Scarier than heroin

Conspiracy theories. Alcohol Lobby

Anatoly Alizar, Geektimes

According to WHO, male Russians consume 23.9 liters of pure alcohol per year (Belarusians - 27.5 liters) with an average global level of alcohol consumption of 6.2 liters per year. Doctors believe that alcohol is the cause of numerous fatal diseases. Widespread alcoholization of the population is the main factor of low life expectancy in Russia. It is said that this is the only country in the world where the death rate of men at large is three times higher than in prison (alcohol is prohibited there). In fact, alcohol has already claimed more lives than famine, epidemics, terrorist attacks and all wars in history, including World War II. Now 3.3 million people a year die from this substance.

Alcohol is addictive, destroys the brain, liver, digestive tract and stomach. It leads to cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatic cancer, obesity, hypertension, heart disease.  Under the influence of alcohol, more than 200 diseases develop, including acute and chronic mental disorders; there is damage to the organs of the gastrointestinal tract: gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, colitis, dysbiosis, alcoholic hepatitis, disorders of the cardiovascular system; neuromuscular excitement, the development of seizures, respiratory system pathology: chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, changes occur in the cerebral cortex.

Do you still think it's a regular food item? This is the opinion of the regulatory authorities that allow the sale of this substance in grocery stores.

Effects on the body

Ethyl alcohol is a flammable liquid that is used as a fuel, solvent or disinfectant. When ingested, it has narcotic and toxic effects. The narcotic effect on the central nervous system is diverse: ethanol inhibits the functions of the central nervous system, causes alcoholic arousal, insensitivity to pain, etc. Under the influence of ethanol, endorphins are released in the brain, similar to opiates in the way of exposure.

Endorphins have the ability to reduce pain, similar to opiates, and affect the emotional state. Small doses of alcohol give a feeling of relaxation and self-confidence. In large doses, it slows down the reaction and negatively affects, for example, the eye and coordination.

Repeated intake of alcohol causes strong addiction and dependence, in large doses – stupor, coma, insensitivity to pain.

According to the WHO definition, a drug is a chemical agent that causes stupor, coma or insensitivity to pain. Despite this, from a legal point of view, alcohol is not officially recognized as a drug, since this substance is not included in the international list of controlled substances of the UN Convention of 1988. This is the first strange thing that has to do with alcohol regulation.

According to the harm to the body, the strength of the impact, mortality, the level of physical dependence – in almost all parameters, alcohol should be included in the group of strong drugs, along with other class A drugs (prohibited ecstasy, 4–MTA and LSD). In fact, in reality, it's the opposite. Some "weak" drugs, for which cases of fatal overdose are unknown to science, are completely banned in Russia. And the strongest poison with narcotic effects – ethyl alcohol – is sold in every store. It's amazing.

In 2010, the English psychopharmaceutist David Nutt from the University of Bristol, a member of the Advisory Council on Drug Abuse in the UK, together with a group of experts in chemistry, pharmacology, psychiatry, as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies and lawyers, analyzed the consequences of using 20 different drugs in terms of physical, psychological and social harm, the likelihood of addiction and the impact on society. The results of the study are published in the scientific journal The Lancet (Nutt et al., Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis).

A total of 16 criteria were taken into account.

Criteria for assessing the harm of the drug. Source: The Lancet

According to the results of the study, if the requirements of the current drug classification were met, alcohol would be classified as a Class A drug. In general, the list of the most dangerous drugs in the world is as follows:

• Alcohol – 72 points
• Heroin – 55 points
• Crack – 54 points
• Methamphetamine – 33 points
• Cocaine – 27 points
• Tobacco – 26 points
• Amphetamine – 23 points
• Marijuana – 20 points
• GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) – 19 points

The following table shows the overall rating of the danger of the drug and the contribution of each factor, including mortality, harm to health, the level of dependence, destructive effect on a person's mental abilities, economic damage (according to this indicator, alcohol and tobacco showed maximum ratings), impact on crime, damage to the family, etc.

Source: The Lancet

If we classify all factors according to the degree of damage to the person who takes the substances, and according to the degree of damage to others, then nothing can compare with alcohol.

Classification of substances according to the degree of harm to humans and others. Source: The Lancet

"If alcohol had been invented today, it would have been outlawed, without a doubt," the authors of the scientific work are sure.

Experts consider the main problem that the classification of drugs has not been revised for more than 40 years. It urgently needs to be reviewed, as well as the system of administrative and criminal penalties that is in effect now. This system is completely illogical when a young girl gets 12 years in prison for smuggling one and a half ecstasy pills, while the distribution of the most dangerous substance – ethyl alcohol – is completely legalized for historical reasons.

How does the rejection of alcohol affect the body

Numerous studies show that even a short-term refusal to take this substance has a beneficial effect on health. For example, the ability to fully concentrate on solving a problem increases. Sleep and metabolism are normalized. Many people say that after a month or two they feel a surge of strength, an increase in working capacity. The body is gradually purified from the products of alcohol oxidation into acetaldehydes and acetic acid. A direct consequence of giving up alcohol is an increase in immunity, that is, a reduction in the risk of any diseases.

However, if a person has already formed a certain degree of alcohol dependence, then at first it will be difficult for him. The brain, accustomed to constantly struggle with the depressive effects of alcohol, will continue its activity by inertia. This will manifest itself in excessive excitement of a person, nervousness, fussiness, trembling of hands, etc. Only after taking a small dose of a depressant, a person seems to "calm down" and becomes "normal" again.

