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Alcohol and Alcoholism Alcohol, combined with the creation and improvement of technology and vast social unawareness, is a significant factor in a large number of social, emotional, physical, and mental problems that plague all of humanity in one way or another. The alcohol that we associate with blackouts, hangovers, depression, and death is ethyl alcohol, or grain alcohol. For 5000 years, this fermentation of grain or vegetable starch has been included in beverages such as beer, wine, champagne, and hard liquors. This gives the majority of the population the notion that alcohol is not a drug, when in actuality it is. The fact that it is most commonly used for religious and social purposes also helps their assumptions. This ignorance has led to compulsive and excessive drinking, which in turn leads to abuse, medical conditions such as cancer, liver damage, and ulcers, hallucinations, blackouts, extreme tremors, and death. The principal misconception people express is that alcoholism is the only level of severity when it comes to excessive drinking. In reality, there are actually five or six different levels of alcohol problems. The most common include binge drinking, alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Each has different descriptio