According to the World Health Organization (WHO), harmful alcohol consumption causes 3 million deaths worldwide each year, which accounts for 5.3% of all deaths. Harmful alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to more than 200 health conditions related to diseases and injuries. Alcohol is ethyl alcohol (ethanol, C2H5OH). In a broad sense, the term “alcohol” refers to beverages containing ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is found in alcoholic beverages, low‑alcohol beverages, and beer.

Alcohol abuse (of alcoholic, low‑alcohol, or beer) leads to various negative consequences:

social (destruction of social ties, problems at work, family dysfunction, committing offenses, and other negative consequences);
personal (personality deformation, indifference to oneself, one’s future, and loved ones, weakening of willpower, the dominance of a single value called “alcohol,” and other consequences);
medical:
damage to the central nervous system (brain), which leads to a decrease in memory, attention, impaired mental activity, emotions and other disorders;
damage to organs and systems of the human body, which leads to the development of liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other diseases);
the development of drug-related diseases;
poisoning, death.
Alcohol has toxic and psychoactive (narcotic) effects. The consequences of alcohol consumption depend on the individual characteristics of the person consuming it (age, gender, presence of diseases, other features) and on the concentration (“proof”), dose, and duration of alcohol’s effect on the body.

Due to the toxic effect of alcohol, it has a poisonous effect on the entire body, can disrupt the functioning of the brain, the cardiovascular system, and other organs and body systems, and contributes to the development of various diseases, including liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Due to the psychoactive (narcotic) effects of alcohol, it affects the functioning of the central nervous system (the brain), leading to changes in mental state and contributing to the development of alcohol dependence. The effect of alcohol on the brain causes changes in a person’s behavior and their attitude towards such behavior, which can lead to negative social consequences, injuries, and death from external causes.

Alcohol abuse leads to the development of a number of narcological diseases, which differ in terms of severity and forms of the disease:

uncomplicated intoxication (alcohol intoxication);
Alcohol consumption with harmful consequences;
alcohol withdrawal syndrome (“hangover”);
alcohol withdrawal syndrome with delirium (“delirium tremens”);
alcohol dependence syndrome (chronic alcoholism);
psychotic disorders (manifested by hallucinations, distortions of perception, delusions, and other symptoms);
amnestic syndrome (memory disorders);
personality disorders and dementia (acquired dementia) due to alcohol consumption.

One of the most common consequences of a person’s alcohol abuse is the development of alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence syndrome is a complex of physiological, behavioral, and cognitive phenomena, in which alcohol consumption occupies a dominant position in a person’s value system, replacing other forms of behavior that were previously more important. The main characteristic of dependent behavior is an irresistible desire to consume alcohol, accompanied by an increase in tolerance (resistance) to alcohol and pronounced psychological and physiological symptoms.

Beer alcoholism. For some people, beer is a symbol of socializing with friends, watching football, and other enjoyable pastimes. Unfortunately, few people think about the fact that it is also an alcoholic beverage that can lead to alcoholism. Beer damages the human body and brain no less than alcoholic drinks with a high alcohol content. Beer also contributes to the development of substance use disorders.

Alcohol dependence syndrome is a chronic substance use disorder. If a person has alcohol dependence, medical measures must be taken without fail.

The presence of narcological diseases can be diagnosed by a specialist doctor (a psychiatrist‑narcologist), to whom a person can turn for narcological assistance, including anonymously.

After abstaining from alcohol consumption or after undergoing any course of treatment (after undergoing “coding”), complete recovery does not occur (the disease “does not disappear”).

Treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome (chronic alcoholism) is a multi‑component, multi‑stage process.

After completing any course of treatment (including “coding”), other treatment methods and rehabilitation should be applied.

When abstaining from alcohol consumption, as a result of treatment and rehabilitation, it is possible to achieve a long period (tens of years) of abstinence from alcohol (a period of remission).

In narcological practice, the minimum period of abstinence from alcohol consumption (a period of remission),