page_title: Alcohol (drug)
section_title: Social harm
hierarchical_section_title: Alcohol (drug) / Drug harmfulness / Social harm
context_page_description: Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is a psychoactive drug that is the active ingredient in drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits. It is one of the oldest and most common recreational substances, causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication. Among other effects, alcohol produces a mood lift and euphoria, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, impairment of cognitive, memory, motor, and sensory function, and generalized depression of central nervous system function. Ethanol is only one of several types of alcohol, but it is the only type of alcohol that is found in alcoholic beverages or commonly used for recreational purposes; other alcohols such as methanol and isopropyl alcohol are significantly more toxic. A mild, brief exposure to isopropanol, being only moderately more toxic than ethanol, is unlikely to cause any serious harm. Methanol, being profoundly more toxic than ethanol, is lethal in quantities as small as 10-15 milliliters.
  Alcohol has a variety of short-term and long-term adverse effects.
context_section_description: Alcohol causes considerable societal damage including suppression of psychological inhibitions, which may increase the risk for activities such as impulsive sex, drunk dialing, and alcohol-related crimes such as public intoxication, and drunk driving.
  Alcohol causes a plethora of detrimental effects in society, both to the individual and to others. It is highly associated with automobile accidents, sexual assaults, and both violent and non-violent crime. About one-third of arrests in the United States involve alcohol abuse. Many emergency room visits also involve alcohol use. As many as 15% of employees show problematic alcohol-related behaviors in the workplace, such as drinking before going to work or even drinking on the job. Heavy drinking is associated with vulnerability to injury, marital discord, and domestic violence. Alcohol use is directly related to considerable morbidity and mortality, for instance due to overdose and alcohol-related health problems.
caption: A 2010 study ranking various illegal and legal drugs based on statements by drug-harm experts. Alcohol was found to be the overall most dangerous drug, and the only drug that mostly damaged others.[30]