Harish, a 42-year-old shopkeeper in Kanpur, began having a little whisky in the evenings to cope with business worries. Over three years his drinking grew steadily. Two pegs that once relaxed him now do nothing, and he finishes half a bottle before he feels any effect. On days he tries to stay away from it, his hands shake and he cannot sleep. Last Sunday, at his nephew's wedding, he drank heavily. He was chatty and cheerful at first, but later he grew loud and quarrelsome, stumbled while walking, dropped a plate, said everything looked hazy and kept asking guests to repeat themselves.
Which of the following best describes the change shown when two pegs no longer have any effect on Harish and he needs far more to feel it?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → His body has built up a tolerance for alcohol.
Option (1) His body has built up a tolerance for alcohol. — Correct. Tolerance means the body gets used to a substance, so the person must drink even greater amounts to feel its effects. Two pegs no longer working on Harish shows his body has built up a tolerance for alcohol.
Option (2) He is showing a withdrawal response to alcohol. — Incorrect. A withdrawal response is the set of unpleasant reactions that appear when a regular drinker stops. Harish's shaking hands on dry days are withdrawal, but needing more to feel an effect is tolerance.
Option (3) Alcohol is depressing the brain areas that control judgment. — Incorrect. This is the early effect of one drinking session: ethyl alcohol slows the brain areas for judgment and inhibition, so people become talkative. It describes what a drink does.
Option (4) Alcohol has begun to interfere with his ability to think and work. — Incorrect. Regular heavy drinking does disturb a person's social life and ability to think and work. This is a cost of the habit; it does not explain why larger amounts are now needed.
NCERT (2026-27): “Alcohol “and ability to think and work. Their bodies then build up a tolerance for alcohol and they need to drink even greater amounts to feel its effects. They also experience withdrawal responses when they stop drinking. …” |