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THE FULL MOON
December 18,1979
m
weiser
Kimsommi
Drinkers Face The Morning After
By LORI THOMAS
Anyone who drinks must be
prepared to face “the morning
after”. The unpleasant af
tereffects of alcohol constitute
the famous hangover. The
hangover is of worldwide
recognition. In France it is called
gueule de bois, or “mouth of
wood”; in Germany, katqen-
jammer, or “the wailing of
cats”; and in Norway, jeg har
tommermean, which means, “I
have carpenters in my head.”
The misery experienced in
many cases is, at least partly,
emotional. Feelings of guilt and
embarrassment for one’s actions
while drunk may cause misery.
The main symptoms of a
hangover which are completely
physical are headache, nausea,
fatigue, and thirst.
The headache is brought about
through toxic substances in
alcohol that have not been
completely destroyed by the
liver.
Nausea occurs because alcohol
in large amounts will irritate the
stomach lining. Calories in
alcohol account for the feeling of
fatigue. Stimulation energizes
the drinker. He may talk ex
cessively, dance or stay up very
late without realizing his over
tiredness.
Alcohol dehydrates the body to
make one thirsty. Actually, water
in the body does not change but
rather shifts from within cells to
spaces between to create the
“cotton-mouth” effect. The more
a person drinks the thirstier he
will become and the longer it will
take for his feeling
disappear.
of thirst to
While these reactions are
common to many, evei7 person
may experience individual ef
fects in varying degrees. No one
can predict how different
amounts of alcohol will affect a
person. Therefore, moderation
and common sense must be the
key to drinking. Know your
limits.
Death Rate Increase
Linked To Drinking
By SHANNON BOWERS
Alcohol And The ASHS Student
By MITZI MORRIS & SHANNON BELL
Alcoholism is one of the biggest
health problems in the United
States today. The excessive use
of alcohol can cause serious
damage to the brain, liver,
stomach, and heart. A majority
of alcoholics suffer from anemia,
malnutrition, and low disease
resistance. Drinking is known to
exist among 83 per cent (rf the
young people and it is estimated
that as many as 1.3 million
United States teenagers suffer
from alcoholism.
Scientists are uncertain of the
causes of alcoholism. The
alcoholic is generally deeply
dissatisfied with himself and the
world around him. He is unable to
cope with the tensions and
problems of daily life. For him,
alcohol permits an escape from
the demands of life. A chronic
alcoholic becomes so dependent
on alcohol as a relief from stress
that it is difficult for him to stop
drinking. The consumption of
alcohol becomes a compulsion of
which the drinker has little or no
control over. Heavy drinking can
result in more problems which
causes the hard ctinker to rely on
alcohol even more. Therefore,
alcoholism is a vicious circle
arising from and leading to
tension and insecurity.
There are two general types of
alcoholics, the steady drinker
and the periodic drinker. The
steady drinker consumes large
quantities of alcohol a day and
seldom gets drunk. The periodic
drinker does not drink daily, but
goes on long binges.
Contrary to popular belief,
alcohol is not a stimulant, but a
depressant. It reduces the sen
sitivity of the nervous system and
dulls the higher functions of the
brain. This leads to loud speech,
lack of physical control, and
impulsive actions. Large
quantities of alcohol impair
physical reflexes, muscular
coordination and mental
acuteness. They can also cause
stupor, coma, and even death.
Excessive and prolonged in
take of alcohol can result in
serious physical illness. The
individual substitutes alcohol for
foods containing nutrients.
Conditions resulting from
vitamin and mineral deficiencies
are common in alcoholics.
The treatment of alcoholism is
a lengthy, complex, and dis
couraging process. Psychological
treatment which is used to help
the individual understand and
deal with his problems is nec
essary for permanent cure, how
ever, many alcoholics are appar
ently incurable and relapses are
frequent.
There are many programs
designed to help alcoholics and
their families. Alcoholics
Anonymous provides the drinker
with advice and sympathy. Al-
Anon advises the families of
alcoholics and Alateen helps
teenagers with alcoholic parents.
Two homeroom classes from
each grade were administered an
alcoholism survey. The questions
asked and the results are as
follows:
Do you drink alcohol?
Of the 169 students polled, 109
students answered yes, and 60
students responded no.
Do you drink beer, hard liquor,
or both?
24 answered beer
8 answered hard liquor
28 answered both
Do you drink
—once a month
—once a week
—twice a week
—more often
—other
32 responded once a month
26 responded once a week
16 responded twice a week
19 responded more often
21 responded other
How do you obtain the alcohol?
—you buy it
—a friend buys it
—taken from home
—other — explain
49 responded to you buy it
65 responded to a friend buys it
8 responded to taken from
nome
6 responded to other
Some explanations to other
were; brother buys it, boyfriend
buys it, and obtained at parties.
Do you drink more by yourself
or with a crowd?
18 responded to by yourself
91 responded to with a crowd
When you drink, do you drink
enough to get drunk or do you
drink just enough to get a buzz?
47 responded to get drunk
75 responded to get a buzz
A new report by the United
States Surgeon General states
that since 1960 the death rate for
teenagers and young adults in
America has drastically in
creased while the death rates
for other age groups has de
creased.
