Description: Drinking alcohol plays an important social role in many cultures so most countries
An alcoholic beverage is a drink which contains a substantial amount of the psychoactive drug ethanol (informally called alcohol), a depressant with potential for abuse and physical dependence .
Drinking alcohol plays an important social role in many cultures so most countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption; some countries ban such activities entirely . However, alcoholic beverages are legal in most parts of the world. The global alcoholic beverages industry exceeded $1 trillion in 2014.
It is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world. In the United States 89% of adults have drunk alcohol at some point in time, 70% have drunk in the last year and 56% in the last month. Alcoholic beverages are typically divided into three classes— beers , wines , and spirits —and typically contain between 3% and 40% alcohol by volume .