Adicciones

Alcoholism in Mexico
In Mexico, alcohol is used regularly and responsibly, as well as in excess. However, the disease known as alcoholism has already trapped many persons. In our country, scientific research on alcohol use patterns, alcohol abuse and alcoholism is very recent, even though alcohol abuse and alcoholism undoubtedly constitute serious public health problems in almost all thecountries in the world. This problem becomes even worse in nations where alcohol effects relate to serious economic and social disadvantages. This is the case of Mexico, where we have approximately 9 million alcoholics besides other damages caused by alcohol excessive consumption. These figures affect almost half of the total population if we consider that the current average family has 5 members.Epidemiological Overview
In our country, alcoholism represents 11.3% of the total disease load. Thus, 49% of suicides and 38% of homicides in the country are committed under the effects of alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, 38% of injury cases occur as the result of alcohol abuse, particularly among young adults between 15 and 25 years of age, a period in life where accidents are the main cause ofdeath. It is worth noting that more than 13% of the population experiences the alcohol dependence syndrome, i.e. 12.5% male and 0.6% female between 18 and 65 years of age. Young adults between 15 and 19 years of age have car accidents associated with alcohol use that represent the main cause of death (15%), followed by homicides (14.6%) and suicides (6%).In Mexico City, at least 700 thousandminors have problems associated with drug abuse. This disease ranks fourth among the ten main causes for incapacity. On the other hand, 70% of accidents, 60% of trauma caused by accidents, 80% of divorces and 60% of suicides are somewhat related to alcoholism. It is estimated that approximately 2.6 million people between 12 and 45 years of age have no access to treatment for alcohol abuse odependence, and that 64% of homicides are related to alcoholism. In Mexico, there are 12 thousand AA groups and close to 1,500 of the so-called “annexes” for detoxification through temporal reclusion.
We all know that alcoholism is the last phase of a process that starts with occasional or experimental consumption of alcohol, then passes to moderate use of the substance and finally ends with abuse. Thisphenomenon is almost as old as humankind is and the concern to understand it and control its effects has come a long way. Mexico was not left aside the new objectives of the international organism for long because, at the beginning of the 70s, as mentioned before, the National Institute of Psychiatry was born and since then it dedicates part of its efforts to this important task. 
There are veryfew official education and prevention campaigns, even though there are some efforts from education and health authorities that have not yet translated in figures that show a reduction of the problem. That is why we dare to say that there are no public policies on the subject, especially among rural and indigenous communities, where there are no research or education / prevention programswhatsoever. For all these reasons, it would not be wrong to say that there are no public policies in Mexico to face problems resulting from alcohol abuse and alcoholism in rural and indigenous populations and that those existing for urban communities are simple not enough. It is also worth noting that for many years alcohol has been the ideal instrument for workers and farmers’ indebtedness, whose workis partly paid with alcohol. If alcohol plays an important role in the lifecycles that start at the moment the groom asks for his bride’s hand and continues to the birth of a child and the different processes and social stages in his / her life; if alcohol is part of the ancestral traditions and habits of our people; and if alcohol is also one of the most important businesses in Mexico and other...