BRAIN: Drinking can cause neuropathy and dementia, as well as impairing balance and memory and lead to depression, anxiety and insomnia.

THROAT: Alcohol can cause irritation and damage to the oesophagusand lead to haemorrhaging, pain and difficulty swallowing.

HEART: Alcohol raises blood pressure and increases the risk of stroke and heart disease in heavy drinkers.

LIVER: Liver deterioration, the formation of fibrous scar tissue (fibrosis), alcoholic hepatitis, irreversible liver damage (cirrhosis) and jaundice of the skin and eyes are all potential effects of heavy alcohol consumption.

STOMACH: Drinkers can suffer from irritated stomach lining and stomach ulcers.

PANCREAS: Drinking can lead to inflammation of the pancreas - a potentially fatal condition.

KIDNEYS: Alcohol enlarges the kidneys, alters hormone functions and increases the risk of kidney failure.

SEXUAL HEALTH: Erectile dysfunction and infertility (reduced sperm count) can be common with regular alcohol consumption. In women, drinking can lead to menstrual difficulties, decreased fertility and early menopause.

SKIN: Drinking can cause middle-age acne to develop. It also causes small blood vessels in the skin to widen, allowing more blood to flow close to the skin\'s surface - producing a flushed skin color.

NUTRITION: Excessive drinking increases the risk of malnutrition. The body suffers low intakes of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6 and riboflavin. The high sugar level (processed white sugar) is highly harmful causing a chain reaction of adrenal depletion, nervous system imbalance, hormonal imbalance and eventually diabetes.

CANCER Heavy drinking increases risk of gouty arthritis and increases the risk of cancer in the liver, pancreas, rectum, breast, mouth, larynx and oesophagus.

Excessive alcohol use increases the risk of a number of diseases: fatty degeneration of the liver, infection of the liver, liver cirrhosis ( More ) , sleeping disorders, sexual problems, infection of the esophagus, infection of the stomach, infection of the pancreas, premature dementia, varying from a reduction of memory to the serious syndrome of Korsakoff; cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, intestines and breasts; hypertension and heart problems. Alcohol is also damaging during pregnancy. Also alcohol takes its toll in traffic.

Diseases
One of the negative effects that alcohol tends to have is the increased risk for multiple serious diseases. Increased consumption of alcohol can lead to serious medical problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, which often results in death. Infections, sleeping disorders and sexual dysfunctions can also be caused by consumption of alcohol. Recent studies have also shown that consumption of alcohol can actually raise the risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer, throat cancer and intestinal cancer.

Pregnancy Problems
Not only can alcohol have negative effects on the person using it, but it can also damage the innocent, such as unborn children. If a women is pregnant and continues to consume alcohol, it can cause serious damage to the unborn baby. Both physical and mental birth defects can be a result of a mother drinking while pregnant. Many babies that are born to mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy end up with either Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or with Fetal Alcohol Effects.

Legal Problems
Legal problems can be other negative effects that are caused by consuming alcohol. Many times, alcohol will increase the amount of aggression in consumers and they end up committing crimes, ending up in jail. Many crimes, including domestic violence, have been linked to the consumption of alcohol and being in jail or going to court for charges such as these can be quite expensive. There are also many traffic incidents that occur when people have been drinking that lead to legal problems as well.

Work Problems
Many people that consume alcohol on a regular basis find the negative effects of alcohol coming to play in their professional lives as well. Often, alcohol consumption leads to missed days of work because of hangovers and to shoddy work. As a result of these negative effects, some people may even find themselves losing their jobs as a result of their alcoholism.

Consuming alcohol can be very serious and there are many grave negative effects that are caused by alcohol. Avoiding alcohol can help you avoid these adverse effects and perhaps even save your life.

Alcohol plays an important role in aggression. 40% of all incidents involving aggression occur while under the influence of alcohol. The police spend 22% of their time on cases involving alcohol. Violence on the streets and domestic violence while under the influence of alcohol happen often.

Also at work, alcohol has big consequences. 13% of all employees on sick leave have alcohol problems. Employees with alcohol problems produce at least 10% less work than their colleagues.

Alcohol can make people irresponsible; for example, getting pregnant in circumstances where they are not able to care for a child.