Alcohol Use & Abuse

Take the “myth or fact” survey BEFORE proceeding

through the lesson.

Alcohol Myths and Facts

Assignment #5.1

Alcohol Use & Abuse

Alcohol is a DrugAlcohol is a depressant

Intoxication means you can’t function normally

Alcohol is involved in ½ of all teen deaths

Alcohol is involved in many unwanted pregnancies

Alcohol is involved in dating violence, rape, suicide, homicide, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Alcohol decreases fear and increases the likelihood of taking dangerous risks.

Blood alcohol concentration is the percent of alcohol in your blood.

Beer, wine, and hard liquor (distilled spirits) all contain alcohol. The following common alcoholic drinks contain equal amounts of alcohol and are often referred to as a drink or a standard drink:

Proof is the amount of alcohol in hard liquor or distilled spirits. The percentage of pure alcohol in the hard liquor is usually one-half the proof. For example, a 100-proof liquor is about 50% pure alcohol. Thus, the higher the proof, the more pure alcohol the hard liquor contains.

*Different beers have different alcohol content. Malt liquor has higher alcohol content than most other brewed beverages.

It is important to remember that not all drinks are created equal.

Ethanol or Ethyl Alcohol

Flavoring Minerals Water

What is in Alcohol

Alcohol AbuseBinge Drinking: a pattern of occasional, excessive drinking.

Alcoholism: a dependence on the drug ethanol.3 phases:• Abuse• Dependence• Addiction

Alcohol poisoning: drinking a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time. Often ends in death.

Delirium tremens (DTs): the stage of withdrawal from alcohol use.

Abstinence: don’t drink and don’t start is the best way to prevent risk behaviors.

To escape pressure or problems

To feel better or get over being sad or lonely

To deal with stress and relax

To feel more self-confident in social situations

For excitement

Because their friends are doing it

To deal with boredom

To get away with something they are not supposed to do

To fit in

Why Teens Drink

Signs that a friend may have a drinking problem

Factors that influence alcohol’s effect!

How alcohol affects you is different How alcohol affects you is different based on different absorption rate based on different absorption rate

factors, these include:factors, these include:

Body Size: The bigger you are, the more blood you have to dilute the alcohol in your system. Smaller people are usually affected more quickly by alcohol than larger people.

Gender: Women are generally smaller than men, have a higher percentage of body fat, and tend to reach higher BAC’s more quickly.

Food: A full stomach slows the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.

Strength of Drink: Drinks can have different effects based on their composition (i.e. carbonated beverages tend to

increase the absorption rate in alcohol).

Mood: A person who is obviously upset, exhausted, or under a lot of stress feels the effects of alcohol more quickly.

Factors that influence alcohol’s effect!

Rate of Consumption: Gulping or chugging drinks will increase the amount of alcohol taken into your system. Also, the faster you drink, the less time your body has to dilute the alcohol.

Age: The body processes alcohol better once the body is fully matured.

Factors that influence alcohol’s effect!

Tolerance: The longer an individual drinks, the more he or she will need drink in order to get the same desired effect.

Drug Use: Legal or illegal drugs can speed up the effects of alcohol and have an unpredictable outcome.

Body Composition: In general, the less you weigh the more quickly alcohol will be absorbed. However, for people of the same weight, a person who has greater muscle mass will absorb alcohol slower than someone with a higher percentage of body fat.

Day 1 Day 15 Day 365

The standard way of measuring how much alcohol is in the blood stream is Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or Blood Alcohol Level (BAL). It can be measured using blood, saliva, urine or breath and is measured in milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, or milligrams percent.

For Example: A BAC of .10 means one-tenth of 1% or (1/1000) of your total blood content is alcohol.

What is the only thing that really determines how DRUNK

YOU ARE?

How does BAC affect you!.02-.03 % BAC: You are slightly light headed; inhibitions are loosened .05%-.06 BAC: You’re warm and relaxed; you’re behavior may become exaggerated

.08-.09% BAC: You are legally drunk; you may start to slur your speech, your sense of balance is probably off, and your motor skills are becoming impaired.

