Alcohol: A Major Cause of Pancreatic Inflammation

 

Alcohol is a chemical substance found in drinks such as beer, wine, and liquors. It is made by a chemical process called fermentation that uses sugars from fruits and yeast. Alcohol or intoxicant, sometimes referred to by the chemical name “ethanol”, is one of the most widely used and abused psychoactive drugs in the world and falls under the depressant category. No form of alcohol consumption is risk-free. Even low levels of alcohol consumption carry some risks and can cause harm. All types of intoxicants are known to cause serious health and social problems.

Both The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and The World Health Organization (WHO) have recently classified alcohol as a “Group 1 Carcinogenic”, meaning it has a very high risk of developing cancer. In 2023, the WHO declared that there is "no safe amount" of alcohol consumption without health risks. 

The normalization of alcohol consumption, along with past misconceptions about its health benefits, also promoted by the industry, further reinforces the mistaken idea that it is not a "drug". Furthermore, religious beliefs about alcohol that it’s a “Spiritual Drink” and is permissible have driven many people to drink without fear and very much abuse it. 

Health & Social Problems of Intoxicants:

Alcohol works in the brain primarily by increasing the effects of y-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. By facilitating GABA's actions, alcohol suppresses the activity of the Central Nerve System (CNS) and causes serious damage to the brain. Alcohol also causes serious damage to the heart, liver, and kidneys. Young people under 18 years old are particularly at risk because their organs are still in developmental stages, and the areas of their brains are still undergoing the most significant changes during the teenage years. 

The question is, why are teenagers addicted to alcohol? Here are some reasons:

The Australian National Drug Strategy Survey surveyed in 2011, concluded that the two main reasons for ‘Alcoholism’ among teenagers are: 

Trying to fit in with a group (friends).

Home, where they try to fit in with family habits.

My concern here is how to bring up children at home; if parents are showing examples of drinking alcohol in front of their children by buying alcohol and keeping it at home and being proud of drinking themselves and drinking with guests and on special occasions, then definitely it will strike in children’s minds that alcohol is good.

 

In the report, The Australian National Drug Strategy Survey found the following:

• 86% of children under 14 years of age have already tried alcohol either at home or with friends.
• 9% of those under 14 years are already became addicted when they were just 15 years old, and 3% are considered to as heavy drinkers.
• Clinical studies show that most of these addicted and heavy drinkers critically damaged their brains and liver, and some of them are beyond repair; remember these are still children under 14 years old!
• In their conclusion, alcoholism is a major factor contributing to the corruption of families and societies in general, contributing to murders, suicides, divorces, increased cases of dissatisfaction with sexual partners, and increased cases of infidelity in relationships in both males and females.
• Alcohol or alcoholic beverages are associated with significant health risks and harms. They contain ethanol, which is a psychoactive and toxic substance with dependence-producing properties. The following are some recorded facts related to alcohol that were published in 2024 by the World Health Organization (WHO):-  
• Alcohol consumption, even at low levels can bring severe health risks, but most alcohol-related harms come from heavy consumption.
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• Worldwide, an estimated 400 million people, or 7% of the world’s population aged 15 years and older, live with alcohol use disorders, these are heavy drinkers. Of this, 209 million people (3.7% of the adult world population) lived with alcohol dependence.
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• Some official statistics show that around 2.6 million deaths were caused by direct alcohol consumption in 2019. Of these, about 700,000 deaths were recorded from injuries.
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• The statistics also show that 474,000 deaths from cardiovascular diseases were caused by alcohol consumption in 2019. 
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• Alcohol is an established carcinogen and alcohol consumption increases the risk of several cancers, including breast, liver, head, neck, esophageal, and colorectal cancers. In 2019 alone, 4.4% of cancers diagnosed globally were attributed directly to alcohol consumption. 
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• Alcohol consumption also causes significant harm to others, not just to the person consuming alcohol. A significant part of the alcohol-attributable disease burden arises from injuries such as road traffic accidents. In 2019 alone, a total of 298,000 deaths were from alcohol-related road crashes, and 156,000 deaths were caused by someone else’s drinking. 
• Other injuries, intentional or unintentional, include falls, drowning, burns, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and suicide. Statistics related to these are not known, but very high. 
• A causal relationship has been established between alcohol use and the incidence or outcomes of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV.
• Alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of having a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). It also causes the most severe form of which is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which is associated with developmental disabilities and birth defects. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can also increase the risk of pre-term birth complications including miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery. 
• In the long term, harmful and hazardous levels of alcohol consumption can lead to many social problems including family problems, issues at work, financial problems, and unemployment.
• These were reported by WHO, showing only cases were officially recorded by governments. However, many cases are not recorded formally, or unknown cases are not included in the WHO reports.
• These numbers and facts cause big concern; the lives of many people are lost intentionally due to negligence. We all know that alcohol and alcoholic beverages are causing diseases, and we know that these intoxicants cause the loss of the mind, which is the most precious thing a human possesses. Instead of walking straight like a human with a thankful mind, a drinker loses his/her mind and all senses and behaves more horribly than a ferocious animal.  
• Alcohol is the second biggest risk for cancer after smoking. It has been found that regular drinkers are at higher risk of developing mouth cancer, throat cancer, esophageal cancer, colon cancer, bowel cancer, and liver cancer compared with non-drinkers. Female drinkers have more risk of changing levels of their sex hormones including the female sex hormone estrogen which can lead to serious physiological problems and even can lead to breast cancer. 
• Taking alcohol can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of having a heart attack and stroke. Too much intake of alcohol weakens heart muscles, which can affect blood circulation and in turn affect the lungs, liver, brain, and other body systems. Excessive fat deposits in the liver because of alcohol can inflame the liver and cause alcoholic hepatitis, which can result in liver failure and liver cirrhosis.   
• Heavy or long-term drinking can cause inflammation of the pancreas, the condition is very painful and difficult to treat. The lining of the intestines can be irritated and cause inflammation and ulcers that reduce the ability to absorb nutrients, vitamins, and calcium. 
• Many studies have linked alcohol to mental health problems including depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. Alcohol is the second biggest cause of suicide after music. Drinking too much can also disrupt normal sleeping patterns and cause insomnia, and lack of restful sleep. This can make a person feel stressed and anxious.

