Philippines

Lambanog is distilled in the Philippines, commonly described as coconut wine or coconut vodka. The drink is distilled from the sap of the unopened coconut flower and is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 80 to 90 proof after a single distillation, but may go as high as 166 proof after the second distillation. As with coconut arrack, the process begins with the sap from the flower of the coconut palm trees. The sap is harvested into bamboo receptacles similar to rubber tree tapping. The collected sap is then put through a cooking or fermentation process to produce a coconut toddy called "tuba" which can then be distilled to produce Lambanog. Until recent years, Lambanog was considered a local drink comparable to moonshine or other home-brewed alcoholic beverages due to its long history as a cottage industry product.

Lambanog has recently been marketed in several flavors such as mango, blueberry, bubblegum, and cinnamon among others in an effort to appeal to all age groups.[

I. INTRODUCTION: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

A. Etymology

According to Wikipedia, there is a popular theory found in many dictionaries about where does the word

alcohol originated. It is said that the word alcohol was derived from the Arabic word لكحل = ALKHL = al-

kuhul. Alkuhul is the original name of a very finely powdered antimony sulfide that was used as an

antiseptic and eyeliner during the older times. This powder is prepared through the sublimation of

natural mineral stibnite in a closed vessel. According to this theory, the meaning of alkuhul would have

been first extended to distilled substances in general, and then narrowed to ethanol.

However, the derivation is suspicious since the current Arabic word لكحل = ALKHL does not derive from

alkuhul. The Qu`ran verse 37:47 uses the word الغول = ALGhWL = al-ghawl which properly means, “spirit

or demon”. This derivation would, of course, be consistent with the use of “spirit” or “spirit of wine” as

synonymous of “alcohol” in most Western languages.

B. History

A colorless liquid nutrient that is usually prepared through the fermentation of different fruits, sugar or

different cereals like grains and rice in the help of yeast is called alcohol.

Drinking alcoholic beverages is said to be the one of the oldest traditions around the world. Based on

history, alcohol is the first chemical invented by man that make differences to the conditions of our body

and mind.

Based on Old Testament, alcoholic beverages originated thtough fermentation of different saps. It gives

pleasant taste and may also make a person to be sleepy whenever a person drink.

Also, according to the historical records, drinking alcoholic beverages in Europe became widespread

because of the Roman and Greeks conquerors that are well-known grape planters and drinkers. The

Romans and Greeks carried the custom of planting grapes and drinking alcoholic beverages and spread it

to their different territories. Aside from grapes, there are also different sources of alcohols in the early

times. Some of them are meads coming from honeys in the beehive, palmera sap, fruits, grains and milk

coming from a female horse or mare.

As time goes by, fermentation of different fruit saps and meads became well known to the countries in

the east like, China and Japan. However, whisky or sometimes called “water of life” became popular to

the different countries in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The making of alcoholic beverages continues to spread to the different parts of the world (see Table 1.1

Appendix). It also reached the Philippines. Alcoholic beverages were also made to the different parts of

the archipelago and were given different name according to the region or provinces it was made.

II. KINDS OF ALCOHOL

According to Wikipedia, in chemistry, alcohol is any organic compound in which a

hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom, which in turn is bound to other hydrogen

and/or carbon atoms. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is CnH2n+1OH.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/alcohol.htm)

In general usage, alcohol refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol,

and often to any beverage that contains ethanol. This sense underlies the term alcoholism. As a

drug, ethanol is known to have a depressing effect that decreases the responses of the central

nervous system. Other forms of alcohol are usually described with a clarifying adjective, as in

isopropyl alcohol or by the suffix -ol, as in isopropanol.

A. Methyl Alcohol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, is a chemical compound with

chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless,

flammable, poisonous liquid with a very faint odor. It is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and

as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/methanol.htm)

Methyl alcohol is a poisonous substance that is why it is not applicable in making

alcoholic beverage. It is usually used in different industries as denetured and in medicinal

purpose as disinfectant.

B. Ethyl Alcohol

Ethyl Alcohol is the alcohol that is usually found in different alcoholic beverages. Ethyl

Alcohol is sometimes called ethanol. Its molecular formula looks like this.