.10%-.12% BAC: At this level, you feel euphoric, but you lack coordination and balance; your motor skills are markedly impaired, as are your judgment and memory.

.14%-.17% BAC: Euphoric feelings may give way to unpleasant feelings; you have difficulty talking, walking, or even standing; your judgment and perception are severely impaired.

.20% BAC: You feel confused, dazed, or otherwise disoriented ; at this point you may experience nausea and/or start vomiting; blackouts are likely.

.25% BAC: All mental, physical, and sensory functions are severely impaired; you're at increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falling or other accidents.

.30% BAC: You have little comprehension of where you are; you may suddenly pass out --with an alarming BAC like .30%, your body will decide to pass out for you.

.35% BAC: This blood alcohol level is the level of surgical anesthesia; you may stop breathing.

.40% BAC: You are probably in a coma. The nerve centers controlling your heartbeat and respiration are slowing down.

.30% BAC: You have little comprehension of where you are; you may suddenly pass out --with an alarming BAC like .30%, your body will decide to pass out for you.

.35% BAC: This blood alcohol level is the level of surgical anesthesia; you may stop breathing.

.40% BAC: You are probably in a coma. The nerve centers controlling your heartbeat and respiration are slowing down.

How does BAC affect you!

Facts About Drinking!According to the Core Institute, an organization that surveys college drinking practices, 300,000 of today's college students will eventually die of alcohol-related causes such as drunk driving accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, various cancers and heart disease.

159,000 of today's first-year college students will drop out of school next year for alcohol- or other drug-related reasons.

On a typical campus, the average amount a student spends annually on alcohol is $466. College students as a whole spend $5.5 billion on alcohol (mostly beer). This is more than they spend on books, soda, coffee, juice and milk combined.

Almost one-third of college students admit to having missed at least one class because of their alcohol or drug use, and nearly one-quarter of students report “bombing” a test or project because of the aftereffects of drinking or doing drugs.

One night of heavy drinking can impair your ability to think abstractly for up to 30 days, limiting your ability to relate textbook reading to what your professor says, or to think through a football play.

Students who binge drink are more likely to damage property, have trouble with authorities, miss classes, have hangovers, and experience injuries than those who do not.

Alcohol Related DiseasesBrain damage: Brain cell damage may cause issues such as

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome with long-term alcohol abuse due to the fact that the neurons are damaged and cannot communicate with one another efficiently. Alcohol inhibits the growth of new brain cells.

Alcohol Related Diseases

Liver damage

Alcohol Related Diseases

Hepatitis: Liver infection causing weakness, Jaundice (yellow skin).

Alcohol Related Diseases

Cirrhosis: Liver tissue dies and becomes scar tissue.

Alcohol Related Diseases

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Babies born to mothers who drink excessively during pregnancy.

Alcohol Myths & FactsMyths

• Drinking alcohol through a straw “filters out” the alcoholic content.

• Someone who doesn’t seem drunk can’t be drunk.

• Beer and wine are safer drinks than “hard” liquors like whiskey.

• Using alcohol on weekends or only once in a while is harmless.

• When a person has a hangover, coffee, a cold shower, or fresh air will sober him/her up.

Facts

• The alcohol content remains the same no matter how the drug is delivered into the body

• Many people, particularly those with alcohol problems, can drink a lot without showing the obvious signs of drunkenness.

• One standard serving of beer, wine, or spirits contains to same amount of alcohol.

• People can get into serious health, legal, and social situations anytime they use alcohol.

• These practices do not speed up the liver’s ability to break down the alcohol, so they don’t help to sober a person up.

REFLECTION

You will need to write a one-(1) to two-(2) page narrative discussing what you have learned about alcohol and the effects that it has on the body, mind and spirit.

This narrative should be written in your health journal or typed up and placed in your portfolio (if typed, the narrative should follow these guidelines:

12 Font Times New Roman Double-spaced No less than one-(1) page no more than two-(2)

pages

Journal #5.1