Are We Permitted to Drink Alcohol:

I am always wondering if these are the effects of taking Alcohol, then why God is permitting us to drink. I heard many times that Christians are allowed by God to drink alcohol and Alcohol or Wine is a “Spiritual Drink”, and we were told that Jesus drank alcohol, and his mother asked him to turn water into alcohol. 

We are often told that drinking alcohol is not a sin. However, I also heard many times that we are forbidden to get drunk, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18). 

This looks contradictory! How come our God and Jesus are permitting us to drink, then we were told not to become drunk? 

Christians who drink alcohol may raise a question here. “What does it mean to be drunk?”. 

Yes indeed, It’s a fair question. Has God given us the limit to take? If no limit is given, then how does an ordinary person know?

There are many questions in my mind but no answers – I keep asking myself, is our God a source of confusion? People are so confused about so many things in our Christianity, and without getting proper answers and guidance, people are fed up with their lives and may eventually commit suicide.

However, I recently found answers to the above questions in my search. I came to understand that Islam has prohibited alcohol, not only drinking but also manufacturing, selling, buying, distributing, and earning profits from it in any way. Any such activity related to alcohol is completely prohibited in Islam and considered a bigger sin. 

I also learned from Islamic Scriptures that “Jesus never drank alcohol and was not permitted it”.

This of course does make a lot of sense, and modern social and medical sciences have approved the side effects of alcohol. God is All-Knower and All-Wise; He can never prescribe alcohol to people to destroy them.

So, how come the Scriptures of Christianity permit the drinking of Alcohol and alcoholic beverages? If these cause diseases and corruption in our families and our societies, how can God permit us to drink?

In Islam, in the Holy Qur’an, Allah says: “O’ you who have believed; Indeed, intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are an abomination, and definitely from the work of Satan, so avoid them and never come closer to them. Satan's plan is to excite enmity and to cause hatred between you, and to destroy your life through intoxicants and gambling, and avert you from the remembrance of Allah, and from performing Salat (prayers); will you not then abstain” (The Holy Qur’an 5: 90 – 91).

The Prophet Muhammad also warned time and time again regarding the intake of intoxicants, for example, he said: “Allah cursed the wine, the one who drinks it, the one who pours it, the one who manufactures it, the one who carries it, the one to who it carries, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, and the one who consumes its price; all of them are cursed by Allah”.

The effect of these intoxicants is obvious and scientific evidence about both health and social damage has become undeniable. Parents must be aware and not expose their children to any behavior related to the consumption of alcohol and our societies must be free from such intoxicants because it has been shown the negative effects on humankind, causing mental and bodily illnesses, damaging families and societies, causing great corruption at all levels of humanity from individuals, to financial to nations, to global. 

Therefore, intoxicants must be eliminated in our societies so people can live without feelings of anxiety, depression, disgust, shock, embarrassment, anger, fear, and sadness. Our religious leaders must not promote it by claiming it is a spiritual drink, that can never be true.

For Muslims who are drinking, I advise you that you must quit and follow your Qur’an and the commandments of Allah you will be successful. For those Christians who are drinking and were misled, it is important to realize that quitting drinking alcohol can improve their quality of life. Your God or if you follow Jesus, then you must understand what commandments you are given, not just follow people to deceive you from the correct path. By quitting drinking alcohol, you will improve your life physically, emotionally, and financially. It can help you live better and longer and serve God better.

I Rest My Case..!

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References:

• The Bible.
• The Qur’an.
• IARC – INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER, www.iarc.who.int
• WHO – World Health Organization, www.who.int
• The Australian National Drug Strategy Survey, Australian Institute of Health Welfare, www.aihw.gov.au
• Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Various Systems of the Human Body: A Systematic Review (2022), National Library of Medicine, USA.

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