As we know, April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and the first Thursday of every April is National Alcohol Screening Day.  Most folks don’t understand what is in store for moderate alcohol users.  There should not be more than two drinks per day for men, and for women and seniors, it’s recommended not to take more than one drink per day.  There could be a sign of a problem if you are not following these guidelines.  Here are some signs of a drinking problem:

• Guilt about drinking.
• Unsuccessful trials to reduce or stop drinking.
• Denying or hiding drinking addictions.
• Posing risk or causing harm to oneself or someone else after drinking.
• Drinking to soothe nerves, forget troubles, or bolster a somber mood.
• Feeling angry, resentful, or unreasonable when not drinking.
• Medical, family, social, or financial problems caused by drinking.
• Thrust to drink enhanced amounts of alcohol in order to achieve the desired effect.

Now, these statistics about alcohol problems:

• Almost 49 per cent of American adults prohibit alcohol or drink less than 12 drinks per year.
• About 22 per cent of adult Americans are occasional drinkers.
• About 29 per cent of American adults (nearly 3 in every 10 are “risky drinkers” whose drinking behavior lends them at increased risk for alcohol disorders. 

The National Alcohol Screening Day’s outreach program provides an informative and yet non-threatening process to raise awareness about this issue.  Early diagnosis of at-risk drinking behaviors is the first step to proper intervention and treatment remedies.  The Workplace Response alcohol screening program provides your EAP with effective tools designed to educate your employees about mental health and the resources available to them.  These private screenings reduce stigma, raise awareness about alcohol abuse and connect those in need of help to the proper resources available.  

Alcohol and Women: 

Women are at higher risk than men with several medical conditions of alcohol use.  Women who abuse alcohol are more prone to observe cirrhosis, damage of heart cells, and nervous system problems.  Women develop organ disorder easily and faster, and at lower levels of alcohol intake as comparable to men.  The progression of alcoholism seems to be quicker in women as compared to men.  One theory is that a woman’s body usually has less water than a man’s, enabling their blood alcohol content to achieve greater level,  much faster. 

Alcohol and College Students: 

Fourteen hundred college students in the age groups of 18 and 24 embrace death every year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries that cause motor accidents and fatalities.  More than 600,000 students in the same age group are assaulted every year by another drunken young person. 

Alcohol and Older Drinkers: 

Heavy alcohol consumption is considered to be the cause of memory deficits.  Alcohol-related troubles, including interactions with prescription and over-the-counter drugs are due to most of the know substance-related troubles experienced by older adults.  Heavy alcohol intake may also enhance the risk for Alzheimer’s disease in both genders and in women specifically, as they seem to be more prone than men to alcohol-related brain damage or disorder.  Due to age-related body changes, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that older people should not take more than one drink a day.