The Effects Of Alcoholism On The World Health Organization

Introduction People in Australia are among the most prolific alcohol drinkers in the world according to the World Health Organisation’s report published in 2014. Australians over the age of 15 drink in average of 12.2 litres per capita per year which puts us at quite at a high level by world standards, even more than the Britons (11.6 litres) and the Americans (9.2 litres) respectively. Australians take pride in its drinking culture reputation and accept it as a social norm; not acknowledging the harm it could cause. As opposed to the using of illegal drugs directly governed by law to maintain social order, alcoholism is still considered more of a personal behaviour problem, and therefore, is only considered as a personal responsibility†¦show more content†¦The cultural functions of alcohol consumptions then will be explored; and lastly, alcoholism as a social problem that causes dysfunction and social disorganisation/disorder will be discussed. Discussion A social problem can be defined as some conditions or set of events or group of persons that is undesirable/unfavourable (that violate certain values or beliefs about how a society should function) to a significant proportion of population (Mooney, Knox, Schacht, 2000). The structural-functional perspective is mainly based on the Herbert Spencer’s, Emile Durkheim’s, Talcott Parsons’ and Robert Menton’s works. These theories view society as interrelated and interconnected parts of a system that work harmoniously to maintain a state of balance as a whole, and focuses on how each part influences and be influenced by the other parts. Beliefs, culture, structure, function and adaptations are the key elements that need to be maintained to achieve social order. Society becomes dysfunctional when these elements of society disrupt social stability (Mooney et al., 2000, p. 10). While the culture of consuming alcohol should have functioned as a social part of society, current excessive level of consumptions at harmful levels have created problems in society, such as alcohol-fuelled violence (bar-fights and domestic violence), medical conditions (like heart and circulatory problems), alcohol-related accidents (drink-driving), complic ations in pregnancy