Transcript Alcoholism - TeacherWeb

Name:_________________________________ Day:____ Period: _____
Do you know how many
people drink alcohol?
2 billion people in the world
drink alcoholic beverages
Statistics
• In 2008, there were approximately 190,000 emergency
rooms visits by persons under age 21 for injuries and other
conditions linked to alcohol.
•In 2008 the National Survey on Drug Use and
Health reported that 28% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink
alcohol and 19% reported binge drinking.6
•In 2009, the Monitoring the Future Survey reported that
37% of 8th graders and 72% of 12th graders had tried alcohol,
and 15% of 8th graders and 44% of 12th graders drank
Facts about Alcohol
1. The legal drinking age throughout the United States is 21.
2. Alcohol is created when grains, fruits, or vegetables are
fermented. Fermentation is the process that uses yeast or
bacteria to change the sugars in food into alcohol.
The drug in alcohol is ethanol.
3. The different types of alcoholic beverages are: beer, wine,
and liquor (spirits).
4. BAC: Blood Alcohol Concentration- the amount of alcohol
in a person’s blood.
5. Factors that affect BAC: amount of alcohol, speed at which
alcohol is consumed, body size, gender, feelings, amount of
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food eaten, presence of other drugs, age.
Effects of Alcohol on the Body?
Alcohol affects different body systems:
1. Drinking heavy amounts of alcohol harms most of the
body systems: Nervous, Digestive, Immune,
Cardiovascular, Skeletal, Urinary, and Reproductive
Systems.
2. Alcoholic Hepatitis: the liver swells because an
excessive amount of alcohol.
3. Cirrhosis: disease of the liver caused by chronic
damage to liver cells.
4. Pancreatitis: inflammation of the pancreas. At risk of
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developing diabetes.
How Does Alcohol Affect the Body?
1. Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function
of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some
of the messages trying to get to the brain.
2. More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain, resulting
in intoxication. You can stagger, lose coordination, and slur
your speech.
3. Drinking alcohol can cause a person to: make wrong
decisions, false sense of self-confidence, impaired judgement,
feelings of invincibility, giving in to negative peer pressure,
impaired reasoning, impaired reaction time and coordination,
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aggressive behavior, intensified emotions.
4. Binge drinking: drinking a lot of alcohol in a very short
amount of time. This can lead to vomitting, unconsciousness,
or even death.
5. Hangover: an aftereffect of using alcohol. Headache,
nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and irritability.
6. Blackouts: a loss of memory for what happened during a
period of time.
7. Drinking alcohol increases the risk of violence and illegal
behavior: Violence, Lawbreaking, Violating school policies,
and Drinking while driving.
8. Alcoholism: a disease in which there is physical and
psychological dependence on alcohol.
Problems with Alcohol
Underage Drinking
Youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience:
•School problems, such as higher absence and poor or failing grades.
•Social problems, such as fighting and lack of participation in youth
activities.
•Legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting
someone while drunk.
•Alcohol-related car crashes and other unintentional injuries, such as
burns, falls, and drowning.
•Memory problems.
•Abuse of other drugs.
•Changes in brain development that may have life-long effects.
•Death from alcohol poisoning.
Where Can I Get Help?
1. The best approach is to talk to an adult you trust.
2. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): “Alcoholics Anonymous® is
a fellowship of men and women who share their experience,
strength and hope with each other that they may solve their
common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop
drinking”.
3. Alateen: Alateen is part of Al-Anon, which helps families
and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living
with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Alateen is
our recovery program for young people.
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