Alcohol

1. Alcohol

2. What is Alcohol? Alcohol is a drug found in certain beverages that depresses the brain and nervous system. “Ethyl Alcohol” is the active ingredient • It is made by fermentation • Fermentation is a process in which yeast, sugar and water are combined to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.

3. Where is Alcohol Found? • The Most common alcoholic beverages are beer, wine, and liquor. • The various alcoholic beverages contain different percentages of alcohol.

4. Beer: 3-6% alcohol • Ales, Malts: 6-8 % • Table Wines: 9-14% • Hard liquors: 35-50%

5. Proof • Proof is the concentration of alcohol which is 2 times the percent of concentration • Example: 100 proof: 50% alcohol

6. Rate of Absorption • Alcohol is absorbed Directly into the bloodstream and small intestine through the walls of the stomach • It then concentrates in various organs in proportion to the amount of water each organ contains • ***Your brain has high water concentrations, so much of the alcohol goes there. That’s a problem!!! • Your liver filters 90% of the alcohol in your system. That’s also a problem!!!!

7. The Majority of our bodies can’t process the alcohol as fast as we drink it. Eventually the liver has to filter the alcohol. • Under normal conditions, the liver can process 0.25 oz. of alcohol per hour. • The average drink contains 0.5oz of alcohol. It takes most people 2 hours to completely process one standard size drink. • If you are drinking faster than 1 drink per hour, your BAC increases.

8. One “Drink” refers to: • 12 oz can of beer • 5 oz. glass of wine • 1.5 oz. of 80 proof liquor • Each of these different drinks contains approximately the same amount of alcohol .06 oz.

9. Factors that affect BAC (absorption) • Amount of alcohol consumed • Gender • Speed at which alcohol is consumed • Body Weight • Percentage of body fat • Feelings/Mood • Amount of food eaten • Presence of other drugs in the blood stream • Age • Drinking carbonated beverages

10. Effects of Alcohol at increasing BAC Levels • .02 (about one drink in an hour)—people feel relaxed. They may have increased social confidence and become talkative. Thinking and decision-making abilities may be impaired. • .05 (about 2 drinks in an hour) Areas of the brain that control reasoning and judgment are impaired • .08(3-4 drinks in an hour) Balance, speech vision and hearing are slightly impaired. • .10 (5-6 drinks in an hour) Reasoning, judgment, self-control, muscular coordination and reaction time are seriously impaired. • .12 People usually become impaired and disoriented • .20 emotions are unpredictable and may change rapidly • .30 have little or no control over mind or body • .40 likely to be unconscious • .50 deep coma or death

11. Alcohol’s Affects on the Body • When you drink alcohol, it is absorbed directly into your bloodstream and then into your body systems. Here is how alcohol can affect different parts of your body:

12. The Brain • Because alcohol is a depressant, it slows down all the major functions of the central nervous system Short Term Affects of alcohol use • Slurred speech • Mental confusion • Blurry vision • Poor muscle control Prolonged alcohol use can cause: • Constant mental confusion • Memory loss • Brain Damage (drunk goggles)

13. The Liver • The Liver works to cleanse the body of toxins. Alcohol is a toxin. Once alcohol enters the blood, the liver tries to rid the bloodstream of it. Prolonged alcohol use can cause: • Hepatitis • Cirrhosis of the liver • Liver cancer

14. The Stomach • The stomach tries to remove toxins from the body usually by vomiting. • If enough alcohol is consumed, it causes vomiting. • Prolonged alcohol use can inflame the lining of the stomach and cause ulcers (painful sores in the stomach).

15. The Muscles • Prolonged alcohol use can cause weakness and loss of muscle tissue

16. The Heart • Prolonged use can cause: • High Blood pressure • Irregular pulse • Enlarged heart

17. Other Health Problems associated with alcohol use include: • Upset digestion resulting in sever pain • Malnutrition • Early diabetes • Tingling and numbness in hands and feet

18. It’s a fact!!!! • New research shows alcohol affects a teenager’s brain (that’s you) differently than an adult’s. • Move about the room and read the articles about how alcohol affects a teen’s brain differently than an adult. • Write down 8 facts that stuck out to you as you read each article.

19. Effects of Alcohol on thinking and decision making • Wrong Decisions • False sense of self confidence • Impaired judgment • Feelings of invincibility • Impaired reaction time and coordination • Aggressive behavior • Intensified emotions • Hangovers

20. Drinking and Driving

21. Alcohol is: • The leading cause of death for ages 25 and under with motor vehicle accidents • Involved in 1/3 of all drowning • Involved in ½ all fire deaths • Involved in 1/3 of all suicides • Involved in 2/3 of all assaults • Involved in 50% of all child abuse cases

22. Alcohol Statistics • More than 10,000 young people between 16-24 die from alcohol related traffic accidents each year. • Each year five times more teens die from alcohol overdose than from any other drug, legal or illegal

23. Facts • Alcohol is a depressant that decreases the responses of the central nervous system.

24. Does Alcohol affect men and women differently? • Yes. Women become more intoxicated than men after drinking the same amount of alcohol, even when differences in body weight are taken into account. This is because women's bodies have proportionately less water than men's bodies.Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol becomes more highly concentrated in a woman's body than in a man's. That is why the recommended drinking limit for women is lower than for men.

25. Alcohol in the stomach • The pyloric valve at the bottom of the stomach will close in order to hold food in the stomach for digestion and thus keep the alcohol from reaching the small intestine. While alcohol will be absorbed from the stomach it is a slower and less efficient transition. • A number of factors influence the absorption process, including the presence of food and the type of food in the gastrointestinal tract when alcohol is consumed. The rate at which alcohol is absorbed depends on how quickly the stomach empties its contents into the intestine.

26. Cirrhosis of the liver • Cirrhosis is a buildup of scar tissue that changes the structure of the liver and blocks blood flow. Cirrhosis can be caused by alcoholic hepatitis, which is, of course, caused by overdrinking. Cirrhosis can cause varicose veins, which can rupture and potentially triggering internal bleeding.

27. Does Alcohol work quickly? • Alcohol is a drug that enters the bloodstream without being broken down in the stomach by the digestive system. Therefore alcohol gets to the brain quickly (unless there is enough food in the stomach to slow it down). When an alcoholic beverage is swallowed, it is diluted by gastric juices in the stomach. A small portion of the alcohol is diffused into the bloodstream directly from the stomach wall, but most passes through the pyloric junction into the small intestine, where it is very rapidly absorbed.

28. Does alcohol make a person’s temperature rise? • Alcohol body effects also can make a person sluggish. The University of Chicago Medical Center: Alcohol and Anesthetic Actions ... Increases blood flow to the skin - This causes a person to sweat and look flushed. The sweating causes body heat to be lost, and the person's body temperature may actually fall below normal.

29. Does alcohol harm the liver and not the kidneys? • Prolonged heavy drinking can cause kidney failure. The primary functions of kidneys are to regulate the composition and volume of the fluids and electrolytes circulating through the body. The kidneys regulate water, acid/base balance, certain hormones and minerals (calcium, potassium, sodium, etc.) in the body. Alcohol can influence or compromise the balancing functions of the kidneys, and thus can cause severe consequences on kidney function and thus the body.

30. What happens if a pregnant woman drinks? • The alcohol will pass through to the baby, which can cause premature delivery, birth defects, or even a miscarriage. Alcohol can damage the brain cells and limit the flow of oxygen to developing tissues. • Fetal alcohol syndrome refers to growth, mental, and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy

31. Can alcoholics recover from their disease? • They can stop drinking. An alcoholic will always be an alcoholic, but he or she can still make a choice for sobriety every day.