The biggest causes of death are
auto accidents, murder, and
suicide. Health experts blame
teenage drinking, unem
ployment, and even drivers’
education classes for the in
creased death rate among young
people between the ages of 15 and
24. For the past 18 years, the
death rate of teenagers has
climbed or remained the same
each year except in 1974, the year
the national highway speed limit
was lowered to 55 mph.
According to the report, 106 out
of every 100,000 young people
between 15 and 24 years old died
in 1960, as compared to the 120
per 100,000 in 1978. These figures
show a 13 per cent increase. The
rate for adults 25 to 64 dropped 16
per cent during this same period
of time.
In 1977, the probability of
death for young men was three
times greater than that for young
women. Auto accidents were the
leading killer of whites, while the
leading killer of nonwhites was
homicide. Of the nearly 48,000
deaths, more than one-third were
the results of car accidents, half
of them alcohol related.
In the 15 to 24 age group,
suicides were more than twice as
common in 1978 as they were in
1960. The overall death rate for
this age group is 50 per cent
higher in the United States than
in England, Japan, or Sweden.
According to Dr. Donald
Miller, assistant director of the
federal Center for Disease
Control, “What we’re seeing . . .
is an epidemic of deaths that has
a direct relationship to
drinking.” Recent reports have
shown that teenage drinking has
risen sharply.
Experts feel that unem
ployment adds to the homicide
rate by causing frustration that
often erupts into deadly violence.
Drivers’ education classes may
be partly responsible for the
increase in accident deaths by
allowing more young drivers on
the road, according to Dr. Miller.
A History Lesson The Teacher Forgot
At least seven thousand years
ago, Jane and John Doe were
getting drunk. The history of
alcohol begins with the caveman.
Believed to have been discovered
accidentally, alcohol has turned
up in different parts of the world
at different times and in different
forms.
The art of brewing probably
developed soon after man
engaged in farming. The first
crops were grains which fer
mented to make beer.
The first Europeans to brew
beer in America were the
Virginia colonists of 1587. The
Indians, however, had practiced
brewing before the discoveries of
Columbus.
THE FULL MOON
Albemarle Senior High School
Albemorle, N.C. 28001
Pam Cox, Editor-In-Chief
Sonya Mabe, News Editor
Beth Mabry, Feature Editor
Shannon Bowers, Asst. Feature Editor
Tony Hinson, Sports Editor
Christie Sasser, Asst. Sports Editor
Shannon Bell and
Lynn Rivers, Business Managers
Mitzi Morris, Exchange Editor
Miss Sandra Pollard, Advisor
SENIOR STAFF
Lisa Holm, Frank Howard
Bryan Shumate, Photographer
JUNIOR STAFF
Tammy Dwight, David Moose,
Shari Robertson, Kenneth Rus
sell, Art Director: Lori Thomas,
Lydia Williams.
The Full Moon is published nine times during the school year by the
journalism class of Albemarle Senior High School and is printed by
Press Printing Company of Albemarle.
By LORI THOMAS
Commerical breweries were
established as early as 1633 in
New Amsterdam (later New
York City); 1637 in Massa
chusetts Bay Colony; 1638 by
Roger Williams in Rhode Island.
William Penn was also among the
pioneers of brewing.
Good ole honest George
Washington had his own
brewhouse and recipe for beer.
Samuel Adams the so-called
Father of the Revolution was
briefly a brewer by profession.
The manufacture of beer was
encouraged in early colonial laws
in America as a means of
reducing the consumption of
stronger alcoholic beverages.
This traditional policy was
generally followed in the laws of
the various states and govern
ments until World War I. Under
wartime restrictions the brewing
of beer was first limited and then
prohibited. Beer containing more
than 0.5 percent alcohol was
included in the National
Prohibition Act, which lasted
from January 17, 1920 until
December 5, 1933.
Prohibition, intended to halt
the liquor consumption, provided
fascinating facts. People who
were determined to drink, drank.
Surprisingly, they also seemed to
drink more often and in larger
quantities. Speakeasies, un
dercover drinking spots, began
popping up everywhere.
Another unexpected effect of
Prohibition was that women and
youth, who up until the 1920’s had
never been a large part of the
drinking population, suddenly
decided it was chic.
The hip flask and other devices
were invented during this period
to conceal the illegal liquor.
“Bootleggers” (persons selling
illegal liquor) were plentiful.
Those who wanted to save money
or preferred not to deal with
bootleggers took to drinking
“home brew” or “bathtub gin”.
Prohibition agents found it im
possible to search everywhere so
the Prohibition Act was in effect
unenforceable.
The thirteen years of
Prohibition provided a very
strong foothold for organized
crime in America. In the
beginning, people were fasci
nated by the way the gangsters
operated rather than terrified. Al
Capone and “Legs” Diamond
headed huge syndicates that not
only sold and made bootleg liquor
but also owned speakeasies and
nightclubs.
In 1933, with Franklin D.
Roosevelt as President, the
Eighteenth Amendment
(National Prohibition Act) was
repealed.
Since this repeal, alcohol has
played a less prominent but no
less pervasive role in American
society.