Originally Posted by MeHandle

Found here: Alcoholism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Effects of long term alcohol misuse
Main article: Long-term effects of alcohol
The primary effect of alcoholism is to encourage the sufferer to drink at times and in amounts that are damaging to physical health. The secondary damage caused by an inability to control one's drinking manifests in many ways. Alcoholism also has significant social costs to both the alcoholic and their family and friends. Alcoholics have a very high suicide rate and studies show between 8% and 21% of alcoholics commit suicide. Alcoholism also has a significant adverse impact on mental health. The risk of suicide among alcoholics has been determined to be 5,080 times that of the general public.[32]