H

H3 C - C - O - H

H

In this structure, C is carbon, H is hydrogen, O is oxygen and the hyphens are the

chemical bonds between the atoms. The OH (O-H) group on the molecule is what gives it the

specific chemical properties of an alcohol.

You will not find pure alcohol in most drinks; drinking pure alcohol can be deadly

because it only takes a few ounces of pure alcohol to quickly raise the blood alcohol level

into the danger zone. For various types of beverages, the ethanol concentration (by

volume) is as follows:

Beer = 4 to 6 percent (average of about 4.5 percent)

Wine = 7 to 15 percent (average of about 11 percent)

Champagne = 8 to 14 percent (average of about 12 percent)

Distilled spirits (e.g. rum, gin, vodka, whiskey) = 40 to 95 percent

(http://howstuffworks.com/ethylalcohol.htm) (see appendix table 2.1)

Most of the typical spirits purchased in liquor stores are 40 percent alcohol. Some highly

concentrated forms of rum and whisky (75 to 90 percent) can be purchased in liquor stores. Some highly

concentrated forms of whiskey (i.e. moonshine) can be made and/or purchased illegally.

III. INTRODUCTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

A. Filipino Customs In Relation To Alcohol

The use of alcohol in the early times is the same as today regardless of the problems of

drinking too much alcohol. Drinking alcoholic beverages became the center of every

community’s works. It is used as a part of a ceremony, a custom or a part of a ritual for example,

the mass of the Catholics, services of the Protestant and different religious activities such as the

religious ceremonies of Aetas and many more. It is also used in celebrating different occasions

like, baptism, matrimony, graduation, promotion on work, thanksgiving, fiestas or festivals and

also occasion in remembering departed love ones.

Drinking alcoholic beverages has also its relationship to friendship or socializing.

Sometimes, hospitality of Filipinos may be shown through giving a wine to drink to their

guesses. Drinking alcohol has also its relation to a success of an individual. Usually it is shown

through a sign of a toast or cheers of the friends.

Drinking alcoholic beverages also symbolizes prosperity of an individual.For example, if there

was a good harvest in the farm or in fishing, farmers or fishermen may celebrate it and will have

their marry making.

B. The Regional Varieties of Alcoholic Beverages in the Philippines

1. Lambanog

Lambanog is a Philippine alcoholic beverage most commonly described as coconut wine or

coconut vodka. The drink is distilled from the sap of the unopened coconut flower, and is known

for its potency and high alcohol content (80 and 90 proof) (Porter 2005). It is primarily produced

in the Quezon Province of the Philippines, or about 143 kilometers southeast of Manila. The

lambanog making process has been a tradition passed down through generations of coconut

plantation farmers in this region. In fact, the Mallari distillery was established in 1918

(http://www.discoverquezon.com/lambanog.htm).

The process begins with the coconut tree — “the tree of life.” As with most fruit-bearing trees,

flowers turn into the fruit. Lambanog making trees never produce fruit, because it is the sap from

the coconut flower that is the crucial ingredient for this unique coconut wine. Plantation workers

called mangagarit climb the coconut trees every afternoon to prune the flowers so that their sap

drips into bamboo receptacles called tukil. . The next morning, the mangagarit returns to collect

the sap from these receptacles. The sap is then put through a cooking or fermentation process,

which produces a popular coconut toddy called tuba. The tuba is then taken and distilled to

produce lambanog. Until recently, lambanog was primarily a local drink, much like home-made

apple cider or backwoods moonshine. Lambanog is widely enjoyed by the locals of the Quezon

province, and festive occasions are incomplete without the traditional “tagayan” or wine

drinking. While the “tagayan” can take on different forms, the most common kind involves

taking turns drinking out of a single glass set in the middle of the group

(http://www.discoverquezon.com/lambanog.htm).

Because of its long history as a cottage industry product, lambanog is still beginning to gain

worldwide recognition (see appendix table 2.1). Also, in an effort to increase its appeal to people

of all ages, it is now marketed in several flavors: mango, blueberry, bubblegum, cinnamon, etc.

(http://www.stii.dost.gov.ph).

