N.

B : This oral presentation exceeds the time limit- IT is merely to give you an idea of the content required
in your speech
N.B.- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEME AND TOPIC
ORAL PRESENTATION.
Good day Ladies, gentlemen, fellow students and teachers. The theme I have chosen for my portfolio is
Substance Abuse and thetopic chosen is The effects of alcohol abuse upon the family. The theme
Substance Abuse was chosen because I found it to be a very interesting and controversial issue.
I have selected this topic of substance abuse because I have realized that there is a drastic incline in the
number of people whom consume alcohol. My theme, the effects of alcohol abuse upon the family, was
also chosen because there significant figures of the amount of families broken up or separated due to the
abuse of alcohol by a family member. Also because in a family with an alcoholic the children are affect
greatly.
Alcohol is one of the most widely abused drugs used today in the world. Alcohol, also known in the
medical field as ethanol, is a significant influencing drug impacting upon human behavior and body
functions in a numerous of ways. Alcohol drinking has short term effects which we all know about such as
slurred speech, impaired mentalfunctioning, , increased excretion leading to dehydration, nausea,
vomiting and many more.
Alcohol drinking also has long term effects such as alcoholism. It is this that I would like to speak about.
Alcoholism or alcohol dependence syndrome is a disease one gets when
one has become addicted to alcohol. This addiction is often manifested through the following elements:
1)Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink
2)Loss of control: The frequent inability to stop drinking once a
person has begun.
3)Physical dependence: The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness,
and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped
after a period of heavy drinking. These symptoms are usually relieved by drinking alcohol or by taking
another sedative drug.
4)Tolerance: The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to
get "high."
Alcoholism, ladies and gentlemen has many alarming consequences for instance it takes a toll upon your
body, your family, social life and also many more things. For my theme, the effects of alcohol abuse upon
the family I got two pieces of publication. My first piece of publication is titled Base Obsession. It was
written by ChristopherNath a former alcoholic. The article was published in the Sunday Guardian in 1994
which makes the information very reliable since it comes from a respected national newspaper. In the
article he talks about how his family was affected by his abuse of alcohol from his point of view. The
nature of the article allows the readers to gain first hand knowledge and insight into the life of an
alcoholic. It was also written to in still hope into the lives of alcoholics since he has been able to conquer
his addiction. This makes the article very reliable to a large extent because it provides a primary source of
information. The article has a storyline quality to persuade the readerand draw them into his experience.
He uses a lot of incidents in his piece to highlight how alcohol has affected his family. By doing this the

writer appeals to the individuals since it puts them in the writers place.
Consequently, the piece seems more credible to the reader and seems to create a sense of hope for
families or people with an addiction. This is because writer Christopher Nath has overcame his
addiction. Whereas, my second piece of publication Alcoholism is a family problem, presents information
written by a psychiatrist Dr. Michael Beaubrun. In this article, the writer speaks about the major effects
and problems families faced from one member being an alcoholic.This comes from a medical point of
view and it appeals to the general public.
The information is credible since it was published in the Trinidad Guardian, a national newspaper in 1987.
The information presented is scientific because it comes from a psychiatrist and
well-known activist in the area of alcoholism. Therefore, the article
is factual and accurate because the writer is quoting from the doctors research and is not biased as it is
not his own opinionated
information. The article is very valid and the information appears to be well-researched because in the
piece, he speaks about self-help groups as Al Anon and Naron.
This article effectively highlighted the familial issues with
alcoholics. Over all, both articles were generally well-presented, the information gleaned from them were
both revealing in different aspects. The first was a first hand view into the life of an alcoholic and the latter
was more authority based information that expressed the medical and psychological consequences of
alcoholics. The second article Alcoholism is a Family Problem seems to reaffirm the personal account
given by the writer in Base Obsession.
My theme of how alcoholism affects the family to me is a very serious
case. This is because many families are broken up and also wives and children abused because the
father comes home highly intoxicated everyday. It is largely the alcoholic from my point of view that affects
the children mainly and this is a very big problem. This is because it causes them to become afraid of
there parents and most of all hate them. This affects them mainly psychologically. Studies today have also
shown that these children with alcoholics in their families are highly likely to become alcoholics. This is
because of the exposure they had since they were young. It may seem to them that consuming alcohol is
normal.
While doing my presentation there were only a few problems faced. These were that most of the
information gathered was mainly about alcohol abuse and how it affects the body but not much about how
it affects the family. Also many of the articles collected came from only one newspaper there was
hardly any from any other.
In conclusion I would just like to stress that alcohol abuse and the effects that it has upon the family is
matter that should be taken very seriously. I think that there should be more alcohol awareness programs
going on every where to warn not only the youths but also the adults about alcohol.
Also there should be more treatment centers for alcoholics to help them with there problem an also there
should be many counseling centre to assist families and mainly the children with their family problems. In
closing ladies an gentlemen I would just like to say that a social drink is permissible but dont over do it