Alcohol is often not thought of as a drug. This is because its use is common for religious and social purposes in most parts of the world. It is a drug, however, and compulsive drinking in excess has become one of modern society's most serious problems. Drinking heavily over a short period of time usually results in a "hangover" -

headache, nausea, shakiness, and sometimes vomiting, beginning from 8 to 12 hours later. A hangover is due partly to poisoning by alcohol and other components of the drink, and partly to the body's reaction to withdrawal from alcohol. Although there are dozens of home remedies suggested for hangovers, there is currently no known effective cure. Combining alcohol with other drugs can make the effects of these other drugs much stronger and more dangerous. Many accidental deaths have occurred after people have used alcohol combined with other drugs. Cannabis, tranquillizers, and other sleeping pills, or antihistamines (for cold, cough, and allergy remedies) should not be taken with

alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol with any of these drugs can seriously impair a person's ability to drive a car, for example. Long-term effects of alcohol appear after repeated use over a period of many months or years. Some of these harmful consequences are primary - that is, they result directly from prolonged exposure to

alcohol's toxic effects, such as heart and liver disease or inflammation of the stomach). Others are secondary; related to chronic alcohol abuse, they include loss of appetite, vitamin deficiencies, infections, and sexual impotence or menstrual irregularities. The risk of serious disease increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Early death rates are much higher for heavy drinkers than for light drinkers or abstainers, particularly from

heart and liver disease, pneumonia, some types of cancer, acute alcohol poisoning, homicide, and suicide. No limits of safe drinking can be recommended. People who drink on a regular basis become tolerant to many of the unpleasant effects of alcohol, and thus are able to drink more before suffering these effects. Yet even with increased consumption, many such drinkers don't appear intoxicated. Because they continue to work and socialize reasonably well, their deteriorating physical condition may go unrecognized by others until severe damage develops - or until they are hospitalized for other reasons and experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Pregnant women who drink risk having babies with fetal alcohol effects (known as fetal alcohol syndrome or FAS). The most serious of these effects include mental retardation, growth deficiency, head and facial deformities, and heart defects. While it is known that the risk of bearing an FAS-afflicted child increases with the amount of alcohol consumed, a safe level of consumption has not been determined. In conclusion, alcohol abuse is very dangerous and I would not recommend anyone doing it.