Alcohol abuse is the excessive use of alcohol, which affects an individual's behavior but yet does not rise to the higher level of alcoholism. However, alcohol abuse can worsen to a dependence (addiction) on alcohol. Many individuals who abuse alcohol also abuse other substances, such as one or more illegal drugs. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in the United States, followed by marijuana.

Alcohol has been a "social lubricant" as well as a drug of abuse for thousands of years. Fermented honey was probably the first form of alcohol, used in about 8000 B.C.E. The ancient Egyptians made their own beer in 3700 B.C.E. Wine was referred to in the ancient Code of Hammurabi in about 1700 B.C.E.

The ancient Egyptians provided home treatment for people who were dependent on wine or beer, and the Greeks and Romans supported the idea of public institutions for alcoholics.

In the 1700s, gin was very cheap and also very much abused by much of the population in Europe. According to Levinthal, gin consumption in England had increased by 22 times over the consumption in 1685.

In the United States, and in the early days of the Pilgrims, alcohol was considered an acceptable part of life in everyday rituals, although public drunkenness was frowned upon.

In later years, as in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, excessive alcohol consumption was increasingly considered socially unacceptable, and some individuals turned to drugs laced with morphine or cocaine, regarding themselves as on a higher plane than those who relied upon alcohol. In addition, others used patent medicines that included both drugs and alcohol--although often they were unaware of the contents of the drugs they used.

References:

Levinthal, Charles F. "The History of Drug Use and Drug Legislation." In Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2006.

	Research Paper on Alcohol Consumption Culture in the United States
	Alcohol Consumption Culture in the United States Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Culture. About two-thirds of adults in the United States consume alcoholic beverages, and over 1.5 million people are directly, and nearly 5 million are indirectly, employed in the production and distribution of beer, wine, and spirits. Taxes on the industry in 1992 were almost $17.5 billion; the total economic activity generated by the alcoholic beverage industry (including cans, bottles, transport, etc.) in the same year was almost $3 trillion. Clearly the contribution of this eminently legal industry to the U.S....
	Research Paper Research Paper on Alcohol Consumption Culture in the United States »