Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Letter leads to debate among alcohol experts
By Staff Writer
Though heavy consumption of alcohol can pose dangerous consequences to one's health, it is a well known fact that drinking in moderation can have its own set of health benefits.
Despite this, a letter to the editor was recently published in the journal Internal and Emergency Medicine about the dangers of prescribing alcohol as if it were medication. This letter has led to much debate among the scientific community.
The letter stated that a number of people may be unable to distinguish between low, moderate and high alcohol consumption. Due to the fact that alcohol is a frequent cause of car crashes, the writer worried about the consequences of scientists encouraging people to drink because of possible health benefits.
This letter has led to increased debate among the members of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research.
Though they agree that people such as substance abusers and recovering addicts should never drink, physicians should not withhold scientifically sound and balanced data on health and alcohol.
A number of forum members agreed that it would be unethical to withhold information about the benefits of light-to-moderate drinking from middle-aged or elderly individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease.
If somebody has formed an addiction to alcohol, they may want to seek substance abuse help.
