Transcript Alcohol and the Body

 Have you drank alcohol with people other thank your
family in the last month?
 Yes- 6%
 No- 94%
 Have you made a decision to not drink alcohol during
your years of high school?
 Yes- 69%
 No- 18%
 Still Deciding- 13%
 Alcohol is:
 Fermented (using yeast or bacteria to change the sugars
in foods to alcohol) grains, fruits, or vegetables.
 A drug
 “Any substance which when absorbed into a living organism
may modify one or more of its functions”
 A depressant
 Affects the Central Nervous System and brain that alters
mood and thinking, and which controls virtually all body
functions.
BAC is the percentage of ethanol in the
bloodstream.
Oregon’s legal limit = 0.08
The body can “burn up” the affects of ½
to 1 drink per hour.
 Rate of consumption
 Amount of alcohol consumed
 Body Type/Body Mass
 Age
 Food in the system
 Gender…
• Women can become intoxicated more quickly than
men:
• Alcohol is water-soluble rather than fat-soluble
• Women’s bodies have more fat than men’s bodies, they
have less water to dilute the alcohol
• Women’s bodies produce less of the enzyme that breaks
down alcohol
• Estrogen enhances the absorption of alcohol. Women
on birth control have higher levels of estrogen.
 http://www.brad21.org/bac_charts.html
 Drinking coffee
 Taking a cold shower
 Getting some fresh air
 Exercising
 Eating food
 Drinking lots of water
 Drinking coffee: Caffeine will not help your liver metabolize alcohol, and
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neither will any other ingredients in coffee. Drinking coffee can actually
have a negative affect, you may feel more alert and capable of driving, when
in fact, you’re still impaired.
Taking a cold shower: Unless your liver hops out and takes a shower with
you, this will have no effect on your level of drunkenness. Like drinking
caffeinated beverages, it can also give you a false sense of alertness.
Getting some fresh air: Like taking a shower and drinking coffee, this may
make you FEEL less impaired, but it has absolutely no effect on your BAC.
Exercising: While exercise can help the body eliminate alcohol through
sweating, the amount is negligible and won’t affect your BAC. Plus,
someone who is impaired and exercising vigorously may hurt themselves.
Eating food: Eating food before you begin drinking can slow the absorption
of alcohol unto your bloodstream, but eating after you drink will have zero
effect on your drunkenness.
Drinking lots of water: Drinking tons of water once you’re already impaired
will not make it okay to drive home.
 Impaired vision
 Impaired hearing
 Impaired coordination
 Altered perceptions and emotions
 Poor judgment
 Bad breath
 Linings of the mouth, throat and stomach are irritated
 Blood vessels dilate
 Fluids within body cells are drawn out, causing
dehydration
 Body temperature decreases
 Liver becomes inflamed
 Hangover symptoms may last up to 24 hours
 Headache, nausea, stomach pains, thirst, mental
dullness
 Vitamin deficiencies
 Stomach ulcers
 Liver damage (such as cirrhosis)
 Inability to digest foods, loss of appetite
 Broken blood vessels
 Damage to mouth, esophagus and stomach tissues
 Impaired heart muscle function
 Memory loss
 Brain damage
Each year there are about 100,000 alcohol related deaths
in the United States. Intake higher than 2 drinks a day is
associated with increased risk for several health
problems:
 Liver Disease
 Cancer
 Alcohol keeps the liver from breaking down fats well
 Too much fat in the liver causes it to scar (cirrhosis)
 Liver function then decreases
 25,000 people die from cirrhosis every year
 Alcohol hepatitis (swelling of the liver)
 Cancer of the head and neck: mouth, pharynx, larynx,
and esophagus
 Digestive tract cancers: stomach, pancreas and colon
 Alcohol can play a roll in the development of these
cancers
 Women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
are at a higher risk of breast cancer
 FAS is a condition in a person that results from alcohol
exposure during the mother’s pregnancy. FAS causes
brain damage and growth problems, particularly in the
skull and face. Defects caused by FAS are irreversible.
 A national survey found that more than half of women
age 15-44 drank while pregnant.
 There is no amount of alcohol that is known to be safe to
consume during pregnancy.
 FAS is the leading known preventable cause of mental
disabilities and birth defects.
 Young people lack experience in compensating for the
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effects
Less driving skills to begin with
Young people are more likely to take risks
Young people weigh less, which increases the effects of
small amounts of alcohol.
Teenagers become chemically dependent much faster
than adults (as fast as several weeks or months).
Teenagers who begin drinking before age 15 are 4X
more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those
who begin drinking at age 21.
 A pattern of drinking that brings a person’s BAC to
.08 or above. (Often drinking to get drunk). This typically
happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when
women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.
 More common in young adults aged 18-34 years.
 The prevalence of binge drinking is twice as high among
men as women.
 Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcoholimpaired driving than non-binge drinkers.
 About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the
age of 21 in the US is in the form of binge drinking.
 Can happen in one episode of binge drinking
 Can be fatal
 Choke on own vomit OR
 Midbrain shuts down (which regulates breathing)
 Call 911 if you notice:
 Uncontrollable vomiting
 Can’t awaken
 Pale skin
* Once a person passes out, their BAC can continue to rise!
 40% of violent crimes annually are alcohol related
 Half of all homicide victims have alcohol in their
bloodstream
 Nearly half of all traffic fatalities are related to DUI
 DUII (Driving under the Influence of Intoxicants)
 Jail time (48 hours-5 years)
 License suspension (1 year-permanent)
 Fine ($1,000-$10,000)
 Implied Consent Law: Through the process of
obtaining an ODL (Oregon Drivers License), you give
consent to chemical testing. This means if a police
officer has reasonable belief that a person is driving
under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the officer can
request the person to submit to:
 Blood Test
 Breathalyzer Test
 Urine Sample Test
 Misrepresentation of age by a minor- Class C
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Misdemeanor
Minor in possession of alcohol- Criminal Violation
Property or places subject to confiscation
Furnishing alcohol to a minor- Class A Misdemeanor
Controlling an area where minors are permitted to
consume alcohol AND Licensee, permittee, and social
host liability- Criminal Violation