Because coconut trees abound throughout the Philippines, and because the process of

distilling lambanog from tuba is a relatively inexpensive process, it is known as a poor man’s

drink. Farmers often wind down by drinking lambanog after a long day’s work.

In Quezon, drinking lambanog is usually a communal thing – men sit around in a circle

and take turns drinking shots from a cup placed in the middle of the group. Usually, there is also

someone singing and playing the guitar to add to the festivities; he takes his turn at drinking too,

so the music gets more interesting as the drinking goes on.

2. Tapuy

Rice wine, popularly known as tapuy, is an indigenous alcoholic rice drink akin to the

populace of the Cordillera region and adjacent provinces. It is an important beverage for

traditional occasions such as birthdays, weddings, fiestas, cultural fairs, and in honoring

dead kinfolks (http://www.philrice.gov.ph).

Tapuy is considered as a safe and healthful beverage. As such, it is becoming a demand

among health-conscious consumers and rice-based cottage industry owners as well.

In Cordillera, the rice wine or tapuy only last for a short period of time. It only last three up to

five days unlike other alcoholic beverages that can last up to how many years it is because of

inproper procedure and packaging. For this reason, the Phili Rice researchers studied the

standardization of the proper procedure and packaging of rice wine to make a certified value-

added product. This indigenoues alcoholic beverage can now be stored up to 6 months.

The PhilRice prepared 2 steps in making a rice wine: (1) preparation of bubod or starter culture

and (2) fermentation of rice wine.

Preparation of bubod

(bulk starter culture)

1. Grind ordinary rice. You may use a coffee grinder, a Wiley mill, or any equivalent

substitute equipment.

2. Mix old powdered bubod (3 g per 100 g rice) and ginger (0.5 g per 100 g rice). You may

use crushed dried onwad roots in water enough to make dough.

3. Mix thoroughgly and then mold into palm size patties, 20 cm thick.

4. Place the patties on a tray lined with cheesecloth and allow to stand in an open space for

one day and then dry in an oven at 35oC for one to two days.

5. Cool and place the bubod in a clean jar and store in the refrigerator or in a dry place to

avoid growth of molds.

(http://philrice.gov.ph) (see appendix table 2.2 for conversion guide)

Fermentation of rice wine

(You will need: glutinous rice, water,

bubod, activated carbon or bentonite)

1. Weigh 1 kg glutinous rice (e.g. malagkit sungsong) and wash thoroughly with water three

times.

2. Drain and add 1.5 liters water.

3. Cook in an automatic rice cooker or kettle until well done. Let it cool.

4. Spread cooked rice on a tray and inoculate with powdered bubod (1 g per 100 g raw rice).

5. Cover the tray with a piece of paper or cloth and incubate at room temperature for two

days.

6. Transfer to a fermentation jar with a water seal and allow to ferment for two weeks (or

until bubbling stops).

7. Press out the alcoholic juice through a cheesecloth and discard the residue (lees).

8. Pasteurize the freshly harvested wine at 65-70oC for 30 minutes.

9. Allow it to stand for one to three months in a dark, cool place to prevent discoloration.

10. Siphon the clear wine. If the wine is not yet clear, add one spoon of activated carbon or

bentonite for every liter of wine. Mix well and filter.

11. Bottle the wine and pasteurize at 65-70oC for 20 minutes. [approximately 1 liter or 3

bottles (350 ml) can be harvested from 1 kg rice].

(http://philrice.gov.ph) (see appendix table 2.2 for conversion guide)

Rice wine production is a profitable venture. A return on investment (ROI) is estimated to

reach as high as 88%. With a monthly total production expense of roughly Php 44,000.00 and

an average wine production estimated at 1,500 bottles (each containing 350 ml wine)

amounting to Php 82,500.00, a net income of Php 38,553.92 is expected.

3. Tuba

Tuba is made through a process of extracting the sap of an unopened coconut bud. It has a

stinging sweet and bittersweet taste. The tip of the bud is lopped and the pale juice

allowed to trickle into bamboo containers. A sturdy tree yields about a gallon of liquid

daily (Kadusale 1999).

From coconut water, comes a syrup concentrate for tuba. Tuba , usually known as a

coconut wine and a lazy man’s crop, is a sweet, fresh or mildly fermented sap taken from tapping

the young expanded flowers of the coconut.

