Alcohol: Although many people have a drink as a “pick me up,” alcohol actually depresses the brain. Alcohol lessens your inhibitions, slurs speech, and decreases muscle control and coordination, and may lead to alcoholism.
Withdrawal from alcohol can cause anxiety, irregular heartbeat, tremor, seizures, and hallucinations. In its severest form, withdrawal combined with malnutrition can lead to a life-threatening condition called delirium tremens (DTs). Alcohol is the most common cause of liver failure in the US. The drug can cause heart enlargement and cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, and stomach.
In addition to its direct health effects, officials associate alcohol abuse with nearly half of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. In 1992, the total economic cost of alcohol abuse was estimated at $150 billion.
