It has been used by most societies and cultures throughout history. It is our most used and most abused recreational drug. About half of fatal highway accidents are alcohol-related. Eating while drinking slows the absorption of alcohol in the body. It takes about as many hours as the number of beers drunk for the liver to completely burn up the alcohol ingested.
Few women become alcoholics.
Alcohol is considered a stimulant. To prevent a hangover, one should sip one's drink slowly, eat while drinking, have no more than one drink an hour, and not over-drink one's limit. Alcohol consumption improves sexual performance. A person cannot become an alcoholic by just drinking beer. Drinking milk before alcohol slows down the absorption of alcohol into the body because it coats the stomach.