Alcohol, Alcoholic, Alcoholism; How Related Are They?

The words alcohol, alcoholic and alcoholism may sound the same way but they mean different things though they are closely related and interwoven. The definition of each of the words and other related terms would give us a clearer understanding of what they are.

An alcohol: This is the intoxicating part of any drink fermented from sugar. It is also defined as drinks that can make people drunk; this include beer, wine, whisky, etc. It is also the volatile liquid distilled from fermented saccharine liquids and which forms the basis of all wines and spirits.

An alcoholic: This is a person addicted to the use of alcoholic beverages in excess. Simply put, it’s a person addicted to excessive, uncontrolled consumption of alcohol. The person involved has become used to drinking alcohol in large quantity, drinks regularly and finds it difficult to stop it. Trying to stop its use abruptly could lead to some illnesses.

Alcoholism: A state of poisoning which arises from excessive alcohol consumption. It is a medical condition which arises as a result of regular consumption of alcohol in high quantity.

Drunkard: A person who gives in to excessive alcohol intake. This term has now been replaced with ‘alcoholic’.

Hangover: It is the body’s reaction to excessive alcohol taken the previous day or over a short period of time. The signs and symptoms of hangover include headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal spasm, tremor, etc and they usually start 8-12 hours after the consumption of high quantity of alcohol.
The alcohol content of some of the drinks are as follows: Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) =95%, Whisky =40%, Wine = 10-14% and local beer =3.5- 5%.