For the majority of people drinking alcohol is a pleasant pastime to be enjoyed in the company of friends and acquaintances. Drinking in moderation is perfectly acceptable and a couple of beers or a glass of wine with a meal do not have harmful consequences.

However statistics show that 1 in 13 Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholics, which converts to 14 Million Americans! Several million American adults also have precarious drinking habits which could ultimately lead to an addiction. Over 50 percent of Americans have a close relative with a drinking problem.

Alcoholism can cause great damage to your health including cancer of the larynx, throat, esophagus, and the liver. It also causes Cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, feotal damage (in pregnancy) and irreversible brain damage.

Alcoholism is also life threatening in other ways as it increases the chance of having accidents in the home and in the workplace, performing homicide and suicide. (The majority of successful suicides are performed by people under the influence of alcohol.)