is one the only life threatening drugs when the use of it is ceased.  It mostly needs medical Detox in a hospital setting facility. Always seek medical advice if you are not sure that you can do it on your own. In all drugs, alcohol is one the worst to detox from alcohol because of the effects it creates on your body. A lot of other drugs will be mostly difficult  to detox mentally.