Even a minimal dose of alcohol damages the cardiovascular system and the brain. The restoration of the nervous system is the longest process. After a longer period, you can count on the restoration of memory, coordination of movements, the disappearance of nervousness and irritability.

Unfortunately, some changes in the body after prolonged alcohol intake are already irreversible.

A food item?

Almost every resident of Russia has relatives or acquaintances who have suffered from the abuse of this substance. There are dead. People in a state of strong alcoholic intoxication are found on the streets of almost every city at any time of the day.

Given the powerful effect of alcohol on the body, strong addiction and millions of deaths annually, it seems rather strange – why is this substance not officially considered a drug? Why is it sold in stores next to milk and bread? Why does the state regulate the prices of alcoholic beverages in such a way that this substance remains affordable for the majority of the population?

Foreign tourists who come to Russia are surprised at how accessible alcoholic beverages are here. Alcohol is sold everywhere, like an ordinary drink, like mineral water. You can buy it literally on every corner. In the 90s, vodka was sold simply in stalls on the street, like Coca-Cola and chewing gum.

In 1911, the Russian economist, mathematician and statistician Vladimir Dmitriev wrote the book "Critical Studies on Alcohol Consumption in Russia", in which he conducted a deep socio-economic analysis of the causes, essence and consequences of this tragic phenomenon of Russian life in the late XIX-early XX centuries. Based on statistical data, the scientist convincingly demonstrated the impact of industrial and agricultural crises, crop failures, and measures to combat drunkenness on alcohol consumption. Dmitriev showed that alcohol is not an ordinary product, the generally accepted laws of consumption do not apply here. For example, during the years of crises, alcohol consumption does not decrease (like the consumption of ordinary products), but increases.

In fact, as in the case of a classic drug, alcohol sales are weakly dependent on a person's level of wealth. A dependent person is more likely to starve, but will still buy another "dose".

What should the state do in such a situation? The answer seems logical that the state should strive to reduce the alcoholism of the population. The benefits for the state are obvious:

• crime will decrease;
• prisons will be unloaded;
• the burden on the healthcare system will be significantly reduced;
• life expectancy will increase;
• labor productivity will increase;
• the birth rate will increase, population growth will begin.

Does the state need it? Of course you need to. How to reduce the alcoholization of the population – the answer is also known, there is the experience of countries that have restricted the sale of alcohol.

The key word is accessibility. To make it so that, if desired, alcohol can be obtained, but it should not be sold on every corner for a penny. Prohibit the sale of the substance in grocery stores. Prohibit the sale near schools. It is advisable to move the places of sale to remote areas, outside the city. This alone will be enough to radically change life in the country, save millions of lives. Why is this not being done?

Propaganda of "drinking culture" and the myth of "quality" alcohol

From a scientific point of view, alcohol is a poison for the human body. Some studies have shown that taking this poison in small doses can reduce the risk of heart disease (although other studies refute this common myth). Scientists have not yet found an explanation for this phenomenon, if it exists. Presumably, certain mechanisms are activated in the body that should protect it from the effects of poison – thereby improving protection against certain diseases.

Approximately the same tonic effect on the body is provided by taking some other poisons in small quantities.

Nevertheless, the side effects of taking alcohol, even if they exist, cannot be compared with the enormous harm that this substance causes, whose place is in the classification of the most dangerous Class A drugs.

In this regard, it is necessary to understand what are the theses about the "drinking culture" and "quality" alcohol, which are distributed by representatives of the alcohol lobby.

The meaning of the thesis about "high-quality" alcohol is quite transparent. Thus, manufacturers are trying to maintain their lobbying positions and increase their market share. How the poison can be "high–quality" or "low-quality" is a rhetorical question.

But the myth of the "drinking culture" deserves a separate consideration. According to the propagandists of a sober lifestyle, all alcohol consumers can be considered as participants in one "conveyor".

At the first level of this pipeline are children who have an innate aversion to alcohol, and non–drinkers.

At the second level – "culturally drinking" people who take alcohol rarely, in minimal quantities, prefer low-alcohol drinks and enjoy the process, rejoice and have fun.

At the next levels, there are drunkards and alcoholics who abuse strong drinks, which directly affects their health, social life, and mental abilities.

The last stage of the conveyor is death.

So who is the propaganda of "cultural drinking" designed for? Obviously not for alcoholics, for whom such propaganda is completely useless. And not at drunkards, because they are generally the most cultured people – raising a toast, they take their finger away, recite poems and quote great philosophers (as long as the brain is still functioning normally).

Obviously, propaganda is not designed for culturally drinking people – why, they drink culturally anyway.

The only audience left is non–drinkers and children who have not yet formed an alcohol addiction. The propaganda of "cultural drinking" from the alcohol lobby is aimed at them.

As a conclusion

Some time ago, a joke was popular in social networks: "Alcohol is completely eliminated from the body in 21 days. That is, never." Yes, it's funny. But ethyl alcohol is a powerful psychoactive substance, it really changes a person's personality. If the population of an entire country has been under the influence of alcohol for years, decades, centuries – what do you think will happen to this country? How balanced will its foreign policy be? What will be the level of political culture? How fast will the population shrink?

How will the country change if alcohol consumption is drastically reduced? Probably, such a psychological experiment is easiest to conduct as follows. Imagine that the traffic police suddenly abolish the "prohibition" at the wheel and allow you to drive a car under the influence of alcohol. Any degree of intoxication. Imagine what kind of chaos will begin on the roads, how much the number of accidents will increase. So, about this state of chaos is now a country where the state makes alcohol as accessible as possible to citizens.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  03.10.2016