In certain barrios of Malolos, Bulacan, tuberculosis patients are advised to drink or even

bathe in tuba as a cure. Nursing babies in Bantayan, Cebu is fed with this beverage. Tuba when

distilled produces a 96 proof lambanog. It is said that only tough men can withstand the effect of

Tuba that affects men’s senses and sanity. Filipinos consider Tuba as a type of hard drink.

Here are some simple and easy steps in making tuba or a coconut wine.

COCONUT WINE

1 lb dried coconut 1 lb rice 1 lb pitted dates 2-1/2 lbs granulated sugar 1-1/4 tsp acid blend 1 tsp yeast nutrient 1 gallon water Sauterne wine yeast

Bring 1 quart water to boil and add rice; boil for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the dates

and mix then with the coconut in a boiler. Strain the rice, adding the water from it to the

boiler containing the coconut and chopped dates. Bring to a boil and hold for 15 minutes.

Strain the water over the sugar, yeast nutrients and acid blend and stir until dissolved

completely. Allow to cool to room temperature, transfer to primary and add activated

yeast. Cover and ferment until initially vigorous fermentation subsides, then transfer to

secondary and attach an airlock. After 3 months, rack into clean secondary with crushed

and dissolved Campden tablet, top up and refit airlock. Wait 3 additional months and

rack, top up and refit airlock again. After additional month, stabilize, sweeten if desired

and rack into bottles (http://winemaking.jackeller.net).

4. Basi

Basi Wine is a result one year fermentation of freshly extracted sugar cane juice which

was boiled, cleared of impurities and placed inside tightly covered burnay jars after

mixing with leaves, seed and bark of the samaka tree, which provide the extract with its

flavor and color. After fermentation, the mixture had been aged from one to two years

before being bottled and sold (http://natureinspired.net/wines.htm)

The Basi Wine, which has a 10-16% alcohol content, is light brown in color and has a

sweet and a sour flavor prized as a restorative (http://mis.dost.gov.ph). It is organic because no

chemicals had been introduced into the mixture to lengthen its shelf life of between one to two

years.

This product is different from rum although basically derived from the same material.

The term ruma was derived from the Latin word for sugar, Saccharum. Molasses, the thick black

material residue after the sugar cane is processed and all the sugar crystals have been extracted,

is the raw material for the production of rum. It contains 50% sugar and 25% water.

Basi Wine production may be traced to Piddig, a town some 16 kilometers away from

Ilocos Norte, the northernmost province of the Luzon Island of the Philippines. They had been

traditionally producing basi wine since the Spanish times.

5. Mango Wine

Mango or Mangifera indica is the most celebrated tropical fruit because of its

lusciousness. The tree is long-lived, sometimes reaching 300 years and still fruiting.

Its fruits vary in form, size, color and quality from nearly round, to oval, to ovoid-oblong

to somewhat kidney-shaped ranging in size from 2 ½ to 10 and weighs from a few ounces to 5

lbs. (2.26kgs.). The skin color ranges from light-or-dark-green to clear yellow, yellow-orange,

yellow and reddish-pink when fully ripe.

Some have turpentine odor and flavor, while others are richly pleasantly fragrant. The

flesh ranges from pale-yellow to deep orange. It is essentially peach-like but much more fibrous;

is extremely juicy, with a flavor from very sweet to sub acid to tart.

In the Philippines, the Carabao variety constitutes 66% of the crop while the Pico variety

accounts for 26%. These cultivars, apparently of Southeast Asian origin have remained

the most commonly grown and exported for many years (http://natureinspired.net).

Mangoes make a fragrant, golden wine as unmistakably unique as dandelion wine.

Getting the juice and mixing it with dissolved sugar, tannin and yeast process mango wine.

Racking takes more than six months and aging about a year before drinking it chilled or over ice.

6. Duhat Wine

Purple plum, black plum or damson plum, Syzygium cumini or Syzygium jambolanum

DC is known in the Philippines as duhat, lomboy or lunaboy. This fruit tree is believed to

be of prehistoric introduction in the country where it is widely planted and naturalized

(http://natureinspired.net/wines.htm).

