Drug Addition: Can you Save Your Teen Before it's too Late? by Terry Clark - HTML preview

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#3. Why Alcohol is a Drug

Whenever the subject of drug abuse and addiction is raised in various circles, alcohol is mentioned in the same groups as substances which are identified as drugs. However, for most people, alcohol is something very different from substances that we traditionally call drugs. At the same time, the fact is that alcohol abuse remains a heated topic for discussion, and many experts have argued whether alcohol can also be considered a drug.

The definition of drugs in the majority of dictionaries is a substance which has a direct impact on the survival of healthy living cells, affecting their daily function, but these substances may also be used in the cure and prevention of various diseases and disorders, and their usage is a norm  in the medical world. Going by this definition, we cannot consider alcohol to be a drug since it is not used for curing any disease, and its usage in the health industry is minimal. But at the same time, it has many of the same common properties as drugs. For example, it can act as a tranquilizer, analgesic and also, as a stimulant.

While alcohol may have its share of health benefits in the sense that it can help fight off certain diseases as is the case with certain types of drugs, at the same time, frequent usage may turn you into an addict, which is again the same as is the case with some addictive drugs. According to certain medical researches and studies alcohol can actually help to improve your cardiovascular health if consumed in moderate amounts. However, these days, most health and medical experts are increasingly discouraging those individuals who have never tasted alcohol from ever trying it, especially if they are going to use it to improve the health of their heart. They recommend alternative methods and techniques such as adopting a healthy and nutritious diet accompanied with regular exercising. These do not pose any kind of risk to your overall health, and they help to strengthen the immune system.

Alcohol is definitely addictive if the person starts using it on a regular basis and the addiction can be as bad as drug addiction. Alcoholism is a term which is often used to describe alcohol abuse and addiction, and it is unfortunately very common in communities around the world these days. It is seen amongst individuals belonging to all socioeconomic backgrounds, and therefore can affect anyone, anywhere.

Alcohol addiction makes you physically dependent on such substances and can lead to the development of a chronic disease that may even result in your death in the long term. Prolonged addiction to alcohol has the same impact on the condition of the users such as increased tolerance and the production of withdrawal symptoms, which is similar to other