Effects of Smocking and drinking

            The Effects of Alcohol on a Marriage

Excessive alcohol use, which is more than two drinks per day for men and one drink for women, can have damaging effects on a marriage. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than half of adults in the United States drink alcohol and 5 percent of the total population drink heavily. Excessive alcohol use is the third leading lifestyle cause of death each year. If you or your spouse has a drinking problem, seek professional help.

Divorce

• Increased tension from alcohol abuse can lead to divorce. Marital distress or dissatisfaction occurs when a drinking spouse does not participate in everyday household tasks and family activities. Feelings of neglect can arise if the drinker is chronically absent from home. Excessive alcohol use causes increased negative and hostile communication, more expressions of anger and less warmth, which is likely to contribute to marital dissatisfaction. Infidelity can destroy a marriage if the alcoholic spouse engages in risky sexual behaviors.

Violence

• Alcohol changes behavior by causing fear, mistrust, anger and increased aggression. As a result, the nondrinking spouse may face intimate partner violence. Among battered women, 40 percent to 60 percent report that their husbands are heavy drinkers, and the CDC suggests that 35 percent of domestic violence is at the hands of a person under the influence of alcohol. Abuse from an alcoholic can be physical or verbal. Children also are at risk in homes where one or both parents drink excessively. Research indicates that alcohol is a leading factor in child maltreatment and neglect.

Finances

• Alcoholism can cause financial strain for families because it's expensive and money may be spent in ways that do not support the household. There also is an increased risk of alcoholics losing their jobs due to poor performance and productivity or absenteeism. Alcohol impairs judgment, and drinkers may create expensive gambling and legal problems for the family. Drinking and driving can cause legal, emotional and financial burdens, especially if it results in death or servere injury.

Stress

• The nondrinking spouse may experience increased stress due to worrying about the health effects of alcohol. Alcohol poisoning is particularly stressful because it is a medical emergency that can suppress the central nervous system and cause loss of consciousness, low blood pressure and body temperature, coma, respiratory depression or death. Frustration or fighting may occur if the drinker is in denial about their addiction or refuses help. Alcoholics may lie, make excuses or blame others for their drinking.

The Disadvantages of Smoking & Drinking

Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes both carry an array of adverse health risks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five deaths in the United States is caused from the effects of smoking, while the consumption of alcohol is responsible for the deaths of more than 79,000 people in the United States each year. The damages caused by these two habits are documented to do damage to the body and can lead to heart disease, cancer and stroke. The detrimental effects of smoking and drinking are numerous.

Drinking and Liver Issues

• An excessive amount of consumption of alcohol often leads to alcoholic liver disease. This disease can be fatal. Some of the effects of this disease include cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis C and steatosis. Drinking heavily for only a few days in a row can even result in the development of steatosis, an early symptom of alcoholic liver disease. It is the most common liver disorder related to alcohol. Hepatitis results from a person who chronically indulges in excessive amounts of alcohol and can be deadly. It causes an inflammation of the liver with symptoms including vomiting, nausea, fever and abdominal pain.

Smoking and Liver Issues

• The smoking of cigarettes has serious ramifications for the human liver. When smoking is done in conjunction with excessive consumption of alcohol, the smoking will increase the damage that alcohol has on the liver. Smoking itself activates chemicals within the human body created from the chemicals in cigarettes. They suppress the oxygen levels which are linked to lipid peroxidation. This allows fibrosis of the liver to develop.

Drinking and Heart Issues

• According to the American Heart Association, excessive consumption of alcohol can cause many detrimental effects on the human heart. The alcohol can increase the fat levels in the blood throughout the body and can cause the person to develop high blood pressure, as well as heart failure. Additionally, because the calorie count in alcohol is very high, consumption of a large amount can increase the caloric intake of the person who is over-consuming and lead to obesity. Obesity puts a lot of strain on the heart. There is also a risk with those who consume an excess of alcohol to suffer a stroke and even sudden cardiac death.

Smoking and Heart Issues

• Cigarette smoking is a huge cause of coronary heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. According to the American Heart Association, the smoking of cigarettes is the most common cause of preventable death in the United States. These deaths commonly occur from heart disease directly linked to smoking. The smoking of cigarettes increases the building up of fats within the arteries while at the same time it causes a decrease in the good cholesterol levels. It also increases the risk of developing strokes and aneurysms.