Fruiting season is from mid-May to mid-June because dry weather is desirable during its

flowering and fruiting periods. The fruit flavor varies from acid to fairly sweet but is usually

astringent, sometimes unpalatably so. They may be eaten raw or made into tarts, sauces and

jams. If soaked in salt water or pricked and rubbed with a little salt and letting it stand for an

hour, the astringent fruits may be improved in palatability.

Medicinally, the fruit is used as an astringent, stomachic, carminative, antiscorbutic and

diuretic. Cooked to a thick jam, it is eaten to ally acute diarrhea.

Duhat wine is made by fermenting the juice of the plum in burnay jars from two to three

months. Then it is aged for about a year after which, the wine is bottled and sold. The shelf life is

estimated to be from one to two years since there are no chemicals added to extend its shelf life.

The resulting wine is somewhat like Port and the distilled liquors. Brandy and jambaya

have also been made from the fermented fruit.

7. Cashew Apple Wine

Cashew apple juice may not be acceptable as a soft drink due to its astringent content but

it is a good media for alcoholic fermentation because it contains all the nutrients for the growth

of yeast. Cashew apple juice contains sugar, protein, acid and large amounts of Vitamin C.

Cashew apple wine has about 4% alcohol but has astringency. It has an exotic flavor

much similar to brandy, a distillate of wine, minus the astringency

(http://natureinspired.net/wines.htm).

The juice of sound and ripe cashew apples are used in making the wine. The juice is

extracted by pulp fermentation wherein cashew apples are inoculated with wine yeast and then

allowed to ferment for two to three days until the juice can be pressed easily. Sugar is then added

at the rate of one part sugar to five parts juice after which a 10% starter is added.

After the inoculation, the mouth of the fermenting jar is loosely covered with cotton

material for two to three days or until vigorous fermentation subsides. Then the mouth of the

fermenting jar is covered with a bung to create an anaerobic condition. Fermentation is continued

for four weeks or until the release of carbon dioxide stops.

Racking the wine two to three times follows decanting or siphoning of the clear portion of the

wine. Finally, it is aged for about a year prior to bottling.

IV. REASONS AND WRONG BELIEFS WHY PEOPLE DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Other says that, drinking alcoholic beverages symbolizes the status of an individual whether he was a rich person or poor. They also say that alcoholic beverages is a social lubricant, quenches the thirst of a person, relieves tension and lastly it helps to forget their problems temporarily.

Based on a survey conducted to the teenagers who drink alcoholic beverages, they found out that there are many reasons why teenagers drink. Here are the following:

1. Alcoholic beverages help them to easily socialize with another.2. They found happiness to themselves while drinking.3. They found self-compliance to themselves.4. It helps them to forget their problems.5. It helps them to ignore what other says something about them.6. It helps them to conquer their fear.7. It helps them to lessen self –consciousness.8. It helps them to achieve more freedom9. It makes their body and mind happy10. It helps to make celebrations or gatherings become happier.11. They feel relax when they drink.12. Drinking alcoholic beverages became a custom especially in celebrating special events or

gatherings.13. Because the powerful influence of media. (e.g. commercials in radios, newspapers and

television)

Many people drinking alcoholic beverages because of their different wrong beliefs. Some of the

beliefs are the following:

1. Drinking alcoholic beverages makes them become more happy than usual.2. Anyone can drink beer without the effect of alcohol.3. A person who do not drink alcohol does not have plenty friends.4. Neglegance in drinking alcoholic beverage in a celebration is a big uncouth or insult.5. It is okay to the parents that their children are addict to alcohol rather than a drug addict.6. Young persons usually do what they see that is why when they see that their older relative is

drinking, they are tempted to do it also.

V. THE DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

Drinking alcoholic beverages may greatly affect our body, our community and the economy of

the country. Here are some of their effects.

A. Effect of Alcohol in our Body

Whenever we drink alcohol, it always go to the esophagus and stomach without digesting. Some alcohol

may go to the bloodstreams of the stomach while some may go directly to the small intestine. Alcohol

may also travel to our brains and different internal body organs such as liver, heart, kidney, and

pancreas. Malnutrition and changing of traits may also occur while drinking alcoholic beverages.

