This includes those laws prohibiting the use, possession, or distribution of drugs and alcohol. In addition, employees of The University of Texas at Austin are subject to Section 9.89, Handbook of Operating Procedures, The University of Texas at Austin. Health hazards associated with the excessive use of alcohol or with alcohol dependency include dramatic behavioral changes, retardation of motor skills, and impairment of reasoning and rational thinking. These factors result in a higher incidence of accidents and accidental death for such persons than for nonusers of alcohol.
Nutrition also suffers and vitamin and mineral deficiencies are frequent.
Prolonged alcohol abuse causes bleeding from the intestinal tract, damage to nerves and the brain, psychotic behavior, loss of memory and coordination, damage to the liver often resulting in cirrhosis, impotence, severe inflammation of the pancreas, and damage to the bone marrow, heart, testes, ovaries and muscles. Damage to the nerves and organs is usually irreversible. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in alcoholics and is 10 times more frequent than in nonalcoholics. Sudden withdrawal of alcohol from persons dependent on it will cause serious physical withdrawal symptoms. Drinking during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome.