Alcohol Abuse

By Josh Mahoney
Introduction - What Is Alcohol Abuse?

Abusers are typically heavy drinkers who continue drinking regardless of the results. Alcohol can be an addictive
substance. Not everyone who consumes alcohol will become addicted. However, certain people may be more
susceptible to addiction.
It should be noted that alcohol addiction and abuse are not the same. It's important to understand the facts on alcohol
abuse. Alcohol addiction refers to a psychological and physical dependency on alcohol. Individuals who suffer from
alcohol addiction may build up a tolerance to the substance, as well as continue drinking even when alcohol-related
problems become evident.
Alcohol abusers are not necessarily addicted to alcohol. Abusers are typically heavy drinkers who continue drinking
regardless of the results. Abusers of alcohol may not drink on a consistent basis. For example, an individual who
abuses alcohol may only drink once a week. However, when that individual drinks, he puts himself into risky situations
or drinks enough to cause problems, such as alcohol poisoning. Certain individuals who abuse alcohol may eventually
become dependent on it.
Alcohol abuse Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jl-o89Z8j8
Signs and Symptoms

Individuals who suffer from alcohol abuse do not always exhibit the same symptoms. The type of symptoms
experienced by an individual will depend on a number of factors, such as the individual's background and medical
history. While alcohol abuse symptoms do vary, there are signs and symptoms that can indicate a problem.
• What Are The Signs of alcoholism?
• Are genetics to blame for dangerous compulsive drinking?
• Decreased involvement in extracurricular activities.
• Loss of interest in work or school.
• Depression.
• Lack of interest in family or friends.
• Preoccupation with drinking.
• Restlessness.
• Inability to control drinking.
• Erratic behaviour.
• Violent behaviour.
Alcohol Abuse Treatment

Individuals who wish to overcome an alcohol abuse problem have a number of options.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), more than 1 people age 12 or older received substance
use treatment in 2015 for alcohol use alone. Many of the individuals who are treated for alcoholism and alcohol abuse
often seek outside help from treatment centres and therapy sessions.
Alcohol treatment centres are designed to help individuals who are addicted or who abuse alcohol in a number of ways.
Typically, treatment centres require an individual to stay at the centre for a specific amount of time. Many centres offer
both long- and short-term treatment options.
During treatment, individuals go through detoxification. Detoxification is the process of removing alcohol from the body
and getting rid of any physical dependency to the substance.
For someone struggling with alcoholism to successfully complete a treatment program, he must leave the centre with a
full understanding of his problem. Treatment centers are designed to provide support in the form of individual therapy, as
well as group therapy. During therapy sessions, alcohol abusers can explore their reasons for abusing the substance, as
well as what they can do to overcome their abusive behavior. Counsellors and therapists at treatment centres are trained
to provide alcohol abusers with constructive ideas and alternatives to drinking. During treatment, alcohol abusers are also
provided with the tools needed to move on from abusing alcohol and into a more productive lifestyle.
Channel 4

The Channel 4 service was established under the Broadcasting Act 1981and was originally provided for by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (which no
longer exists). The Channel Four Television Corporation was established under the Broadcasting Act 1990 and all its publisher/broadcaster functions were
transferred over to the new Corporation in 1993. It transmits across the whole of the UK, except some parts of Wales which are covered by the Welsh
language S4C. It is available on all digital platforms (terrestrial, satellite and cable) as well as through conventional analogue transmission.
It is a publicly owned corporation whose board is appointed by the television regulator - the Independent Television Commission / OFCOM (after Dec 2003)
- in agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. Unlike the BBC, Channel 4 receives no public funding. It is funded entirely by its
own commercial activities.
It is required by the Communications Act of 2003 to:
• demonstrate innovation, experimentation and creativity
• appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society
• include programmes of an educational nature
• exhibit a distinctive character
Channel 4 is a publisher/broadcaster. It does not produce its own programmes but commissions them from more than 300 independent production
companies right across the UK, making it the major stimulus and outlet for Britain’s highly successful independent production sector. It invests heavily in
training and talent development throughout the industry.
As well as the main Channel 4 service, the Channel Four Group operates a variety of pay channels, including the E4 entertainment channel, E4+1, and
three film channels. Through its Film Four division it produces and co-produces feature films for the UK and global markets. It also operates a wide
variety of online and broadband services that cover entertainment, information, education, health, careers and many other areas.
More than three-quarters of the UK’s population watch Channel 4 services in the course of an average week.
Content of program

• For the program I will be adding a title to make it clear what this advert is going to be
about, I would also need to make an impacting title that would make the viewer want to
watch it. This will be based around 14+ for my target audience so this advert can try to
encourage young teenagers not to drink alcohol until they are legally allowed and
understand what the effects are of alcohol. I also want this to be a lesson for adults as well
so they can see the effect it can have and what it would be like to stop drinking.
• I would like this to be about 30-60 minutes so that I have enough time to get my point across
to the target audience. So I would like the first half of my program showing someone who is
abusing alcohol and why they are doing it and then I want the other half to be about
someone who stopped and what effect it had on them. So they have enough information to
see why its's not good to abuse alcohol at such a young age and show them the effects that
it has had on adults and how it has effected there lives. I would want to have this around
mid day where it can get a bigger audience to watch it and I can get more people to
understand the effects about alcohol abuse.
Program structure

• Intro
• What is alcohol abuse Start
• Who it can effect
• Having someone talk about there experience Middle
• Interview them
• Then have someone who has stopped and have them talk about the
positives that they have had. End
• Why they stopped.
• Credits
Production schedule

• For the production of my program I want to do a good weeks of recording

and working with the staff so we can make sure that we are going to be
spreading awareness on alcohol abuse so that we can try and make a
difference in lots of peoples lives who are struggling with alcohol abuse.
• When it comes to the time slot that I want, I would like any week day
around 7-8 o'clock so that I can get as many viewers as possible to spread
the message. So as long as I can get everything in order and me and the
staff can work well and get this done then it can be put on TV for about
30-60 minutes so that I can give the viewer as much information as
possible to get the message out there about alcohol abuse.
Budget analysis

• Cost of interviewing a celebrity - £5,000

• Director - £2,500
• Producer - £2,000
• Interviewer (Me) - £2,000
• Location - £300
• Camera equipment - £1700
• Editor - £650
• Food and water - £250
• Total cost – £14,400
• Remaining cost – £25,600 (Which will go towards the channel 4 and the cost of putting it on
TV)
Location

• For the location I want to have it in a living room where I can talk
to people about there experience with alcohol abuse. So I wont
need an expensive location and this will be easy to obtain so I
wont need to rent out a place or spend a lot of money, as finding
this location wont be hard to obtain and use for my product.
 Primary research

For my primary research I did a questionnaire to find out how many people drank alcohol and why
they did it. These questioners showed me that people did it because it was fun and it was a social
thing to do when it came to things like party's. I also found out that 3 people out of the 10 I asked
don’t drink alcohol and 1 has never consumed any alcohol. This will also help me when it comes to
my program as I will be able to have the statistics that show how many teenagers drink and how
many didn’t. So overall this questionnaire has helped me understand more about how much alcohol
is consumed with the teenager target audience and I could always do a questionnaire to adults to
find out if they drink more and by how much.
How many people drink alcohol

Number of people who drink alcohol Number of people who don’t

Secondary research

I have been looking at channel 4 and which TV channels are the most popular
and what time they are on channel 4 so I can see how they are popular and how I
can get mine to get the most viewers so that I can try and help a wide range of
people who are possibly struggling with alcohol. This can also help me narrow
down the competition that I will have, So I can also focus on that aspect to try
and get my program to the top by choosing the right day and the right time.
Facts and statistics

• •7% of adults in England regularly drink over the Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines, and
2.5 million people report drinking over 14 units on their heaviest drinking days.
• •In 2016, 21% of the population reported not drinking at all and overall consumption has fallen by
around 18% since 2004.
• •In the UK, in 2015 there were 8,758 alcohol-related deaths (around 14 per 100,000 people). The
mortality rates are highest among people aged 55-64.
• •In England, there are an estimated 595,131 dependent drinkers, of whom only 108,696 are
currently accessing treatment.
• •Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year-olds
in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages.
• •Alcohol harms are estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5 billion annually.
• •While the price of alcohol has increased by 36% since 2005, it remains 60% more affordable than
it was in 1980.
Final Pitch

• Why choose my documentary?

This document that I want to make will be able to help a wide range of people who struggle with
alcohol abuse and try to encourage them to stop to help them turn there life around for the better.
• How will it benefit you?
This will be able to benefit you as this will be able to show you how to be safe around alcohol and this
program will have a large target audience so no matter how old you are you could learn a thing or two
just to make more people aware of the effects of drinking a large amount of alcohol every day.
• Is it worthy of a program?
Yes definitely this is a big problem along side drug abuse and cyber bullying and this needs to be made
clear how dangerous this is especially to young teenagers who may be trying it thinking that it is cool
and what everyone is doing. So that’s why I want to try and make this program so that I can help lots
of people understand alcohol and that it has many effects on you and your body.