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Many of the short-term dangers of alcohol are obvious to anyone who has experience drinking or being around drinkers. When people are drinking, they experience lower inhibitions, which can lead to their making regrettable decisions. They could fall or hurt themselves in other ways, pass out or suffer from gaps in their memories. All of this is apparent; what is not so obvious is the long term impact that alcohol can have on our relationships, health and lives.

Let’s focus on physical health first. The organs that are most vulnerable to damage caused by alcohol are the ones responsible for digesting and breaking down beverages: the stomach, liver and pancreas. The mucous membrane lining the stomach can be damaged by repeated exposure to toxic chemicals such as alcohol, eventually leading to a disease called gastritis. Gastritis can be a painful problem, and can even lead to bleeding in the stomach.

One of the liver’s jobs is to protect the body by breaking down dangerous chemicals. Heavy drinkers can suffer from a condition known as fatty liver, caused when parts of the liver begin breaking down. The initial symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss and fever. If the person stops drinking when these symptoms occur, their liver can still recover. If they continue drinking, the problem may worsen into an incurable disorder known as liver cirrhosis. This is caused when cells in the liver begin to break down and die after repeated exposure to toxins. The dead cells are replaced by scar tissue, preventing the liver from functioning correctly.

The pancreas has many important jobs, including releasing chemicals necessary for digestion. A heavy drinker is exposing their pancreas to many damaging chemicals. Over time, this can create pancreatic inflammation. This will affect the body’s ability to adequately absorb nutrients, leading to malnutrition and all of its related health problems.

Heavy drinking over a long period of time does not only affect our health. It can affect our emotional and mental functioning. In extreme cases, chronic alcoholics can develop Korsakoff syndrome, a type of brain damage caused by drug abuse and a steady lack of Vitamin B. People with this syndrome usually suffer from severe short term and long term memory loss. Treatment is possible if the patient quits drinking, but the disorder is not curable.

Over the years, consistent abuse of alcohol can also affect our personal and social lives. It can become more difficult to find a way to deal with stress or difficulty without drinking. The bad behavior often associated with heavy drinking can damage our relationships with friends and loved ones. Of course, there can also be serious legal consequences, such as DWI or ‘drunk and disorderly’ charges.