Reading Task: Underline the information you consider important.

Then, share your

information within your group.
Group 1 DEFINITIONS
The desire that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or
water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal
problems. Alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; and it has
symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes
and by his or her lifestyle. Unfortunately it cannot be cured at this time. ven if an
alcoholic hasn't been drinking for a long time, he or she can still suffer a relapse!.
"ut there are some treatment programs that use both counselling! and medications to
help a person stop drinking.
Alcohol abuse can be #ust as harmful as being an alcoholic. $ome of the problems
linked to alcohol abuse include not being able to meet work, school, or family
responsibilities; drunk%driving arrests and car crashes; and drinking%related medical
conditions
&n general, more men than women are alcohol dependent or have alcohol problems.
And alcohol problems are highest among young adults ages '(%)*. +e also know that
people who start drinking at an early age%%for e,ample, at age '- or younger%%greatly
increase the chance that they will develop alcohol problems at some point in their lives.
!relapse: the fact of becoming ill . sick again after making an improvement
* counselling: therapy
Reading Task: Underline the information you consider important. Then, share your
information within your group.
Group 2 AMONG TEENS
The average age when youth first try alcohol is '' years for boys and '/ years for
girls. An early age of drinking start is also associated with alcohol%related violence not
only among persons under age )' but among adults, too.
The three leading causes of death for '0% to )-%year%olds are automobile crashes,
homicides and suicides %% alcohol is a leading factor in all three.
+hile drinking may be a singular conduct problem for some, for others it may be an
e,pression of general adolescent disorder that includes eccentricity, impulsiveness,
and sensation seeking.
"inge! drinking, often beginning around age '/, tends to increase during adolescence,
peak in young adulthood 1ages '(%))2, then gradually decrease. Those who increase
their binge drinking from age '( to )- and constantly binge drink at least once a week
during this period may have problems attaining the ob#ectives typical of the transition
from adolescence to young adulthood 1e.g., marriage, educational achievement,
employment, and financial independence2.
3ack of parental support and communication have been significantly related to
fre4uency of drinking among adolescents.
5eer drinking and peer acceptance of drinking have also been associated with
adolescent drinking.
!binge: a short period of time when sb does too much of a particular activity, especially eating or drinking
alcohol.
Reading Task: Underline the information you consider important. Then, share your
information within your group.
Group 3
Read an interview wit Ro!in "i##ia$s% O&t' (
t
on )Good Morning A$eri&a')
Williams struggled with alcoholism and cocaine abuse in the early 1980s but quit after
friend and fellow comedian John Belushi's fatal overdose in 1982
!fter two decades of sobriety and success in his career and family life" what made
Williams fall off the wagon#
6&t's 7addiction8 9 not caused by anything, it's #ust there,6 +illiams said. 6&t waits. &t lays
in wait for the time when you think, '&t's fine now, &'m :;.' Then, the ne,t thing you
know, it's not :;. Then you reali<e, '+here am &= & didn't reali<e & was in >leveland.'6
+illiams said he had spent two months 6club medicated6 in :regon's treatment center.
?e said he was treated only for alcohol abuse, not other drugs.
6@ust alcohol. That's enough really,6 he said.
+illiams said he had spent a couple of years thinking he could handle his alcohol
problem on his own.
6"ut you can't. That's the bottom line,6 he said. 6Aou really think you can, then you
reali<e, & need help, and that's the word.6
+illiams' wife of 'B years, Carsha, and three children, Delda, >ody and Dach, provided
added incentive for him to seek help.
6&t's hard admitting it, then once you've done that, it's real easy,6 +illiams said.
6Aou think people don't notice. Then you find out later, '+e knew. E Aou went outside
naked.' Fo, & didn't. "ut even the dog was like, '+hat's wrong, boy=' ?umiliation gives
you humility.6