1. Effect of Alcohol in the Nervous System

Nerves scattered around our body and also a part of the brain and the spinal cord is like a telephone wires. It gives and accepts different messages from the different parts of our body. Alcohol makes the cells of our brain to move slowly and it stops to give messages to the different part of our body. Because of the effects of alcohol, a person forgets his attitude that is why he can do what he wants. Also. A drunkard person does not have an ability to make decisions

Whenever a person became drunkard, he felt that he was on cloud nine. He is experiencing

euphoria and he cannot control himself. Concentration, memory, discrimination, locomotor skills, and

emotion of a drunkard person became less. The effect of alcohol in the nervous system is based on the

amount he drunk. (see appendix, figure 5.1)

Whenever a person drink 3 to 4 bottles of beer, he cannot drive safely anymore eventhough he

doesn’t look drunked. If a person drink many bottles in one day, his brain will not funtion well. His will

do his normal works slowly and he may always feel sleepy.

While the amount of alcohol present in our body became higher and higher, the brain cells

become lesser and lesser it is because alcohol poisons the brain cells. Unlike any cells scattered around

the body, brain cells never reproduced. That is why those persons who drink alcohol for a very long time

may experience different illnesses.

After a person drinks plenty of alcohol, he or she may experience hangovers. Some of the

hangovers are, colds, headaches, always thirsty, weak, vomiting, and muscle pains.

2. Effects of Alcohol in the Stomach and Intestine

Because of alcohol, the stomach and the intestines are wounded. That is why, it caused too much heat, vomiting or sometimes vomiting with blood.

3. Effects of Alcohol in the Liver

When alcohol reaches the liver, he first thing liver do is that it makes alcohol became fat. Other fats

travels around the body while most of it stayed in the liver. A six glasses of beer everyday can make the

fats inside the liver more.

In order to make the fats inside the liver disappear, liver must work twice the normal that is why it

became bigger. When the liver became bigger, the person who drinks alcohol may experience tolerance.

He needs more bottles of alcohol for him to be drunk.

When a liver goes big, the reactions of the medicines in the body will change. That is why it is dangerous

to drink alcoholic beverages while taking up medicines. Whenwever the liver goes bigger and bigger, the

cells of the liver are destroyed and also the person may experience alcoholic hepatitis. When the cells of

the liver died, it may scar the tissues. It causes the liver to not funtion very well which is called cirrhosis.

4. Effects of Alcohol in the Heart

Drinking alcoholic beverages may affect the performance of our heart. Our heart will not be as more produtive than the usual. A person may feel that he is always tired and experience difficulty in breathing.

5. Effects of Alcohol in the Blood

Because of the effect of alcohol in the liver, the sugar level of the blood become lower, and the fat become higher. Low sugar level of the blood may cause death to a person.

6. Effects of Alcohol in the Kidneys

Alcohol may weaken the performance of the kidneys in releasing waste of our body like urine. That is why some of the drinkers may have a hard time in urinating.

7. Malnutrition

If a person experienced not to eat the needed food of his body, he became malnutritioned. The persons who drink alcoholic bevarages may suffer malnutrition because of the following:

a. Alcoholic beverages are not food. It is true that it gives energy and vitamin B, but it

is not enough.

b. The drinkers are not eating their balanced meal completely. They used their time,

money, and energy in drinking alcoholic beverages.

c. Alcohol burns the stomach and the intestines. The food that they eat is not used well

by the body. When the liver is destroyed because of alcohol, it may not release

important vitamins needed by our body.

Malnutrition may weaken our immune defense of our body to the different infection like ulcer and tubercolosis. Malnutrition may also cause too much cough, emotional problems and locomotor skills problems.

8. Traits

Alcohol may affect the traits of a person it is because of the effects of alcohol in the nervous system. The effect of alcohol in the traits is based on the amount of alcohol in the blood. It is based on these different criteria:

a. Amount of alcohol drink.

b. Kind of alcoholic beverages.

c. The size and weight of the drinker.

d. Time of drinking alcohol.

e. The food inside the stomach.

