PREVALENCE OF ALCOHOLISM IN THE PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Alcoholism is a type of addiction, causing both physical and psychological dependence. It is a major social, economical and health problem. A total of 1560 cases of alcohol intake were studied at the office of Surgeon Medico legal Punjab. Most of them at the time of examination were showing visible clinical evidence of alcoholic intake. Victims were mostly males. Examina- tion was conducted on the request of police. A wide range of symptoms of different duration was observed. Psychological element was also seen in some victims. abuse and alcohol dependence. Alcohol abuse, means engaging in excessive drinking that causes health or social problems, but you aren't dependent on alcohol and haven't fully lost control over the use of alcohol. So, the alcohol abusers don't feel the same compulsion to drink and usually don't experience physical withdrawal symptoms when they don't drink. 3 Alcohol depen- dence - alcohol addiction - occurs gradually as dr- inking alcohol alters the balance of some chemical- ls in the brain. Alcohol also raises the levels of do- pamine in the brain, which is associated with the pleasurable aspects of drinking alcohol. Excessive, long-term drinking can deplete or increase the lev- els of some of these chemicals, causing body to cr- ave alcohol to restore good feelings or to avoid ne- gative feelings. 3 In addition, there are other factors that can lead to excessive drinking contributing to the addiction process. These include ceratin gene- tic factors, stress, anxiety, depression and social factors. 2 In the United States, a standard drink is any drink that contains 0.6 ounces (13.7 grams or 1.2 tablespoons) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amo- unt of pure alcohol is found in 12-ounces of regular beer or wine cooler, 8-ounces of malt liquor, 5- ounces of wine, 1.5-ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, whiskey).