The high alcohol content of refined spirits made them exceptionally stable for long-term storage and commerce. Along with fermentation technology came drunkenness , hangovers and alcoholism . Drunkenness is caused by alcohol's pharmacological effect on the human central nervous system. This effect causes incoordination, slowed reaction time, muscle relaxation, behavioral disinhibition and impaired judgment, all of which last for several hours after alcohol is consumed. There is no simple and effective way to prevent drunkenness other than to avoid alcohol consumption in the first place.
Hangovers are the result of alcohol's toxicity.
Hangover symptoms include headaches, dehydration, irritability, sleep disturbances, liver toxicity, nerve and tissue hypersensitivity, etc. These symptoms can be prevented or significantly reduced by simple interventions that will be discussed in this article. These interventions augment natural detoxification mechanisms that would otherwise be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of alcohol intake. Alcoholism can result from any one or combination of addictive mechanisms created by alcohol's powerful pharmacological effect on the body. Some of these mechanisms are psychological and some are physiological.