Alcohol Consumption : Patterns, Influences & Health Effects

Alcohol consumption patterns are characterized as mild, moderate, social, heavy drinking, problem drinking, binge drinking and heavy episodic drinking may or may not lead to alcohol dependence. Excessive alcohol consumption has been associated with a variety of negative health consequences, acute or chronic, both the alcohol user and for society to which this drinker is inserted, ranging from injuries resulting from traffic accidents to diseases chronic such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. This book discusses alcohol consumption patterns, influences and health effects. The first chapter describes the epidemiology of global alcohol consumption, classification patterns of alcohol consumption, the influences and the deleterious effects of excessive consumption of these licit drugs can cause to the human body, and finally, the nutritional implications of this consumption. Chapter Two elucidates the risk factors associated with binge drinking from different approaches and presents the advances in prevention strategies and intervention programs for adolescents and young adults. Chapter Three discusses underlying theoretical constructs associated with alcohol-related group norms, outlines the empirical impact of social norms on binge drinking behavior, and presents secondary data analyses of two distinct nationally representative datasets. Chapter Four examines the relationship between electronic-cigarette use, alcohol consumption and smoking prohibition where alcohol is consumed. Chapter Five uses the curious case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to describe the ways individuals drink and why regular drinking (ie: our Dr Jekyll) may be very different to our event-specific drinking. Chapter Six summarizes the evidence suggesting that an unfavorable mixture of higher overall level of alcohol consumption and binge drinking pattern is a major risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in Russia. Chapter Seven is an expert commentary on current research and future directions of text message interventions for alcohol use.