Alcoholism, now known as alcohol use disorder, is a condition in which a person has a desire or

physical need to consume alcohol, even though it has a negative impact on their life (Legg T.,

2018). A person who cannot control his or her desire in consuming alcohol is considered to be a

victim of alcoholic dependency. It turns out ethanol, the type of alcohol inside of adult

beverages, is not addictive in and of itself. The chemical reactions ethanol causes in our brains

are addictive. The chemicals responsible for delivering messages from nerve cell to nerve cell,

messages that tell our bodies to function, are called neurotransmitters. They move from transport

sites to receptor sites on the nerves (Harris J., 2019). The two main inhibitory neurotransmitter in

the human body are gamma-aminobutyric acid, known as GABA and the other one is called

Dopamine. Consumption of alcohol increases the production of these two neurotransmitter in

which results to dependency of the said alcoholic beverages.

According to Origin Behavioral Healthcare, the main reasons why people drink alcoholic

beverages are the following: to relieve stress; peer pressure and camaraderie; to lose one’s

inhibitions. Because of the continuous intake of alcoholic beverages, some of the tippler have

experienced health risks. This includes liver disease, pancreatitis, cancer, ulcers and

gastrointestinal problems, immune system dysfunction, brain damage, malnourishment and

vitamin deficiencies, osteoporosis, heart disease and cardiovascular health and accidents and

injuries (Sampson S., 2018).

According to Miss Joyce P. Valnueba, Filipinos' wine consumption increases by 10 per cent

each year. In 1995, Filipinos were seen to be the number one wine drinkers in Asia consuming a

total of 146,000 bottles of wine that year. Generally, however, beer is the favourite among

Filipinos principally because of its affordability compared to hard drinks. In 1998, the Filipinos

were reported to have consumed about 1.25 billion litres of beer (equivalent to 3.9 billion of beer
bottles). But among youth drinkers, even at $30 cents a bottle, beer is relatively expensive for

them. A $40 cents bottle of Tanduay gin, which is stronger or more intoxicating, can fill a few

hours of drinking for a small group. Middle and upper class Filipinos, on the other hand, with a

much greater disposable income, could spend more money on alcohol, treating themselves to the

likes of Johnny Walker and Chivas Regal which cost up to $50. As for the World Health

Organization (WHO), globally, 3.3 million deaths every year result from the harmful use of

alcohol.