(see appendix, table 5.1)

9. Effects of Alcohol to the Pregnants

The pregnants who drinks at least 2 glasses of alcoholic beverage may affect the baby in their womb like the following:

a. Abortion

b. The baby will be underweight

c. The baby intellectual development may greatly affect

d. Weak coordination

e. Small head

f. Abnormalities of tha face, hands and feet and also to the brain

g. Heart defect

h. The milk supply of the mother will decrease because of alcohol.

B. Effects of Alcohol in the Community

Because drinking alcoholic beverages affect the traits of an individual, the community is also been affected through having quarrels inside the houses, to the friends, work and employment, accidents in the roads and crimes.

1. Quarrels in the House

Too much drink of alcoholic beverages needs to much expense of money. The money that is alloted for the daily needs of the family like, food, clothing, house bills and also the tuition fees of the children was been used in order to buy alcoholic beverages. This is one of the roots why the couple quarrels inside the house.

Because the family lacks financial needs, quarrels will occur. It makes both of the couple unproductive to seek for money for their financial needs. Many families in the slum areas in the Philippines experienced this kind of problem.

2. Quarrels to the Friends

Drinking with friends may lead to quarrel. Sometimes the quarrel will result in stabbing of knife or even death. It happened because of effect of alcohol to the traits of an individual.

3. Quarrels in the Work

A drunkard employee is lazy or experiencing muscular pains because of the effects of alcohol to him. Because of this, the employee is not already interested to go to their office to work. Sometimes, his performance on his work was affected. There is an instance that sometimes he hurt his feelings or the others feeling while working. It is dangerous if the work of the said employee is operating machineries or mixing chemicals in the laboratories.

4. Accidents in the Roads

If a person is drunk, there is an instance that he may drive recklessly. Driving recklessly may cause accidents that may lead to death. In the Philippines, there are car accidents happened because of the irresponsible drivers who drink and drive.

Here are some of the effects of drinking alcoholic beverages while driving:

a. Most of the person who was drunk while driving thinks that they are excellent

drivers what is why they are not afraid in driving.

b. Because of the effect of alcohol, a drunkard driver became rude. It may be seen

while driving. For example, while in an intersection, a drunkard driver will not

give way to the others.

c. Alcohol makes the reaction of the driver to become slowly.

d. A drive that was drunk has a low visibility after he drinks. There is a study that he

cannot determine different vehicles and also the color of the stop light wheter it is

green, yellow or red.

e. A drunkard driver is not focused on what he is doing.

f. Distinguishing different road signals like the stop light, railroad crossing and many

others is very hard to the drunkard driver. Because of this, accident in the roads

happened.

5. Crimes

Drinking too much alcoholic beverages is on of the main roots why there was crime happening in our country. Because most of the drunkards thinks that they are the best, other drunkards disagree to them that is why both of them become aggressive and always what to challenge a fight. Some of the drunkards are also been involved in other crimes like, theft, hold- up, murder, and many more.

C. Effects of Alcohol to the Economy of the Country

The strength on the economy of a country will be based on the health and energy of its members. If a country has a citizen who drinks too much alcohol, that country will not achieve good economical status.

The economy will be much affected if there are people who will not work or became lazy to work because of drinking alcoholic beverages. It may cause decrease in the kind and number of productions of a country.

Drinking alcoholic drinks make the economy of the country to move slow because of different crimes, weak family ties, separation of couple nad accidents in the roads. The income of an individual will not be spending to the daily needs of the family but it will be spend to buy alcoholic beverages that are not really important.

VI. CONCLUSION

Drinking alcoholic beverages requires personal decision making. Teenagers will not drink alcoholic

beverages not because their parents refused but its is because they knew the different effects of alcohol

in their body, their community and the economy of their country.

In personal decision making, he or she should believe in himself or herself. He or she should face his or

her different problems in life. We should also remember that we do not need alcoholic beverages to

gather more friends. The important thing is that you should develop your good traits to be more

pleasing to others.

An industrious person are the ones who will succeed to their careers and never been influenced by

alcoholic beverages. And also, those person who can face their problems fearlessly can not easily

tempted to drink alcoholic beverages. A person who is responsible and self- discipline can make to

achieve unity and make the economy to grow. These person who shows respect and self -discipline are

not easily to be drunk.

And always remember that we should be responsible and self-disciplined person because this kind of person can make a good society.