Let me count the ways. In the elderly, alcohol-related hospitalizations are those due to heart attacks. The outlook with alcohol-related cirrhosis is worse than that of many cancers.
Alcohol affects all tissues of the body.
Alcohol abuse is associated with cancer of the gut or lung and possibly with breast cancer. Alcohol shrinks your brain. Although alcohol provides seven calories per gram, almost twice the energy of carbohydrates or protein and almost as much as fat it displaces normal nutrients and causes malnutrition, including deficiencies of thiamines and other vitamins. Alcoholism is impaired social function and altered health secondary to excess alcohol intake. There are signs of dependence and tolerance of large amounts of alcohol.